What's in your handbag?

I've always loved these sorts of 'whats in your handbag' projects! So how could I possibly say no when lovely Libby interviewed me about the contents of my bag over at her blog Pinkshirts and Carwrecks.


My latest hangbag is a multicoloured leather retro piece I picked up for ¥1000 the first week of living in Tokyo. It came from a cute little second hand furniture shop on the Daizawa side of Shimokitazawa.

1. I have a love hate relationship with this little furigana Japanese dictionary! Since recently moving to Tokyo three months ago I’ve been madly trying to dust up on my very average Japanese language skills. I carry this dictionary, as well as a small army of flash cards around with me everyday.

2 . Cute little woven pencil case I bought from Sou in Shimokitazawa a few years ago.

3. It’s impossible to have a neat blunt fringe without regular use of one of these.

4. Japan is THE city of points cards. If I get just one more I think my purse will break open! My favourite is this cute tiffany blue Okadaya fabric shop points card. It looks so cute along with my Pantone 107.3 coloured passmo and my lilac Shinsei bank card! I may, or may not position these three cards in a row just because they look pretty!

5. My oldie but a goodie Tsumori Chisato wallet. I love Tsumori!!!

6. The key to my heart! Ha ha! Well it’s the key to my turquoise mamachari bike which I love riding around Tokyo on!

7. It’s so inspiring in Tokyo. Everyday I see something new and interesting to me. I record things on a daily basis in this little notebook.

8. Atrix handcream - an essential handbag item!

9. I have a bit of a name for myself as being a coral lippie lover! This lipstick was bought for me as a ‘farewell to Tokyo’ present from my dear friend Richard Waller (editor of Inside Out magazine). I couldn’t have picked a better coral for myself! He is truly amazing!

10. LoFT! My favourite place in the world! Stationery, homewares, kitchenware, luggage goods, everything you could want! No trip to Shibuya is complete without popping into LoFT!

11. My cute pink Holga! I love this little camera! She comes all around Tokyo with me!

12. Mintia Japanese mints. Katsu-curry? No problems!

13. Free Tissues! Oooo it makes me so happy when I get handed a packet of free promotional tissues from one of the people manning the station exits. Usually they ignore me as I am a foreigner and they know I can’t read the Japanese advertising on the tissues. But hey – gaijins (foreigners) have noses too you know!

14. Pantone Pastel Colour Formula Guide. I can’t go anywhere without this. Whether I am picking out fabrics in Nippori or selecting coloured paper in Tokyu Hands…life is easier with this formula guide. It was a gift from my lovely VOGUE Living Art Director!

15. Dear iphone4, where would I be without you? I’d be lost, bored and lonely, that’s where! Thank you for making my life in Tokyo so much more enjoyable! Love Love, Hello Sandwich xoxo

16. You're not truly Japanese until you daintily pull out one of these from your Marc Jacobs handbag to pat your cheeks dry every now and then. Extra Japanese bonus points for drying your hands with them after a visit to a LoFT bathroom.

17. My tri-coloured heart Luella sunnies. The front is baby pink, one arm is cream and the other black. http://hellosandwich.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-love-you-luella.html

18. My can’t-go-anywhere-without Louis Vuitton keys holder and diary. There is something just so lovely about writing appointments in this diary.




I also love Jason Travis' 'Persona' project where he snaps people along with the contents of their handbags.

Hello Sandwich in Japanese 'GIRLS ZINE' book!

Sandwiches! Weee I am finally allowed to announce that I was lucky enough to be one of four zine makers interviewed in this brand new Japanese Girls Zine book on sale September 27th!

Girls Zine is published by amazing Japanese book publishers BNN. BNN was founded in Tokyo in 1985 and since then they have published more than a thousand books and magazines specialising in graphic design. I was so thrilled when they asked me to be part of this project because I had been collecting many of their design, craft and pattern books for years! I bought this inspiring 'Handmade Graphics' book just a few days before I was asked to be in the Girls Zine book! Actually when I received the email I was jumping up and down around my mini-me apartment!

Zines are reasonably new here in Tokyo, and Girls Zine is the first Japanese book exploring this exciting medium. I am yet to receive my advance copies of the book but I hear that book includes interviews with zine stockists and zine creators as well as other interesting information about the world of zines!

The photoshoot at my apartment was such fun and the editorial team are perhaps the most lovely people you will ever meet. I felt terrible though because I didn't have four spare pairs of guest slippers for the team to wear inside my apartment!

Thank you lovely BNN for including me!

