Fukusa - Formal Gift Cover

Added on December 6, 2012 by the ikebana shop.

In old Japan, gift-giving was a ritual. A tradition of giving gifts covered with a finely embroidered square silk cloth became widespread during the Edo Period (1615-1867). This cloth is called fukusa. Formal gifts were often presented in a box with the fukusa draped over to conceal it. After being appropriately admired, the fukusa and box were returned to the giver whilst the gift was accepted. The choice of fukusa was important to reflect the formality of the occasion and the status of the gift-giver. Some fukusa have tassels so that they can be handled without touching the fabric.

If you've been to the shop lately, you would have seen a pair of fukusa adorning our walls! These days, they are rarely used (except maybe during weddings) but they can be beautiful additions to your home decor! The ones we have depict cranes and pine trees--auspicious symbols of longevity and good fortune.

Please drop by the shop and have a look!

(Note: The fukusa we describe above is different from the fukusa used in the tea ceremony.)

Free Postage Stamp Gift Tags

Added on December 4, 2012 by the ikebana shop.

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!

My Ikebana - Holiday Mass & Line

Added on December 1, 2012 by the ikebana shop.

When making a mass-and-line composition, my usual habit is to start with the mass and then work on the lines to add a certain flow and movement. Mass is "easy" to tackle first because it is static...almost stoic and uncomplaining while a line is more hard-to-please!

Anyway, with this work, I started in reverse and formed the lines first. The beautiful dogwood branches had much to offer. The vase I had chosen turned out to be too small so I ended up using the outside of the vase. Do you see the "star" amidst the dogwood branches? That was not intended! I noticed it only while putting the branches together.

The vase, by the way, is not a traditional ikebana vase. It is actually a candleholder! I liked the shape and the clear crystal reminded me of ice (and the cold of winter!) It went well with the shiny green of the oregonia and the deep red of the carnations.

I hope you enjoy this arrangement.

Miyako

Extra Shopping Days

Added on November 25, 2012 by the ikebana shop.

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!

Stocking Stuffer Discount

Added on November 23, 2012 by the ikebana shop.

Gift Of Grass

Added on November 21, 2012 by the ikebana shop.

A friend, knowing how we love all sorts of branches, dropped these off for us. They are great for tall arrangements! Thank you, Heather!

Does anybody know what they are called?

Our Sincere Apologies

Added on November 19, 2012 by the ikebana shop.

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.

Walnut Ornaments

Added on November 19, 2012 by the ikebana shop.

So we got a bag of walnuts...

...cracked them open, ate the nuts and hollowed out the shells. We touched up the edges a bit; then found some cute Christmassy fabric and ribbons.

And this is what we came up with!

Something different to hang on your Christmas tree this year!

Hand-made in Nova Scotia, Canada. Available at the shop or online. $1.50 CAD each (plus applicable sales taxes.)

Special Offer: Free Shipping

Added on November 16, 2012 by the ikebana shop.

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!

My Ikebana - Keeping It Natural

Added on November 16, 2012 by the ikebana shop.

Recently, I have been concentrating my ikebana studies doing "formative" creations. That is to say, the works were designed to form a certain shape that I had envisioned. I took apart leaves from branches and put them together again!

This time, after looking at the branches available, I decided that a "natural" style of arrangement would be better. I had 2 kinds of branches--alder and an unknown one with little black berries (Does anyone know?) and two kinds of mum--yellow cremon and green pom-pom.

I chose a wide suiban container because I wanted to show the height of the branches. First I put together the skeletal frame of branches. Next, where to put the flowers? I wanted to keep the focal point of the arrangement up top so that's where the flower went. At the same time, I showed a clean base (notice that the branches seem to sprout up from one origin as opposed to being all over the place) leaving it stark in order to further emphasize the top focal point. I removed all the leaves from the mums except for the 2 leaves of the cremon in front. By doing away with the leaves, the slender lines of the pom-pom mums could be clearly seen, adding flavour to the arrangement. Lastly, I created some space by adding that branch on the left. It helped give the arrangement a sense of motion... to prevent it from looking like it was only sitting idly on the vase!

I hope you enjoyed this arrangement.

Miyako

See more of Miyako's work here.