Collage Brass Bookmarks on Etsy

Three Paper Pigs collaborates with the lovely, witty and talented artist HubGirl to create a bookmark series in time for the holidays. This inspired line features my original collage art, which blends bold graphics and shots of color for a modern work with a decidedly vintage air.

The original art print is glazed into a brass setting soldered to a sturdy, heavy-duty 4" long paperclip. The back is carefully painted for a smooth finish. Please take a look at our collaborative bookmark series on Etsy.


















Jeanne - Three Paper Pigs

Indian fashion love

This past summer, my daughter was a flower girl in a Hindu wedding. She absolutely loved all the glittering sari in bright colors and bold patterns worn by the many women. She herself wore a sunflower yellow sari with sparkles.



In addition to the clothing is the equally dazzling jewelry—bracelets, earrings, necklaces, hair ornaments. My daughter loved her red and silver bangle bracelets.

I came across a company called Isharya that offers beautiful Indian inspired jewelry, filled with rich jewel tone colors, bold designs, and intricate craftsmanship. My favorite is this beautiful flower bracelet. It would be a perfect compliment for so many outfits, from jeans to dresses, and be a great signature piece for your wardrobe.

warmly,
denise of akemi designs

Asian inspired kitchen cabinets by Greentea Design

Twigs & Honey

Twigs & Honey hair accessories... in a dream world, I'd probably wear one everyday. These objects of hair art are designed by Oregon-based Myra Callan. Her line features headbands, veils, hats, belts and more. Organic and nature-inspired, each piece seems to tell a story of their own.









Enjoy Twigs & Honey collection and feast your eyes on the photograply.

(All photos are from Twigs & Honey website.)

:: Dai - Dear Monday

Chinese Characters, Popular Symbols

Today I was asked if I read Chinese characters. Alas, I do not. But as a jewelry designer, sometimes I use pendants that have Chinese characters and I thought it would be handy to have a resource for the most popular characters seen on charms, etc.

I found this selection of images from The Chinatown Connection, click on the link for more word translations.

Peggy

Corset Themed Original Collages on Etsy

I recently added four new corset-themed collages to my Etsy store. Feel free to convo me if you would like to see a specific themed collage. I am open to commission work. Enjoy!

"Dimension" Original Collage on Watercolor Paper
Etsy

"Living" Original Collage on Watercolor Paper
Etsy

"Chance" Original Collage on Watercolor Paper
Etsy

"Collaboration" Original Collage on Watercolor Paper
Etsy

Jeanne - Three Paper Pigs

Thu Tran: Food Party

I admit that I'm on Facebook way too much. I found a link to this awesomely campy video by visual artist Thu Tran. It's called Food Party. I couldn't stop watching. The crafted sets from cardboard reminds me of worlds I tried to create as a child with an excess amount of large cardboard boxes. The puppetry is simple and funny. The plots are ridiculous and hilarious. And the dialog is awkward (but in a good way). According to Tran on her website, "Food Party is a fake tv show that explores fun ways to prepare foods that are readily available to you. The show involves puppetry, cutlery, and fake mastery."

You gotta check it out!

Warmly,
denise of akemi designs

Antique and Contemporary Bathroom Vanities by Greentea Design

Joy by Mel Lim

As a stationery/greeting card designer, I appreciate fellow paper companies. One that comes to mind is Joy by Mel Lim. I've seen the company grow from more than just beautiful cards. They've become a life-style company offering home and fashion accessories, while practicing eco-friendly values in production. The following is a small sampling of what's in Joy by Mel Lim shop.

Embroidered ultrasuede pillows:


Lovely letterpress boxed set:


Limited edition wall art:


(All photos belong to Joy by Mel Lim)

Enjoy!
Dai - Dear Monday

China's Great Wall: The Forgotten Story

Photo Credit: Jonathan Ball

This photo exhibit, a collaboration between Jonathan Ball (who lives and works in Oakland, CA) and David Spindler, runs from Sept. 22nd through October 22nd at the 3A Gallery in San Francisco.

Featuring panoramic photos of China's iconic creation, this exhibit hopes to get past the tourist ideas of the wall and delve back into the history of the wall's creation. David Spindler is known as a "wall scholar".

For more information, visit their blog: China's Great Wall: The Forgotten Story and check out the exhibit!

Strapya World from Japan

It's so funny how we here at Asian Buzz do a gazillion monthly searches for the neatest or most interesting Asian-related product or business on the internet. I love reading what my fellow contributors find and I often visit the websites mentioned in the blog. Like many of you, I am still a kid at heart and love "kawaii" or cute desktop trinkets, dolls and containers. Sometimes I buy my daughter cute things so I share in the joy of using it too (no, I do not play with her dolls, but sometimes I use a container or two).

