All throughout the year, we get a lot of mail and packages from Japan sent through the post office. We get a lot of stamps too! We collect all of them and turn them into gift tags. They are complimentary to anyone who makes an in-store purchase in December (while supplies last!) No minimum purchase amount! Hope you like them!
Mail-order customers who would like some, please let us know and we'll put some in the box for you too!
(Photo by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
It's that busy time of year again. Our bricks-and-mortar shop will be open (10AM-6PM) on all Sundays from today leading up to Christmas Day!
(Photo by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
A few days ago, we sent out an email announcing our online store. It has come to our attention that we inadvertently placed the mailing list addresses on the "To:" field instead of the usual "Bcc:" field, which resulted in everybody seeing everybody else's email. Unfortunately, it was too late to undo this. We can only offer our sincere apologies and promise that it shall not happen again.
Your trust is sacred to us and we work very hard to earn it. This egregious and serious error on our part is unacceptable. If you feel uncomfortable being on our mailing list, please let us know by direct email and we will promptly and irrevocably delete all of your contact information. We hope it wouldn't come to this but if it does, we understand. It our fault.
Internally, we are renewing our vigilance. On hind sight, we do know the factors that caused this error...but we won't make excuses for ourselves. It was our responsibility and we are sorry.
Special Offer: FREE SHIPPING for orders of "haori" to destinations in Canada and continental USA. 50% off on shipping for other international destinations.
If you order something else with the haori, we will apply the "haori only shipping cost" as a discount to your total shipping estimate!
Offer is good for orders received on or before Dec. 24th, 2012.
Click here to go the haori page.
Hope you find something you like!
Note: Normally, shipping to Canada and U.S.A. will be via Canada Post expedited parcel. For international destinations, shipping will be via Canada Post international parcel. We reserve the right to change shipping methods without prior notice. Of course, we'll let you know what it's going to be before we ship!
Any entrepreneur will tell you that setting up a new business is never easy. Back in 2008, as newcomers, we found it doubly hard to set up. Apart from not really knowing the rules of the game, we lacked that built-in network of family and friends. You know how it goes...you need to find out about something or need to get something done, you ask your elders, your cousins and your friends. Sooner or later, somebody somewhere will turn up and say, "Hey, I know this guy who can help you...." and thus, you move one more step forward towards your objective.
Thankfully, for newcomers to Canada, there are the immigrant services organizations. In Nova Scotia, they are ISIS - Immigrant Settlement and Integration Services.
The people there were literally our first friends in town. To any immigrant who is serious about settling and setting up shop in Nova Scotia, ISIS is a gift from heaven and we cannot thank them enough for helping us on our way. Now we have our little shop and things just keep getting better!
For sure, you have to have the ideas and you have to do all of the legwork. They won't spoonfeed you but they do have a vast network to help answer your queries, introduce you to knowledgeable people and provide guidance along the way. So if you are a new immigrant to Nova Scotia, get in touch with them now. You won't regret it. Promise. (http://www.isisns.ca/)
In the video, make sure you watch from 4:47. You'll get a glimpse of the inside of our shop! (^_^)
The video was originally posted here: http://www.newcomersuccess.ca/index.php/videos/ciip-settlement-series-atlantic-provinces?lang=en-GB#
Don't you just love it when things fall into place?
A few weeks ago, a lady came to the shop looking for a Japanese doll. She said they had a beautiful one at their home when she was growing up but sadly it was no longer with her. Unfortunately, we did not have Japanese dolls in our inventory. They do tend to be very expensive and delicate...therefore, difficult to ship...which translates to very high shipping costs because of the extra special packing required to protect them. The best we could tell her was that we'd look into it and see what we could come up with but we did give advanced warning not to be shocked at the price. We do know there are some "imitation" ones out there but really, the craftsmanship would be very different...as would the price, of course; but we did not want to go down that route.
As it happened, about a week later, another lady visited the shop bearing...guess what? ...a Japanese doll in her hands. She wanted to sell it and so came to ask us if we could find a buyer. We could hardly believe the timing! The doll was authentic. It was not new, of course, and there were some parts that showed the passage of time....frayed edges in some parts, some errant hair. We also saw where a little repair had been made. But still, the doll still looked grand and elegant with her drum.
