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Revised Blade Sharpening Price Schedule

Added on by the ikebana shop.

No, it's not really a price increase!  We've just streamlined the blade sharpening pricing schedule to simplify things.

The following pricing schedule will be applied from 2016:

Cost / knife
  $8.00
$10.00
$15.00

$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$10.00
$12.00
no extra cost
$5.00 extra

Regular & Serrated Kitchen Knives
    up to 4" blade
    more than 4", up to 9" blade
    more than 9" blade

Japanese traditional knife
Cleaver
Non-kitchen knife (hunting, folding)
Ikebana clippers
Scissors
Minor chip repair* ( <2mm)
Chip & tip repair*

*Chip repair must be incorporated with sharpening order.

Note: If your knives or clippers need extra special attention, we will let you know the expected cost and obtain your agreement before starting any work on it.

Prices are subject to HST.

Say Hello To OrigaMirna

Added on by the ikebana shop.

It is always a pleasure to meet another person who shares an interest in one of the things we are passionate about: ORIGAMI!  Mirna is originally from Croatia.  She moved to Canada with her husband and four-year old daughter in 2013.  She recently visited our shop and brought with her a lot of origami energy in the form of these mini kusudama set as mini origami trees.

Kusudama is a type of origami where many identical pieces (usually conical or pyramidal) are sewn (or glued) together to form one ball of flower.

Kusudama-making images courtesy of Mirna Blažinčić Čonkaš.

Mirna's love for origami began when a cousin introduced her to the art.  She was 8 years old.  She was fascinated by the fact that a sheet of plain square paper could be transformed into something complex (though not necessarily so!) and beautiful.  In time, she not only learned more complicated pieces but also came to appreciate the process itself.  

 
“The process of folding a complex model is like meditation. I forget about plans for the next day. All worries and fears disappear. And when I’m finished, in addition to a beautiful flower or a mysterious unicorn, I feel relaxed, refreshed and empty-­minded. In a positive way, of course.”
 

We are happy to have some of Mirna's work available at the shop.  Every piece is unique and made with plenty of love, patience and attention to detail.  All hand-made, of course!

Please also visit her facebook page to see what else she's been up to!

 
“Although I’ve learned many complex models since then, I’m always happy to return to the crane and try fold it as perfectly as possible.”
 

Image courtesy of Mirna Blažinčić Čonkaš.

Holiday Goodies

Added on by the ikebana shop.

Here are some holiday goodies you can find at the shop!

Santa Gift Box
Kids love getting many things...no matter how little!  So we put together a bit of this-and-that into a gift pack and put it inside a special Santa box.  The contents are worth more than $20...and we're offering them at $15, including the Santa box of course!

Fabric Crane Ornaments 
They're back!  Ready to adorn your Christmas tree!  These origami cranes are Hand-made in-house with brightly coloured Japanese fabric.  

Cat Ornaments
At first we made only a few.  We wondered if people would really want a cat on their tree?!?  :-)  But people kept asking for more so we made some more.  All hand-made in-house.

Christmas Tree Lavender Sachet
Last year, we made these little trees and sent them to Halifax's sister city, Hakodate. (See here.)  We thought we'd reprise it this year. They are made with Nova Scotian tartan and inside is fragrant Nova Scotia lavender.

Postage Stamp Gift Tags...Free!

Added on by the ikebana shop.

Back by popular demand!  :-)  The postage stamp (yes, they're real stamps!) gift tags are free with any purchase, while supply lasts.  

We get a lot of postage stamps from Japan through the year and so we collect them and make them into little gift tags for you!

Thank you for shopping with us!

Manga Envelopes - Free!

Added on by the ikebana shop.

We found ourselves with a bunch of old manga books.  Discarded.  Nobody wanted them anymore.  They had one foot in the recycling bin already.

Mottainai -- that was the first thought that came to our minds.  Mottainai is a Japanese word that expresses that feeling of regret when things are wasted.   So, we thought of another idea.  With a bit of cutting and pasting, we turned them into little envelopes!

They're perfect as a "gift wrap" for small items...especially for our little anime mascots!  

...and we have lots of them!

The manga envelopes are FREE with any small item purchase....while supply lasts!

New Scrunchies

Added on by the ikebana shop.

We've spent the long Labour Day weekend making new scrunchies!