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

Hello Sandwich Wrapping

Hello Sandwiches.
I hope you had a lovely weekend.
Here is a little sneak preview of a project I've been working on lately!
xoxo

P.S. This song is by cute Japanese band Capsule.

Tokyo Textiles

It's so super hot here in Tokyo that an essential handbag must-have is a cut little handkerchief. You're not truly Japanese until you daintily pull out one of these from your Marc Jacobs handbag to pat your cheeks dry every now and then. Extra Japanese bonus points for drying your hands with them after a visit to a LoFT bathroom. I'm still yet to master the dainty Japanese style, but I do my best to stock up on cute new handkerchiefs every now and then. I bought these Vivienne Westwood ones from Kichijoji OI yesterday.
Aren't the textile prints pretty?


Speaking of textiles...I've become a little obsessed with fabric shopping of late. Last week I took two trips out to Nippori fabric town stopping at a few fabric shops in Shinjuku on the way. If you like fabrics you won't want to miss a trip out to Nippori. Before you visit, download the English map here. Tomato is my favourite Nippori fabric shop and they have quite a few branches there (one of which even has an entire floor filled with fabric costing just ¥100 per metre!) Oh My Goodness the fabric in Japan is amazing. They even have liberty floral print bias binding! And look at these oil cloth table cloths I picked up!







Naturally I've decided to take up sewing clothes for myself again and bought a little lemon floral sewing machine online last night. I think my first project will be to sew a cap-sleeve t-shirt from NaniIRO's mizutama fabric!



If you like craft and creating handmade things, it's dangerous to go shopping in Tokyo! It took all of my will to walk out of Tokyu hands without an enitre bookbinding kit the other day! I'd happily stay inside making craft everyday here in Tokyo...if only there wasn't so many other fabulous things to go and see.




When I'm not dreaming of craft activities I've been enjoying things like:

* Hearing things like 'calorie half' and 'price down' in my local supermarket.

* Drinking home made iced-lattes from ¥189 carton of iced coffee.

* Buying a weekly bunch of flowers in pretty pre-mixed bouquets. Think carnations, babies breath and daisies!

* Riding my mamachari to Setagaya-koen and drinking iced-tea.

* Giving presentations (in Japanese eeep) about my favourite Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugito to my Nihongo private sensei.

* Working on VOGUE Living layouts from my mini-me apartment.

* Going on searches in Harajuku for mexican food with my dear friend Gracie.

* Buying strange vegetables in the supermarket and needing to google recipes to cook them with.

* Exploring new to me areas like Asagaya with Hiki-chan.

* Wondering around Sangenjaya and Kichijoji taking photos of patterns.



Happy Friday Sandwiches! Hope you have a lovely creative weekend!

Love Love
Hello Sando
xoxo

Tokyo Flyers

When I used to work as Deputy Art Director for VOGUE Living, one of my favourite parts of my role was creating 'inspiration scrapbooks'. Actually, I'm pretty sure it wasn't exactly in my 'role' job description, but it was, for me, an important part of my layouts. My Art Director and I used to refer to these little scrapbooks often for inspiration. Oooo I miss flipping through those books over a 3pm cup of chai with my lovely Art Director.

There are so many beautiful flyers and free papers in Tokyo and yesterday I started a Tokyo version of my design inspiration scrapbooks. The design here is just incredible! The Japanese are just so clever and they just seem to get everything right. Here are a few favourites.

Mini Tokyo Apartment

Sandwiches, Hello!

I'm slowly getting settled in my mini-me Tokyo apartment! It's so lovely and sunny and I just love hanging out here. But I won't be completely satisfied until my super cute housewarming present arrives! I've been in love with these Confetti System Tassle Garlands since I can remember and after seeing them again recently at Third Drawer Down's Sydney Pop Up Shop (which also stocked my Tokyo Guides) I decided it would be a nice little Tokyo housewarming treat! I have ordered the multi colour one!












Aren't they gorgeous? It's like having your own Tanabata installation all year round!

xoxo

ゴミの日！

It's rubbish day in Tokyo today. It's possible that I'm going Tokyo mad but I quite like seeing the colourful stacks of gomi on my morning walk! All those little boxes tied neatly together. All those beer cans neatly separated.

I'm mad aren't I?

'Hi I'm Hello Sandwich and I take pictures of rubbish. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!'.


Don't worry, I took some other pics today too!

















So now it's 'Hi, I'm Hello Sandwich and I take pictures of rubbish and potted gardens. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!' Now that sounds heaps better!

Love Love
Hello Sando
xoxo


P.S. I can't wait till I get a fancy camera so I can take nice pictures like this.