It’s that time again in our little corner of the world… time to vote for your favorite businesses in Ventura County! I know that many of you are not local, but we’d certainly appreciate your vote for superbuzzy as the best Arts & Crafts shop! For many years past, mega chain stores like JoAnn’s and Michael’s have been the winners for the category. Well, JoAnn’s has gone out of business and left Ventura, and we would sure love to see a locally owned business as the winner!
So, whether you live in Ventura or have never been here before, we’d love to receive your vote for the best Arts & Crafts shop!
Because I think I must be trying to set a record! I’m in Japan this week, meeting with manufacturers to see all the new lines. Given the orders I placed in Minneapolis 2 weeks ago, and the orders I’m placing this week in Japan, August and September ought to be very interesting!
I spent yesterday (Tuesday) morning at the Kokka showroom, seeing all the new goodies they have to offer (yes, new even since Minneapolis - they never stop cranking out great stuff!).
I’ve uploaded a bunch of pics from the showroom to Flickr. It was particularly fun to see the new Echino nylon fabric. They are showing it to cover umbrellas, but I’m really excited about using it for eco-bags and maybe shower curtains?
I’ve been eating exceedingly well - Osaka is particularly well known for it’s fantastic food - and the jetlag doesn’t seem to be getting the best of me yet. (It will probably really hit me when I get home!) Today will be even busier, with at least 4 major showrooms to visit. I’m on the hunt for great holiday fabrics, a new line of modern Japanese prints, new laminated options, and, of course, all things cute and unusual! I’ll see if I can get some more pics uploaded tonight or tomorrow morning.
Seems as if the wait has been long, but perhaps I’m just a tad bit impatient? As I leave for Japan Saturday morning, I can’t help thinking of today’s huge shipment as a going away present! I’m thrilled to say that Heather Ross’ third design for Kokka of Japan, and the second “chapter” of Far Far Away, has arrived and is in the shop!
This new collection is a companion to Heather’s first Far Far Away line, but, rather than being printed on double gauze, this collection is printed on an 80% cotton/20% linen blend. This weight is much like our Echino cotton/linen blend, and it is fantastic for garment sewing, zakka, and accessories galore. I’ll let the wonderful prints and colorways speak for themselves… this is Heather’s vision for the design palettes:
the aqua color story
the meadow color story
the plum color story
I feel as if I can now rest a bit easier, knowing that these lovely fairy tale stories can finally go to new homes where they will be loved and made into fantastic things! May the sewing fairies and gnomes be with you!
For fans of superbuzzy fabrics (of which I consider myself to be #1!), it’s no surprise to hear that the prints are special and fun, with a unique design aesthetic that only recently seems to be appearing here and there on fabric designed outside Japan. But the “unique-ness” applies not only to the prints themselves, but also in the functionality of the fabrics - whether that functionality comes from a particular quality of the raw material (e.g., double gauze, seersucker, etc.) or from the print itself.
Here at superbuzzy, we’re seeing more and more innovation in how a print can be used to achieve a fantastic (and quick!) finished project. Sure, you’ve seen fabric panels at your local fabric store that can be used to make fabric books for little tykes, aprons, tote bags, and holiday-themed patchwork projects, but we think that these “All-In-One” prints (as we’ve nicknamed them) arriving from Japan take this utility to the proverbial next level.
After all, where else to you find a fabric featuring a cohesive theme printed at 3 different scales, complete with 2 coordinating prints, an integrated stripe to be used as trim, and another integrated stripe to use to create custom labels to sew into your finished project? These All-In-One prints are specifically designed to be used for kid’s projects: lunch bags, mini tote bags, placemats, oshibori (personal wash cloth), art smocks, and anything else your imagination can dream up!
My challenge is to successfully describe these prints and explain how to use them so that all of you understand the beauty of what you’re getting! Thankfully, I discovered a fantastic photo spread in the 2010 Winter & Early Spring issue of Cucito magazine (have I mentioned what a wonderful publication this is?!?) that shows finished projects using these prints, as well as step by step instructions to make the items shown. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, no? So, here are some examples of the ways you can use these fun prints.
Are you ready to stitch something up using these great prints? If you do, please share your finished results in our superbuzzy Flickr group!
The May/June 2010 issue of Crochet Today magazine features a fun crocheted purse pattern with cute flower bag handles from… you guessed it! superbuzzy!
Although we didn’t hear about the feature until after it hit the shelves, we certainly saw the response from our great customers! It’s no secret that bag handles from Japan are superior in quality and come in designs and colors unlike anything readily available in the United States. And, the really exciting news is that we just received a shipment of new handle designs in whimsical polka dots and tailored plaids!
