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Tag Archives: Japan

I Still Need REAL Books…

16 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by Joanna in Random Stuff, Sydney

≈ 20 Comments

Tags

Abraham Lincoln, Art Books, Bookstore, Design Books, E-book, eReader, Foreign Language Books, Groucho Marx, IPad, Japan, Kinokuniya, New South Wales, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney

The Size of Books(Image from toothpastefor dinner.com)

The Size of Books
(Image from toothpastefordinner.com)

The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who’ll get me a book I ain’t read. (Abraham Lincoln)

I like to think I’m a modern, forward thinking kind of girl (at least for a Gen’ Xer, anyway). In some circles, I could even be considered an ‘early adopter’ of some technology. For instance, I was one of the first among my friends to get an iPad. I loved it. Now, I have graduated to an iPad mini – and I love it even more.

I’m a bit of a reader, and I have quite a few eBooks. I just counted them for you – 404 as at the time of writing! I even surprised myself! 

Anyhoo. The point I’m getting to is that as much as I love my eReader, sometimes I need a real book. Not a soft copy. I love my eReader for fiction. I particularly love it when I’m travelling because real books are heavy and take up a lot of room. And, because I have been known to chew through a book a day when I’m on a serious reading bent.

But still, sometimes, I need a real book. I ALWAYS buy cookbooks in real book form. And, I’m starting to think I shall now do the same with all my non-fiction reading. Sometimes, especially with non-fiction, I want to flick back and forward. I want to spend time on specific information. I want to refer back to things I may have read earlier. At these times, a real book is the answer.

Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read. (Groucho Marx*)

Today, I was in need of a specific real book**. And, for me, the first port of call in Sydney for a real book is the most fabulous Kinokuniya.

Kinokuniya 1

Kinokuniya Sydney(Images by TSL)

Kinokuniya Sydney
(Images by TSL)

Kinokuniya is the largest bookstore chain in Japan with over 80 stores worldwide.

Kinokuniya Sydney offers a huge range of books with over 300,000 titles in English, Japanese, Chinese, French and German. So, it’s great if you’re visiting Sydney and need a wee something to read in your language of choice!

Located in the heart of Sydney CBD, Kinokuniya stocks an extensive collection of Manga, graphic novels, art and design books, cookbooks, travel books and children’s literature. I reckon it is the place to come for art and design books.

You can find Kinokuniya at Level 2, The Galeries, 500 George Street (opposite the QVB), Sydney NSW 2000.

*eReaders clearly had not been invented at the time of Groucho’s quote!

**as it happens, my book was out of stock, but the very helpful man at the information desk sorted me out.

Swash of London is Pretty Swish…

13 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by Joanna in Design, Fashion

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Accessories, Colette, Cornwall, England, Fashion, Hyères, Japan, Liberty, London, Net A Porter, Penzance, Sarah Swash, Scarves, Shopping, silk scarf, style, Swash, Toshio Yamanaka

Dog Printed iPhone 4 Case by Swash

Dog Printed iPhone 4 Case by Swash
£38 from Net-A-Porter

It has, by my rough calculation, been far too long since my last scarf post…

Today I bring you the extremely talented duo from Swash, Sarah Swash and Toshio Yamanaka. The pair are known for their signature hand-drawn and painted artworks.

Like so many creative types I admire, Sarah and Toshio met at Central Saint Martins, then spent time in Sarah’s hometown of Penzance, Cornwall before working in Toshio’s home of Japan for a year. The brand emerged after they won the prestigious Hyères prize in 2004. They were later invited back to exhibit 100 framed drawings, a scarf retrospective and 3D sculptural installation.

Another important landmark in the partnership came in 2005 when Swash acquired their beautiful whippet Candy, who quickly became an inspirational talisman and recurring motif in their designs – clearly, a design team with impeccable taste!

Candy the Whippet

Candy, the Whippet
Part of the Cinerous Forest printed silk scarf
£229.17 from Net-A-Porter

Today they are based in East London. See what you think…

The Cinerous Forest printed silk scarf by Swash

The Cinerous Forest printed silk scarf by Swash
£229.17 from Net-A-Porter

Midnight Heligan printed silk scarf by Swash

Midnight Heligan printed silk scarf by Swash
£229 from Net-A-Porter

Heliotrope Snaffle wool, cashmere and silk-blend scarf by Swash

Heliotrope Snaffle wool, cashmere and silk-blend scarf by Swash
£321 from Net-A-Porter (yes – that’s £321!!!)

Chronometers wool-blend voile scarf by Swash

Chronometers wool-blend voile scarf by Swash
£321 from Net-A-Porter (No – it didn’t get any cheaper the 2nd time around…)

Conveniently, Colette in Paris and Liberty of London both stock Swash scarves. Of course, after picking up one of their gorgeous wool-blend babies, I won’t be able to afford much else, but hey – what’s a girl to do…?

Swash have a pretty swish website. You can check it out here.

Hirotoshi Ito’s Stonework is a Pleasure of Paradox

28 Monday May 2012

Posted by Joanna in Art

≈ 24 Comments

Tags

Art, Arts, Clever Art, Hirotoshi Itoh, Humour, Japan, Japanese Artist, Jiyuseki, Optical illusion, Sculpture, Stone, Travel, Trompe L'oeil, Visual Arts

3 Laughing Stones by Hirotoshi Ito

Three Laughing Stones by Hirotoshi Ito
(Image © Jiyuseki)

Some things I love – trompe l’oeil, clever art and design that makes me smile, a sense of fun, originality, optical illusions, wondering “How do they do that?”… So, when I find an artist who achieves all of this with his art, I am totally captivated.

Let me introduce you to the incredibly clever world of Japanese artist and stonemason, Hirotoshi Ito. He carves sculpture out of stone. But, not just any sculpture. His work utilises the natural shape of the river stones he works with, and he then imbues them with his unique kind of warmth and humour. The result is both clever and enchanting.

I love all his work. Perhaps I’m leaning towards the plush stone being my favourite… What do you think?

Laughing Stone by Hirotoshi Ito

Laughing Stone by Hirotoshi Ito
(Image © Jiyuseki)

Peel by Hirotoshi Ito

Peel by Hirotoshi Ito
(Image © Jiyuseki)

Metal Age by Hirotoshi Ito

Metal Age by Hirotoshi Ito
(Image © Jiyuseki)

Cooking Stone by Hirotoshi Ito

Cooking Stone by Hirotoshi Ito
(Image © Jiyuseki)

Stone Coin Purse by Hirotoshi Ito

Stone Coin Purse by Hirotoshi Ito
(Image © Jiyuseki)

Plush Stone by Hirotoshi Ito

Plush Stone by Hirotoshi Ito
(Image © Jiyuseki)

Shirt of Autumn by Hirotoshi Ito

Shirt of Autumn by Hirotoshi Ito
(Image © Jiyuseki)

While scratching my head and wondering, “How does he do that?”, I am seriously lusting after a piece of stone sculpture made Hirotoshi Ito. Sadly, I don’t think I will get to Gallery Jiyuseki in Nagano, Japan any time soon.

If you’d like to see some more examples of his work, check out his website here. Amazing.

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