Valentine Gift Idea: Crane Choco Boxes

Added on February 7, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Here is a unique idea for a Valentine's Day gift: crane boxes with chocolate truffles inside!

We know they are unique because the boxes are hand-made by us in-house! :-) The box is covered with colourful Japanese fabric.

The lid comes off like this...and inside is a yummy assortment of 12 chocolate truffles.

The chocolate truffles are made by our good friends at Brockmann's Chocolate in Delta, B.C.

And of course, after the chocolates are gone, you re-can use the box for other things!

Available at the shop. 12.50 each plus HST. We don't have a lot so get yours while we still have them!

Japanesque at SMU

Added on February 4, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

The annual Koshogatsu (Little New Year) celebration at St. Mary's University has evolved into Japanesque, a Japanese cultural festival. With the new format comes more flexibility as the event can now be celebrated at different times of the year and not be tied down to the Little New Year (which occurs at the first full moon of the year). This year 2014, the inaugural Japanesque was held last Sunday, Feb 2nd at SMU's Sobey building.

Dr. Alexandre Avdulov, coordinator of the Japanese Language and Culture Program, gives the opening remarks.

The event was organized by the Japanese Language and Culture Program, Department of Modern Languages and Classics of St. Mary's University, with the support of the Consulate General of Japan at Montreal. Members of the local community also shared their time and skills. Plus, the Japanese-Canadian Cultural Exchange Society of SMU was involved too.

There were many cultural demonstrations and workshops...

Kyudo

Shooting two arrows as a rite of purification.

Dancing!

Iaido

Chanoyu - Japanese Tea Ceremony

Dr. Avdulov performs the tea ceremony.

Ikebana demo

Shodo - Calligraphy

People gave the calligraphy brush a try!

Japanese Paper

People learned the many different uses for Japanese paper!

Incense

Taking a whiff of magically fragrant incense!

Matcha

We were fortunate to partake of matcha and Japanese sweet (wagashi) hanabira mochi!

AKB48...SMU version! :-)

We were honoured to give the demonstration of ikebana.

L-R: Dr. J. Colin Dodds, President of St. Mary's University; Miyako Ballesteros, ikebana artist; and Mr. Tatsuo Arai, Consul General of Japan at Montreal.

Thank you to all who joined in the activities. We hope you enjoyed the afternoon! Thank you to all the organizers, supporters and sponsors for making this happen. It was a wonderful event and we hope to see you again next year.

My Ikebana: The Snowstorm Pine

Added on February 3, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

After strong snowstorms like the last one we experienced, I always get gifts of fallen branches. The pine branch I used for this arrangement was one such gift.

Before starting on the arrangement, I took some time admiring this branch. The main branch, strong and straight was pointing towards the heavens.

There were also smaller curling branches which I situated horizontally over the mouth of the vase to appear like little wavelets.

The pink spray mums and oregonia leaves did not project any powerful and distinctive colours.

But they were perfect to create a sense of harmony. The straight pine branch rising from the sea, reaching for the sky, just visible in the horizon. Do you see it? :-)

Here is the whole arrangement.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

Our Little Sticky-Note Book

Added on January 28, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

We've got new books. Tiny ones! :-)

We used scrap Japanese fabric to make the cover.

The pages are actually sticky notes.

Bring it with you everywhere. Now you'll look more elegant when making notes! ;-)

Hand-made in-house right here in Nova Scotia, Canada. Available for purchase at the shop or online.

My Ikebana: One Bloom

Added on January 12, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

For my first arrangement in the New Year, I used an old container! This heart-shaped container would go well with thin lines.

I removed all the leaves from the English boxwood branches and put them on the right side to show lines. But, in their midst, I included some branches with leaves. It was as if to show new life being breathed into the bare branches.

On the left side, a single pink carnation nestled in green hypericum. Then, small dogwood branches with their tiny leaves pretending to be butterflies hovering over the flower!

My thoughts were towards a new year, a new spring. May we all have a fantastic year ahead of us!

Here is the whole arrangement. I hope you like. --Miyako

My Ikebana: Bunched Dogwood

Added on January 6, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

This was my last ikebana arrangement for 2013.

