My Ikebana: Only Branches

Added on May 1, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

After a particularly strong snowstorm last winter, I picked up some branches that had fallen off a maple tree. I kept them until now.

Finally, long winter is over and we start to smell the earth, the grass and the trees again. The branches have started to flower!

For this arrangement, just the branches were enough. I decided to make isshu-ike (arrangement with one type of material only). No more flowers. And since the branches were quite thick, no kenzan either.

I did not have an appropriate container that could match the strength and heaviness of the branches. So I decided to use 4 containers. I used two of them simply to enlarge the space and showed only water.

Here is the whole arrangement. I had fun making this! Hope you like it. --Miyako

Our New Nageire Containers

Added on April 26, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

Lately, it has been getting more and more difficult to find nageire containers. So we thought we'd get some made for us...right here in Nova Scotia, Canada...a place abounding with pottery talent!

We gave our minimum specifications from the ikebana point of view and left the artist to play with everything else! We asked that the vases be thick enough to withstand the crossbar fixture. (Yes, we had broken a few vases in the past because the vase walls had not been able to withstand the pressure!) We also asked for grooves on the inside for better traction.

We left the artist free to choose the type of clay, glaze and texture...with beautiful results! Here are the first 6 pieces. Each vase is hand-made. Each vase is one-of-a-kind. Proudly made in Nova Scotia, Canada.

For more images and details, click on the individual image.

The Crafty Owl Workshop

Added on April 17, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

Many people have asked us about the little ornaments and other hand-made items we have on our shelves. So we thought we'd have a little workshop and share with you how we make one of our bestsellers--the owl on a branch!

If you know how to sew a little bit, then this workshop is for you! (No lesson on how to thread a needle!) We'd also need you to bring a few of your sewing needles. Join us! It's going to be fun! Contact us to register here.

April 26th (Fri) 10-12 in the morning at our studio.

My Ikebana: Pussywillow And Water

Added on April 10, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

I was so excited to find these long pussywillow branches that I did not even think to choose what kind of container to use. My mind simply started imagining what I could create with these branches.

The branches felt good in my hands. I bent, twisted and coaxed them to form different shapes and angles. I was playing and having a lot of fun! Before long, I had an objet in front of me.

Next, the container. The work turned out to be quite big so I decided to use a combination of two suiban containers. The pussywillow branches went to the first container. I did not want to cover the lines so I used very sparse flowers.

I used the second suiban to show water. I let some alstroemeria blossoms float to show a flow from one container to the other.

The image of hana-ikada was in my mind. (花筏 hana-ikada = literally "flower raft". This term is used to describe sakura petals that fall in a pond or river.)

Here is the full arrangement.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

Mahone Bay Ikebana Workshop

Added on April 8, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

We're visiting Mahone Bay (again!) :-) Join us for an ikebana workshop on April 28th, 1-3 p.m. at the Mahone Bay Centre.

20130428 MahoneBay workshop_edited-1.jpg

Click here to find out what our ikebana workshop is all about.

Needle Felt Turtles

Added on March 29, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

Maybe you've already seen them in the shop..these cute little turtles!

Before they became turtles, they looked like this.

We took the woolen roving and stuck the needles into them gazillons of times to compact them together into turtle shapes. The tiny eyes were the trickiest part!

Do you like how they turned out?

We even put them in their habitat! Just to make them feel more at home. :-)

Available at the shop. $8.50 each (plus HST). Made in Nova Scotia, Canada.

My Ikebana: Natural Style

Added on March 24, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

This time I made an arrangement in a more orthodox and natural style.

Last week, a customer came to the shop bringing a big branch. She said she had found it on the sidewalk. She knew I loved getting branches! It was that branch that I used for this arrangement. Thank you very much!

I used red carnations, white pom pom mums and a sprinkling of pine.

See the buds? The branches were holding out the promise of spring!

Here is the complete arrangement. I imagined it would be appropriate at an entrance lobby of a restaurant or ryokan (Japanese style inn).

We put it in our shop instead! :-) Sorry but we don't have a lot of space these days so it had to be together with some other things!

I hope you like it. --Miyako

Cute Cat And Dog Chocolate

Added on March 20, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

We teamed up with local Nova Scotia chocolatier, Brigitte Linder of Out The Box Chocolates and came up with these cuties.

Hand-crafted Swiss style chocolates. (But of course...Brigitte is from Switzerland!) They are 53% dark chocolate...just the way we like it. Not too bitter but not too sweet either. Plus, little spots of white chocolate...just to make them more interesting.

Aren't they just adorable? ^_^

We have cats...

...and dogs.

All individually wrapped. Perfect as a small gift!

All made exclusively for us! Can't buy this anywhere else!

Available at the shop. $2.50 each (plus HST).

My Ikebana: Pine Needles

Added on March 16, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

The back of our house has a lot of pine trees. The previous night's rainstorm gave me a gift of a fallen pine branch.

Back at the studio, I stood for a long time in front of the flower container shelves but found it difficult to choose a container. In the end, I decided not to use a container...rather, I re-discovered this piece of driftwood that had been set aside many months ago!

I also abandoned the idea of using the big pine branch. The needles had caught my eye.

I rearranged them to form a mass. I thought it'd be interesting to set it on the driftwood to look as if moss had started growing on it. Then, I added the pine twigs (already stripped of their needles) on to the end to show movement, giving the mass of needles a lighter tone.