We immediately called the first lady and she came by to take a look. "It's even better than the one I had as a child!" she exclaimed excitedly. She didn't mind the flawed parts we pointed out and was very happy to give the doll a new home!
Now, we have two happy ladies! ...which makes us happy!
(All photos by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
We are bringing a taste of ikebana to the South Shore!
Ikebana workshop at the Mahone Bay Centre on Jun 24th, Sunday, 2-4 p.m. Well, come over at 1:30 and enjoy tea and snacks too!
We are preparing a short demonstration and then instruction on how to make a basic upright arrangement. Participants will get to take home their work too!
Pre-registration is required (because we need to prepare the flowers for you!) so please call or email us to book. We also ask participants to please bring a pair of floral clippers (what you use for your garden is OK) to the workshop. Workshop fee is $35 (plus HST).
The Mahone Bay Centre is located at 45 School St., Mahone Bay NS B0J 2E0 http://www.mahonebaycentre.com/
Thank you to Susan and Lynn, who consistently make their way from Mahone Bay to Halifax to join us for lessons, for helping make this possible!
We hope to see you there!
Dear Members of Ikebana International Ottawa,
Due to your very warm response, we are pleased to announce an extension of our free shipping offer until July 31st, 2012. Pool your orders and save more! We thank you for your patronage.
Special offer to members of Ikebana International Ottawa:
1. Any mail order purchase by members of merchandise with total value (before HST) less than $200, we offer to cover 50% of shipping cost.
2. Any mail order purchase by members of merchandise with total value (before HST) of $200 or more, we offer free shipping.
Other conditions:
a. Shipping will be via Canada Post (shipping method will be at our discretion)
b. Shipping destinations will be limited to Ontario and Quebec.
c. Orders must mention membership of Ikebana International Ottawa before payment processing.
d. Members are free to pool their orders to avail of free shipping as long as shipping destination is only to one location.
e. This offer is not limited to ikebana supplies but includes all other merchandise at the shop. We do reserve the right to refuse sales of certain items which we deem too fragile to ship.
Offer ends on July 31, 2012.
Beyond July, 2012, all is not lost!
We will cover 50% of shipping cost for any mail-order purchase with total value (before HST) of $200 or more. (All other conditions apply. Offer ends December 31, 2012.) It's almost going to be like the cost of a taxi ride...almost! But hey, you're shopping in Halifax! (^_^)
If you are an ikebana group in Canada or the United States and would like to avail of a similar arrangement, please let us know and we'll see what we can do. No promises but we'll give it very serious consideration!
Seeing our selection of Japanese fabric, a customer, who turned out to be an avid quilter, exclaimed, "Oh, fat quarters!"
...which raised about 3 question marks on the top of my head. Fat quarters???
I asked and she kindly explained. "In the quilting world, these are called fat quarters," she declared, pointing at the fabric "end-cuts". For lack of a better term, we had coined the word "end-cut", which had simply been a direct translation of the Japanese hagire (端切れ), to refer to these strips of fabric. (We had previously introduced them in this blog post.)
A standard roll of fabric is 44" wide. Fabric is normally purchased by the yard (36"). So a yard gives you a piece of cloth that's 44" x 36" big. If you want a regular quarter, then you'll get a cut that's 44" wide and only 9" long. Now, a "fat quarter" is when you cut the width in half and a yard-length in half as well...which gives you 22" x 18"...which is still a quarter of the basic yard, only "fatter". Apparently, quilters prefer fat quarters because they are able to cut bigger chunks of fabric for their purposes.
Now, our Japanese fat quarters are a little chubbier, measuring around 22" x 20" ...which makes sense because 20" is about 50cm. And because Japan uses the metric system, these cuts are probably quarter meter (as opposed to yard)!
Later on.... Feeling like a child with a new toy, I put this fresh knowledge to the test. Another customer came to buy a Japanese quilting book. Said it was a present for his mother who loves quilting. So I mentioned casually, "Oh, we have fat quarters too." He knew exactly what I was talking about and said he would bring his mom to the shop next time! Joy! I almost felt like an "Insider"...but reality is I am still just a "name-dropper"! (^_^)
Many patterns available at the shop.
(All photos and illustrations by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