Normally, I use dogwood branches for the beautiful lines that they create. This time, I challenged myself to do something different. I looked at the bundled up dogwood branches in my hands and thought that bunched together, they looked pretty too!

I chose a flower container with a solid vertical surface and matched that with the thickest parts of the dogwood branches.

To further augment the colour contrast between the red branches and the black container, I added some green oregonia. This makes the arrangement more cohesive.

As it was, the arrangement was calm and tranquil...but too calm! It was static; so I added long branches diagonally across to sort of "pinch" the arrangement. This added some movement.

Here is the whole arrangement.

...and here is another view.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

Happy New Year 2014!

Added on January 1, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! 明けましておめでとうございます。

We give thanks for the year that was 2013. Now, we usher in 2014 and look forward to many more wonderful moments. We wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Our Little Privacy Screen

Added on December 24, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

The byoubu is the Japanese folding screen adorned with beautiful paintings. They are used ostensibly to separate spaces and create some privacy...but are also a way of displaying lovely art.

Image from Flickr. Please click on the photo to go to the original source.

We took inspiration from the Japanese byoubu and made our own privacy screen for the shop's credit/debit machine keypad. We didn't paint this. Just recycled some fabric from kimono scraps.

We used to make a conscious effort to look away as customers key in their PINs. Now, we don't have to! :-)

We hope the little space created to protect your PIN is comfy and pleasant!

Kan-nyu, Those Lovely Cracks

Added on December 23, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

Do you sometime see cracks on the glaze of your Japanese pottery?

No, they are not defects. They are intended accidents. Those cracked patterns are called kan-nyuu (貫入) and it is actually a desirable feature of the pottery.

When glazed clay is fired, it expands. The high temperature melts the glaze and fuses it with the clay. When the pottery is cooled down, it shrinks...BUT, the rates of shrinkage of the clay and glaze are different. The glaze shrinks more than the clay and so during the cooling process, cracks are formed on the glaze surface. These crackle patterns are kan-nyuu.

No two kan-nyuu patterns are ever the same. This offers uniqueness in each piece of pottery.

Japanese people love kan-nyuu in their teacups and tea bowls. Tea seeps into the fine cracks, staining it bit by bit. The teacup is slowly changed with frequent use. Its character seems to grow together with its user. It is cherished like an old friend.

On the left, a new teacup. On the right, a well-used and well-loved teacup!

Check your favourite teacup...yes, the one you use everyday...the one that makes you feel that something is missing if it's not with you at the start of the day. Do you see kan-nyuu? :-)

A Little Gift To Sister City, Hakodate

Added on December 20, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

Halifax and the city of Hakodate in Hokkaido, Japan, have been sister cities since 1982. As a symbol of friendship, Halifax has been sending a Christmas tree to Hakodate annually. This tree is the main attraction for the annual "Christmas Fantasy" event in Hakodate. Many, many people appreciate this tree from Halifax.

Many volunteers in Hakodate work hard to make this event happen. We thought we'd give them a small gift from Nova Scotia. So, we took some Nova Scotia tartan and some Nova Scotia lavender...

...and made little Christmas trees out of them!

Through the good offices of the Hokkaido International Foundation, we shipped a box of about 50 of these lovely-smelling lavender Christmas trees to our friends in Hakodate.

Below on the right is Mr. Fumio Yamazaki, representative director of the Hokkaido International Foundation, presenting our little sachets to two directors of the Christmas Fantasy Executive Committee.

The little trees were distributed to members of the Halifax-Hakodate Friendship Association and volunteer staff of the Christmas Fantasy Executive Committee. Plus, the Hakodate City Mayor, Tourist Department Chief and International Department Chief all got one each too. Wow...our little bit of Nova Scotia went a long way! Thank you very much Mr. Yamazaki!

We would also like to thank Mr. Masao Oikawa, a professional photographer and a director of the Halifax-Hakodate Friendship Association for graciously providing us with some of the photographs. He is also the photographer responsible for the beautiful Christmas Fantasy poster.

We hope the friendship between our two cities will continue. We work in our own little way to contribute to this objective!

Enjoy some scenes of Christmas Fantasy in Hakodate...

はこクリのPV動画のテーマ曲に乗せて2012年の様子をどうぞ♪