Important Announcement: The shop will be closed from Aug 4th (Sat) to Aug 12th (Sun). We will re-open on Aug 13th (Mon).
Yes, we are taking a long overdue holiday. No, we are not going to see the Olympics! (^_^) We are not yet sure if we will have access to the internet so there is no guarantee that we will be able to respond to email inquiries during this period.
Sorry for the inconvenience but we will come back refreshed!
Disclaimer: We have no affiliation with the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel. This blogpost was written without any prompting, remuneration or coercion (just kidding...!) from the hotel. We simply think that others should know...
In our line of work, we get asked to put up ikebana arrangements in many different places. When we do jobs at hotels and other "posh" places, most of the time it's straightforward business. This is where you need to set up. You'll find what you need there. Get the job done in time. With courtesy. Pretty much par for the course and we expect nothing more really. Sometimes, we do get treated like the hired help...like when we receive "extra" instructions like "Don't mess up the carpet. That's expensive." We take it all in stride and move on...besides, come to think of it, we are the hired help anyway. No hard feelings.
So, what a delightful surprise it was to arrive at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront and to be treated like guests! Our buckets of flowers and boxes of equipment were brought in by a porter in a shiny hotel cart, right through the front lobby! (We had been half-expecting to be asked to go through the service entrance...and of course, to haul our stuff in by ourselves.) When we reached the venue, it turned out the ballroom doors were still locked. The bellhop (who probably had nothing to do with the event planning part of the hotel business) stayed with us and made hundreds of phone calls (so we exaggerate a bit...^_^ ) until the right person with the right key came. We were in good hands!
The following day, when we came back to clean up after the event, the same hospitality met us. The service was above and beyond, despite the fact that we were not there to be served! The bellhop who escorted us helped clean up the flowers and discard the leftover water from the containers. We told him that we knew this was no longer part of his job(and to the cynics out there...no, no supervisors hovering around! ^_^ )and so it was OK to leave us; but he simply replied that he wanted to help as much as he could!
The spirit of omotenashi (hospitality and then some...)* is alive and and well at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront. We salute management and staff for creating such a wonderful environment. With this one short experience, the Marriott has endeared itself to us. Guess which hotel we'll be recommending the next time we have guests from Japan?
*Japanese omotenashi is explained quite well in this article: http://www.wattention.com/archives/omotenashi-the-heart-of-japanese-hospitality/
See the finished arrangement here.
(Photos by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
Some weeks ago, we had the honour of putting up an arrangement for a speaking engagement. It was at the Marriott Harbourfront Hotel, Halifax Ballroom...the best ballroom of the hotel!
The client gave us a free hand and only asked that the flowers should be equal in stature as the speaker on the podium. We hope we did not disappoint.
Have a closer look.... Lilies, sunflower, carnation and weigela.
(Photos by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
What an enjoyable afternoon we had at Mahone Bay last Sunday! Thank you to everyone who participated in the ikebana workshop. We hope you enjoyed as much as we did. Special thanks to Susan and Lynn who made this workshop possible.
Before the workshop, Susan and Lynn brought us to a great spot. They braved the mosquitoes to gather branches. Miyako was able to give them a few pointers on how to choose branches for ikebana...something we cannot teach in the studio!
We held our workshop at the Mahone Bay Centre--a grand, old schoolhouse building. We loved the way the wooden floorboards creaked at every step!
FIrst, Miyako gave a demonstration.
Then, participants get to try it themselves. Ladies, pick your branches!
Learning to distinguish the main branches...
"Maybe this flower should be a little lower..."
Our youngest participant...she knew more about plants than anybody else!
Relaxing after they were done.
Lynn concentrating on her nageire.
Susan and her finished work.
See you next time!
(All photos by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
Summer is here! We are planning a little origami workshop on July 7th, Saturday, 10-11 a.m. at our studio on Quinpool.
In this workshop, we will show you how to make origami of your favourite characters: Hello Kitty, Totoro and Pikachu! We will also prepare one square towel for each participant and show you how to make an "origami" bear with it! It'll be fun so please sign up. Of course, it's not only for kids...there is no maximum age limit for origami! :-)
Cost is $7 (plus HST) per participant...and you bring home your work!
Hope to see you there!
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!
It was a great turn out! Thank you to all who visited us. In case you missed the exhibit, please have a look at the photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_ikebana_shop/sets/72157629744389244/
Finally, the day of the exhibit is almost upon us. It's this coming Saturday, May 12th.
For the past few months, pottery artist Mindy Moore has been working hard to produce new pieces.
Photo courtesy of Marvin Moore. (http://marvinmoore.com/)
Has she perhaps been sleeping between the potter's wheel and the kiln? (^_^)
The past two weeks, Miyako has been feverishly designing ikebana arrangements. The garage has been taken over...
...and the studio is lined with mock-ups. She will dismantle all of these and re-create them at the gallery.
Please join us and see how Mindy's pottery and Miyako's ikebana breathe life into each other. See the connection!
Exhibit Title: En: Connections
Opening reception: May 12th, Saturday, 2-4 p.m.
Venue: Argyle Fine Art, 1559 Barrington St., Halifax NS
http://argylefineart.blogspot.ca/
Everyone welcome. No entrance fee.
Exhibit days:
May 13th, Sunday, 12-5 p.m.
May 14th, Monday, gallery closed
May 15th, Tuesday, 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
May 16th, Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
(Photos by the ikebana shop except when noted otherwise. All rights reserved.)
f you attended the Nova Scotia: Our Strengths, Our Future community forum event at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, you would have seen our ikebana arrangement that graced the stage. We are honoured to play our little part in the success of this event!
"...how beautiful the floral arrangement was on the stage. Very dramatic but not overbearing. Whoever handled that piece of 'set design' gets my bravo."
-- John M., NSCAD
(All photos by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
Tonight, we will be lighting up the Christmas tree at the Grand Parade in Halifax.
On December 1st, another tree from Halifax will be lit. This one will be in far away Hakodate, a city in Hokkaido, Japan. Hakodate is Halifax's sister city. Every year, Halifax sends a Christmas tree to Hakodate. The people of Hakodate greatly appreciate this. On the poster (below the dates) it says,
"Christmas tree from our sister city, Halifax."
The tree is the main attraction of the
Hakodate Christmas Fantasy
celebrated every December on the Hakodate waterfront. They light it up accompanied by fireworks. See also below a promotional video from 2008.