Do you ever find yourself looking through vending machines at the mall to find cell phone charms or other cute collectibles? I am happy and not ashamed to admit I was on a quest to find all the Winnie the Pooh cell phone charms. It's not that I am totally into Winnie the Pooh, it was the adorable presentation of the product itself. The cell phone charms were different series of Winnie the Pooh dressed in different outfits or costumes. On this note, check out this online store I discovered, Strapya, that retails cell phone straps, kawaii charms and Otaku gadgets. Too cute I tell you!




























All images from Strapya-World.com. Check them out!


Jeanne - Three Paper Pigs

New People

Soon after my last post about the J-Pop Summit last month, I decided to head over to Japantown with my daughter and check out the New People shopping center.

The building's entire facade is covered in glass giving it an airy feeling, perfect for San Francisco architecture where it's commonplace for buildings to be less than 1 inch apart from one another. Inside the lobby there is a cafe, manga art on the walls, and a white staircase that leads up to the shops.

New People is chock full of geeky gadgety goodness, kawaii cuteness, and anime awesomeness.

They have beautiful colored pencils and a pen that I would love to own if I had a larger budget to spend on fancy office supplies.


There is a store dedicated to Gothic Lolita style fashions, which involves a lot of pink, red, black, and lace.


There is also a Harajuku store complete with fantastic accessories of bright colors to complement any outfit. My daughter particularly loved the carousel display. And all the hair bows.


The gallery wasn't open when I went and I haven't watched any of the films at the New People building yet, so that's more than enough incentive to make another visit back.

More of my photos can be found here.
See photos from other flickr members here.

warmly,
denise of akemi designs

TV Stands by Greentea Design

Ponyo

Ponyo is a wonderful new film just released in the US by award-winning Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki. You may be familiar with his work already for films like Howl's Moving Castle or Spirited Away. Miyazaki is known for hand-drawing storyboards for his films, as well as his themes of man vs nature and technology. He often has strong female characters as the leads.

Ponyo was inspired by the story of The Little Mermaid and centers around the story of a goldfish girl who falls in love with a human boy and wants to become human. When she defies her father and goes on land, nature is thrown out of balance. The story reflects on so many aspects of human nature, from innocence to love to family and aging, and what it means to be "human." Best of all, the animation is whimsical and beautiful. If you love the Blue Planet documentaries, you'll be thrilled with the imagination of Miyazaki and his interpretation of undersea life.

While a little less dramatically satisfying at the end than some of his other movies, Ponyo is still delightful and appropriate for the whole family to see. It's a movie about the joys of being in love and being human, and that there is nothing wrong with either.

Read more about Miyazaki at Wikipedia.

Peggy
Peggy Li Creations
http://www.peggyli.com

TokyoToys

Oh joy! I came across TokyoToys.com while searching for some cute Japanese dolls. They are an online shop, based in England, carrying a huge range of anime merchandise.

There are so many cool things, I didn't even know where to look first. It seems like they have everything related to anime, from books to costumes, from accessories to um... snacks. :) Perhaps the best way to look for something is using the search box.

Below are some beautiful dolls that led me to find TokyoToys:







If you're lucky enough to be passing by London, they do have a retail store.
(All images above are from TokyoToys.com)

Thank you for reading!
Dai - Dear Monday

Sticky "Chinese" Chicken Recipe

I think I got this recipe from a Family Circle magazine. I really can't remember but its someone trying to copy their favorite dish from the local Chinese restaurant. Crab puffs mystify me, I mean really Chinese don't really like milk never mind cream cheese. This is an easy and quick recipe!

Sticky "Chinese" Chicken

Makes: 6 servings, Prep: 15 min, Refrigerate: 30 min, Cook: 20 to 25 min

1 C finely crushed onion & garlic flavored croutons

1/4 C cornstarch

2 T light soy sauce

2lb of boneless chicken thigh cut into 1" pieces

1/4 C canola oil

1. In a large bowl, whisk croutons & cornstarch. Stir in soy sauce. Add chicken and toss until completely coated. Cover; refrigerate for at least 30 min.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook, covered, for 20 to 25 min until nice and crispy and cooked through. Turn 4 or 5 times during cooking to avoid burning. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with additional soy sauce, chopped scallions, cooked rice and steamed sugar snaps, if desired.

Enjoy!

Lilie - A Planet 4 Creation

Kimono Fabric Accessories on Etsy!

Here are some kimono fabric accessories sold by various creatively talented crafters on Etsy. How colorful, wearable and Asian!