These particular handles are made of a high-quality faux leather, but we also stock leather and poured resin handles in a variety of colors and styles. Not only are these perfect to finish your knitted and crocheted bags, but they are also the perfect accent to a sewn bag.
Looking for bag ideas? Have you seen the growing collection of Echino bag patterns? Many of these call for fabric or webbing for the straps and handles, but the faux leather handles could easily be subsituted in some of the designs.
Yippee! This spring, designer Etsuko Furuya is releasing her latest line of Echino within the Ni-co series - a series based less on nature, and more on technology and transportation (think her scooter, plane, and car prints from past years). Take a look below for a sneak peek! Rest assured, superbuzzy will stock the entire line, and we’ll let you know as soon as it’s here!
Wow! We had such great first day at the Renegade Holiday Sale here in San Francisco. So, for all of you Bay Area, East Bay, South Bay, etc. folks who haven’t come down to Fort Mason yet, you *need* to come by today! You wouldn’t believe how much cool stuff there is - a definite one-stop shopping mecca!
In our families, the stockings are always the first things to get torn into on Christmas morning, so I thought we’d start our Gift Guide series out with some fun stocking stuffer ideas!
Girls and boys at my daughter’s elementary school are obsessively collecting and trading Japanese erasers. These are fun, inexpensive, and small - perfect for stuffing into a stocking or advent calendar!
Re-ment miniatures are incredible! Not only can they be used in dollhouses, but they are also great as stand-alone imaginary play toys. State a fantastic scene with a doll or animal friends, host an elaborate tea party or meal, and stock that kitchen with every imaginable type of food and kitchen gadget!
Our stationery category is brimming with great stocking stuffers! Pick up a sweet stationery set to ensure you get sweet notes in the mail. Have you seen the adorable and tiny puzzle point markers? They are perfect to use as bookmarks, or mark pages in a magazine… Our new Rilakkuma scented pens are a great gift for the budding artist - get the full rainbow of colors!
Stay organized at home with unique Japanese magnets and clips. They’re perfect for keeping things handy on a magnetic board, or for keeping paperwork from getting scattered all about.
Have someone who loves the cutest hair accessories? In our Toys & Fun Stuff category you’ll find adorable barrettes and hair bands that add that extra bit of cute!
And, of course, for the crafter who needs a stocking filled, we have lots of smaller items that are the perfect fit! How about a ball or two of wonderful Japanese yarn, or a crafty kit for someone who’d like to learn a new craft, or even a sweet addition of some special buttons, adorable patches, and bits of trim for that person who loves to embellish!
I hope this has given you some fun stocking stuffer ideas! Stay tuned for more themed gift guides in the days to come.
Note: due to our holiday show schedule and our own family time, we will not be shipping orders placed December 18th-27th until the week of December 28th. So, please place your orders prior to December 18th if you need it sooner. Please contact us with any questions. Happy Holidays!
Wow… it’s been such a crazy (but fun!) week! The fall 2009 Echino collection arrived Monday afternoon, and we burned the midnight oil getting it all scanned and ready to go in the shop on Tuesday. Some of you were speedy and have already claimed your stake on the first few cuts, and I anticipate we’ll be cutting a lot of these new designs in the next week or two.
Why is that? Well, let’s just say that the designs are incredible, to say the least. Designer Etsuko Furuya has a remarkable creative vision, and I never fail to get excited about each new print. She obviously takes a great deal of inspiration from nature, but her designs go much further with their edgy (and sometimes psychedelic!) themes and stunning color combinations.
I was honored and excited to meet Etsuko san for the first time at Quilt Market this past October, and I found her to be wonderfully generous with her time and thoughts. She sat patiently while we oohhed and ahhed over the new line and quizzed her on everything we could think of. (After all, when might we have another opportunity like this?!?)
The new line is all printed on a wonderful 55% linen/45% cotton fabric. The beauty of this fabric is it’s versatility. It is heavy enough to use for bags, draperies, and light-use home dec projects, but is also lightweight enough to be perfect for garment sewing. Plus, that linen content gives the fabric a fantastic drape and weight that you won’t find in a 100% cotton fabric. I can’t wait to hear what you think of the new line, and to see what you stitch up!
As you may have noticed, we’ve also got loads of other new products filling our virtual shelves these days… from new fabrics to fun Shinzi Katoh items to holiday kits galore, chances are good there’s something here for everyone.
To make room for all the new goodies, we’ve added new items to our sale categories, and deepened discounts on others. This is a great opportunity to snatch up some great crafty goodness at an amazing price! With the holidays looming, now is the time to get supplies for handmade gifts, or to find unique gift items straight from Japan. We’ll be following up soon with some gift giving ideas, so let us know if there’s an idea you’d like to share!
