Did we mention we liked cats?
We made these by hand. First, we shaped them and then let them dry.
Then we added some colour!
We mostly did it for the fun of it... Aren't they cute?
But they are also for sale at the shop.
$8.50 (Canadian dollars) each plus HST where applicable.
Hand-made in Nova Scotia, Canada.
(All photos by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
The Japanese believe that each person is bound to his/her soul mate by an invisible red string. No matter where they may be, soul mates will be brought together by the Red String of Fate (akai ito).
This pair of netsuke charms are made with beads of pure sandalwood. (You'll know by the fragrance of the wood!) The gold bell for her. The silver one for him. The bearers are entwined together by the Red String of Fate.
They come in a beautiful paulownia box.
Have you found a Valentine's gift for your soul mate yet?
Available for purchase. Click here.
(All photos by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
Recent windy days afforded me the opportunity to pick up interesting branches that fell from the trees around Halifax. Thank you to the snow for providing some cushion!
The dried moss gave an extra flavour to this branch. Using it together with a thick piece of driftwood, I found a strong framework for the arrangement.
The arrangement needed a bit of colour so I unobtrusively inserted a few stems of red roses.
Since last year, I find myself creating arrangements that are more artificially "sculptured" (as opposed to using the natural shapes of the plant material.) In this arrangement, I used the flowers not as "flowers" (i.e. not trying to show the beauty of the roses) but rather as a tool to add colour to the work.
I hope you like it! --Miyako
(All photos by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
The temperatures in Halifax are still mostly below zero but we thought we'd hurry spring up a bit by making our own cherry blossom branch!
It's not a real cherry tree branch. Probably maple.
We made the flowers using Japanese watermark tissue. It's very light, just like sakura petals. Looks delicate but actually the tissue is quite strong.
Each petal was hand-cut. The flowers were formed by rolling and twisting the petals together.
Then, the blooms were glued onto the branch!
It's hanging on our shop window. Please come and see. Hope you like it!
We have a selection of Japanese watermark tissues available at the shop. Perhaps for your next project? :-)
(Photos by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
As of today, Feb 4th, the Royal Canadian Mint will start phasing out the use of the penny. The coin will no longer be distributed. This means sooner or later, we are going to run out of pennies.
The penny is still legal tender and we will accept them indefinitely...so don't throw them away just yet! We still have a small stash of pennies left so we will be able to give exact change for cash transactions in the coming days. However, once we run out, we will not be able to get new supply from the bank and so we will adopt the rounding guidelines as recommended by the Government of Canada.
The total purchase amount, including HST, will be rounded up or down to the nearest 5-cent increment. This is applicable to cash payments only. Credit card and debit transactions will continue to be charged the exact amount as usual.
For more information: http://www.mint.ca/store/template/default/pennyinfo.html
(Photo and infographic by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
Searching for a little something for Valentine's Day?
Look what we came up with! We made boxes from card stock and covered them with various Japanese fabric.
The unique thing is how it opens.
Just twist!
Inside are ten different flavours of the yummy Truffini chocolate truffles! And when the chocolate is gone, you can re-use the box!
Box is hand-made in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Chocolate truffles are made in British Columbia, Canada.
$9.50 each (plus HST where applicable). Available at the shop or purchase online.
(Video and photos by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
If you see us mopping the floor...
Don't even hesitate. Just set your foot inside our door.
We prefer your company and a dirty floor,
To a clean but empty store.
:-)
(Photo & verse by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
I found myself with a lot of salal branches this week so I thought I'd make an arrangement featuring salal.
However, the salal leaves were quite big and would completely overpower the snapdragons that I planned to use. So I thought of a way to show only the salal branches. Remove the leaves!
Sometimes, by disassembling the material into its smaller parts, we discover some new characteristics.
Here is the finished arrangement.
I put the salal leaves together with the snapdragons and green hypericum so that people would know what kind of branches were used!
I also removed the budding tips of the snapdragons because I did not want to introduce another "line" element into the arrangement.
By the way, the flower container was made by our friend, Nova Scotia pottery artist, Mindy Moore.
The holes at the top came in very handy for this arrangement!
Hope you like it.
Miyako
(All photos by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
Kiri-e (切り絵) is the art of paper cutting to form an image. We made some cards using kiri-e style.
All are individually hand-cut using a sharp cutter knife and black cardstock.
We like cat themes! :-)
...and we try to be a bit playful!
Each one of course is one-of-a-kind. Hand-cut in-house right here in Nova Scotia, Canada.
The cards are blank inside and comes with an elegant liner and envelope.
Available for sale here at the shop. $5.00 CAD each (subject to HST where applicable.)
Here is a video we found that shows how to make kiri-e!
Nova Scotia pottery artist, Sally Ravindra calls them her "little fat cups".
These chubby cups measure only around 7~8 cm (about 3 inches) in height. Just right to fit in your espresso machine.
A hot cup of cappuccino or cocoa on these snowy days sounds very inviting. Enjoy your drink in the Little Fat Cups! :-)
Once you hold one in your hands, you won't want to put it down!
They are available for purchase at the shop or here. Hand-made in Nova Scotia, Canada.
(All photo credits by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)
