Loveliness from Japan - my little Daruma

Hello everyone, I think everyone needs a little motivation to achieve a certain goal, or realise a dream or make a wish come true. That's exactly what a DARUMA is for.  A DARUMA is a traditional handmade Japanese wishing doll. It is a centuries-old tradition from Japan.
Those who know me well know that I have a special relathionship with Japan (like many French people) and that like everything Japanese. I had three years of Japanese at school (which I completely forgot of course) but I am still a big fan of the Japanese culture and I spent my honeymoon in Japan in 2008.

That's how daruma dolls work:

1. Decide on a SPECIFIC GOAL you are DETERMINED to ACHIEVE or a SPECIAL DREAM, you want to COME TRUE.
2. A Daruma always comes with two blank eyes, so DRAW one of your Daruma's blank eyes to signify your COMMITMENT to achieving your GOAL.
3. Place your Daruma somewhere VISIBLE in your home.
4. Once you've achieved your goal or your dream has come true, draw in Daruma's other eye to say THANK YOU!

I brought the first one, on our honeymoon in Japan. It was a traditional red one. My wish was work related, and it worked. The second one I brought at the end of the pregnancy, and I chose a golden one. 

I love the meaning of the talisman, but I also find it very cute as a decoration item. Mine now lives on my bookshelves in my living room. It reminds me of my sweet dream, which was (now that it came true, I can tell it) : give birth to a happy and healthy baby.

WHAT ABOUT YOU, WHAT IS YOUR DARUMA DREAM OR GOAL?

You can for example find a DARUMA online here on the Saroshi online shop. I bought mine directly in the shop situated in the Gertigstrasse in Hamburg.

Talk to you soon,

Elodie

Vase story - my little whale from Japan

Hello everyone, Inga from Glomerylane and I have been really overwhelmed by the success of our first participative edition of #2flowergirls. You can see the links to the participating blogs under Inga's blogpost and under mine. Thank you so much for all those flowers, and for the positive and encouraging feedback. It made us all warm inside - and we definitely need that at the moment in Germany. You can check out the result on the March Pinterest board of #2flowergirls.

Today I decided to blog not directly about flowers, but about vases - my other love! When I travel, I always try to bring a little vase back with me in my suitcase that reminds me of the great places I visited. I bought this one on our honeymoon in Japan in 2008. I found it at a gorgeous shop for handcrafted products in Kyoto. It always makes me smile when I see it. It combines my love for flowers and for Japanese design with my obsession about animals in decoration.

What about you, have you got a favourite vase? What do you bring back with you as a souvenir, when travelling?

I wish you a wonderful week!

Elodie

Akiko - Ein Stück Japan

So, I think I talked or showed enough of my handmade stuff in the last posts. So let's talk about Hamburg. The first shop I would like to talk about is the beautiful Japanese shop called Akiko - "Ein Stück Japan" in the Hamburg Neustadt. Hamburg has so many design and decoration treasures to offer and so the Neustadt - it is not going to be the last post about this part of the city. Akiko opened her shop in the Wexstraße 39 about eight years ago.

She sells fabric with traditional japanese pattern

 japanese Yusen-paper

as well as decoration items such as boxes, or tableware

She also offers some handcrafted accessories and clothes produced with japanese fabric in her workshop.

Akiko has arranged her shop in a very tasteful and poetic way - with origami cranes dancing on branches but still respecting the traditional japanese sense of simplicity and harmony.

If you are a crafter and want to learn the art of origami (the traditional Japanese art of paper folding) you can join a workshop. The workshops take place in the shop, and Akiko teaches herself. Of course the fabric and the papers can be bought online, but it would be such a shame to miss a visit to this fabulous shop.

AKIKO  Ein Stück Japan Wexstraße 39 20355 Hamburg

Monday   : closed Tu. – Fr.  : 11:00 – 19:00 Sat.            : 11:00 – 15:00