Each scruchie is lovingly hand-made in-house using fabric and elastics from Japan.

Did you know that the Japanese name for scrunchie is "shu-shu"?  It derives from the French  chouchou., which could mean a teacher's pet, or ... a scrunchie!

Come by the shop and check out some of the new patterns!  Click here to shop online.

Cold Brew Sencha Green Tea

Added on by the ikebana shop.

In the heat of the summer, sometimes we just prefer a cold cup of tea.  So we tried cold-brewing some sencha green tea.  It's really easy.  It's basically just putting the tea in cold water and letting it sit in your refrigerator overnight!

We used 3 tablespoons (that's like 6 scoops of the wooden spoon you see in the photo) of sencha green tea leaves and 2 litres of water.  We used a large teabag so that it doesn't get messy in the pitcher later. 

The teabag has a flap that you can fold over so that the contents don't spill out later.  (They're good to use for spices in your soup or stew as well!)

Then we added water into the pitcher and left it in the refrigerator overnight (about 8 hours).  Unlike when brewing green tea with hot water where steeping time is important, you don't need to worry too much about an extra hour or so!  There is no precise recipe for a cold brew. :-)

One sleep later...volia!  

Extra tip: Using a pair of chopsticks, shake the teabag up a bit to release more flavour and colour!

The flavour of cold-brewed sencha green tea is a bit subtler and smoother.   Cold-brewing also results in less caffeine in your tea.  Very refreshing for hot days!

You can use gyokuro tea leaves too!

By the way, if you are wondering where you can get those teabags... We have them right here at the shop! :-)   Or purchase online here.

We also have premium grade Japanese green tea, of course!

Introducing The Resin Kenzan

Added on by the ikebana shop.

The kenzan of the 21st century is here!  Introducing the resin kenzan!

Hyperbole aside, this is a revolutionary kenzan.  The pins are brass but the base is made of a hard polyester resin.  It will take the usual heavy branches that a regular kenzan would.  It is translucent, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible.  It contains no lead; therefore, it is quite lightweight.

So how does it stay stable?  It works with another revolutionary product, the double-suction kenzan mat!

The mat is made of silicone resin.  There are suction cups on both sides of the mat.  One side adheres to the container while the other side holds the kenzan steady.  It may look like a soap holder, but the suction quality is infinitely better.  The kenzan will stay in place!

The mat is available in two colours: black and clear.  Choose according to the colour of your container.

The black mat disappears in a black container.

The clear mat disappears in a white container...

...and it looks good in other colours as well.

Of course, you can also use it with the traditional kenzan.  The weight of the steel kenzan plus the suction cups will increase the stability.  It is the ultimate kenzan mat!

Whether you use it with traditional or resin kenzan, the mat will keep the kenzan solidly (but within limits of course!) in place.  To all of you who know the difficulty of moving a moribana arrangement, this now becomes easier to do!

Extra bonus: you can use these mats in the kitchen too.  Use it as a base for your mixing bowl while you're whipping up some cream, for example!  :-)

 

Made in Japan.

The resin kenzan and double-suction mats are available for purchase at our online shop.  Or, please visit the bricks-and-mortar shop to see the real thing!

Works By Heather Midori Yamada

Added on by the ikebana shop.

We are very happy to have here at the shop some works by Montreal-based artist, Heather Midori Yamada.

(Dimensions: 21 x 28 cm.)

Her work uses different textures and abstract shapes, employing among others, washi Japanese paper.  All the swatches of paper you see here have been painstakingly dyed by Heather herself.

(Dimesnions: 10 x 26 cm. each)

We can also see elements of shodo Japanese calligraphy.

(Dimensions: 21.5 x 28 cm.)

Heather's art exudes spontaneity and openness that pique our contemplative side.

(Dimensions: 13 x 21 cm.)

Artist profile taken from Heather's website:
Heather Midori Yamada is a Montreal visual artist and teacher who works with Japanese washi papers in paintings, collage and installations. Having begun in Toronto`s Open Studio during the 1980`s Heather primarily used washi papers in monotypes. These works explored  natural plants as imagery and actual plants imprinted.  These washi, etched &  embossed, monotype-print constructions were often marouflaged onto western paper supports. The work evolved into mixed media and collage paintings. 

Available for sale at the shop.