Zakka Place

Winter zakka

Keiko Uemura of gooseberry is getting ready for winter! She made Sashiko Tea Towel and Sashiko Placemats for Zakka Sewing last spring, now she is making more wintery items such as crochet coasters and knitted hats. Did you notice there is a small hanging loop attached to them? I think that's a good idea, they can be displayed on a wall when they are not in use.

I personally think this hat design can also be used as a pot holder...

Pencil cap figurines

All the characters Kayoko Umeda of pokožka creates are simple yet very unique with a touch of nostalgia - they remind me of old puppet show characters in the '60's! Her Viking Key Case is on page 146 in Zakka Sewing. These are one of her new creations, little wooden pencil cap figurines. Their mouth opens and closes like a hand puppet!

Buttons and notions...?

These are the coolest stickers I've ever seen! Yes, they are STICKERS, not real buttons on card! I love the fact that they look so vintagy and real, (actually I recognize some of the buttons) including the design of the cards.

Room shoes, etc.

"Room shoes" are one of the many popular items among zakka lovers in Japan. In Japan, when you enter a home, it's customary to take off your shoes. Basically they are cuter (and usually much more fashionable) version of ordinary slippers. It might be fun to have several pairs to choose from to match your today's indoor wear!

These are the adorable pair of baby room shoes that I found from Sachi's website, safran-seed.com today. Her beautiful linen Room Shoes are in Zakka Sewing on page 118.

She also makes medical / allergy masks in "zakka style". This is what our conventional mask looks like:

... And this is Sachi's version.

Felt love

I love felt! I love it so much, because of its warm, nostalgic feel -- felt has been my favorite material since I was a child. My first handmade animal (I believe it was a duck) was made with felt. Did you know the standard felt sheet size in Japan is 20 cm x 20cm (approx. 8 in. x 8 in.), instead of rectangle?

What I love about craft shops in Japan is that they carry so many variety of felt -- such as mini-size felt (10 cm x 10cm), iron-on felt, washable felt... and FUN shaped felt like these.

Buttons...

Flowers...

Hearts...

These are thicker kind which I love.

Your version of hand made zakka to share...

I keep hearing about people making their own projects from Zakka Sewing. I invite you to share photos of your creation with me so I can post them here for all the Zakka fans to enjoy. Please email me a photo of your creation, between now and 2/28/2009 and I’ll give away a Sashiko thread & needle set to one randomly picked winner!

Ellie, a graphic designer from North Carolina who runs a beautiful blog, mint kindly sent me these beautiful photos of her version of the Sashiko Tea Towel she made for her friend’s birthday! Thanks Ellie :-)

Embroidered linen zakka

I would like to introduce some of the new work of Fusako Fujiwara of powa*powa* -- she made the Pear Purse for Zakka Sewing. Fusako has been actively making linen zakka items and dolls since she started her career in 2003. Her embroidery is like a drawing on a canvas!

Kawaii "DROPS" of colors

Kui Hazuki, of DROPS, made these colorful nuno zakka ("nuno" means fabric in Japanese) zakka. They are made with printed cotton - I love the fact that they are so colorful but not being overwhelmingly cutesy.

A tissue box cover.

Key chains.

Shopping tote.

details.

Bibs -- A cloud shape!

Foreign words in zakka

Japanese people love to use foreign words and phrases as design elements (see the Merci Apron on page 112 and the Pear Purse on page 44) in zakka! Here are more examples.