Sweet Japanese Kimono Girls - Fabric Button Ponytail Holders
by SweetFairyBoutique

Stars - Kanzashi Hair Clips
by TheaStarr

Kimono Silk - Button Ring

by TigerLillyShop

Vintage Kimono Fabric Belt

by RunAMok

Obi Belt in Vintage Kimono Fabrics

by Aramaa

Valerie Cap Style Hat in Japanese Kimono Fabric

by PandemoniumHats

I highly encourage you to do a search on Etsy for "kimono fabric accessories," for what I have included in this write up is only a hint of what is listed on Etsy!

All images and descriptions from Etsy.com.

Jeanne - Three Paper Pigs

J-Pop Summit, San Francisco

This past Saturday marked a beginning of a new era for San Francisco's Japantown. Over the past few years, it seems that J-town here has become a bit dilapidated and often forgotten by many. But Saturday was the J-Pop Summit, culminating with the much-anticipated opening of the new, slick 20,000 square foot shopping center called New People, creating a stir of fresh air with new focuses on Manga, fashion, film, delicious food (including local coffee favorite Blue Bottle) and art.

I was unable to go to the grand opening of New People nor experience J-Pop Summit due to my daughter being ill, but from everyone I spoke to, it was nothing less than fabulous and exciting. From my 70-something year old great-uncle to my 20-something year old friend, a good time was had by all. I plan to make it there as soon as I can and will report back with a personal account.

So be sure to stop by Japantown on your next visit to San Francisco. And if you're a local, make sure to check it out ASAP and experience the coolness of Japanese Pop Culture.

In the meantime, more interesting reads can be found here:
mtviggy.com
SFgate

Experience it!
NEW PEOPLE
1746 Post St.
San Francisco, CA 94115


warmly,
denise of akemi designs

Japanese furniture by Greentea Design

Recycled & with a new purpose

It's that time of year where almost everyone is buying back-to-school supplies. I've noticed some big-box retailers offer products made from recycled juice pouches, plastics and what not. So I decided to check out what our crafty friends are offering on Etsy.

I found some notebooks offered by Ivy Lane Designs using some discarded packaging.
Japanese beer notebook:

Hopefully you won't get too hungry looking at this in class:



Here are some journals made from Ex Libris Anonymous made with recycled hardcover books.


So cute, Little Red Riding Hood:



(Top 2 photos belong to Ivy Lane Designs & bottom 2 photos belong to Ex Libris Anonymous)

Enjoy!
Dai - Dear Monday

Curry Plum Gifts from Asia

Cute website Curryplum.com aggregates Asian inspired and made-in-Asia gifts, housewares, jewelry and more from countries like India, Japan, Korea, China and Thailand.. Their selections send you to a different website to make your purchase.

From cookbooks to shoji screens to current Asian fashion, Curryplum.com is a one-stop shopping place for Asian goods on the web.

Peggy
Handmade jewelry by Peggy Li

Mixed Media Collages for Sale on Etsy!

I have a fine arts background and took courses in screenprint, lithography, woodblock print, painting, photography, ceramics and art history. You would think I would be chiseling monumental forms out of stone by now. Instead, through the inspiration of Randel Plowman, a fellow artist in Kentucky, I have embarked on resurrecting a lost form of art from my past. My small, mixed-media collages are now for sale on Etsy:

5" x 5" Eyes Wide Original Collage on Watercolor Paper

5" x 5" Regrowth Original Collage on Watercolor Paper

5" x 5" Curiosity Kills Original Collage on Watercolor Paper

5" x 5" Maybe Original Collage on Watercolor Paper

5" x 5" Three Original Collage on Watercolor Paper

5" x 5" Because Original Collage on Watercolor Paper

5" x 5" Numbers Original Collage on Watercolor Paper

5" x 5" Whole Original Collage on Watercolor Paper

5" x 5" Blue Mood Original Collage on Watercolor Paper

5" x 5" Tweet Tweet Original Collage on Watercolor Paper

5" x 5" Don't Trust the Clown Original Collage on Watercolor Paper

All work © copyright 2009 by Jeanne Yee

Jeanne - Three Paper Pigs

WWII and the Japanese experience

WWII for the Japanese and Japanese-Americans have always interested me since I had family both here in the US as well as in Japan during the 40's. My mom's family was interned here in the states, my dad's family was in Japan. It's still a painful topic for some of my older relatives to talk about, although many of them will mention it in passing every once in a while. Here's a photo of my maternal grandparents and their two oldest kids in front of a barrack at Tule Lake internment camp in 1945. They managed to hold on to some joy while there.



A couple recent articles came forth that are worth reading. One is about the University of California granting honorary degrees to those students who had been interned and thus robbed of finishing their education.
Read article.

The other is about noted Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake and his recent account of his experience of the Atom Bomb as a 7 year old child. It's vivid, poignant and sad, but important for everyone not to forget the tragedies and horrors of war that people can do to other people, and more importantly, that we all have a moral responsibility to strive for peace.
Read Miyake's article.

warmly,
denise of akemi designs