Hello Sandwich at the Sydney MCA Zine Fair

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Hello Sandwiches!

I've been packing up some of my 'It's Dots!' Original Wrapping Paper for for the Sydney MCA Zine Fair! You can use this paper as wrapping paper, to recycle plastic bags, to cover a book, or to make your own little collage zine!

Each pack contains 3 x A3 wrapping paper sheets and 3 x cookie shaped tag handmade by me this afternoon.

I wish I could come along to the fair! It's such a great event! Be sure to look out for Lee Tran Lam's new zine and zines by the gorgeous Yumi Takahashi!

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

The Craft Life

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This is a little story written by Kirsty Munro for Scout. Kirsty and I used to work together at VOGUE magazines when I was working on reception! Now, by coincidence, we both live in Tokyo!


The Craft Life

Ebony Bizys
An Australian in Tokyo

She’s crafty!

There are craft blogs, there are travel blogs, and then there’s “Hello Sandwich”. Like a burst of sunshine coming out of Tokyo’s cute Shimokitazawa neighbourhood, creator Ebony Bizys explains, “I started Hello Sandwich as a place to record all of the things that inspired me. It’s turned into a bit of a diary since then, recording my daily crafty life in Tokyo.”

The former Sydney-sider and Vogue Living Deputy Art Director moved to Tokyo a few years ago to follow her dream of creating in an inspiring environment. “Before moving to Tokyo I had been here 9 times on holidays!” she says. “I loved my job at Vogue Living, so it was a hard decision, but one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” Ebony was part of the Vogue family for years. We remember her as an art student and part-time receptionist about 10 years ago: ever-changing hair colours, amazing hats, one-off outfits…visiting designers would say “wow, who is that?” She describes her look as “a little bit retro, a little bit vintage, a little bit kawaii, polka dots and a place where pastels meet neon.”

That could also describe her recent craftwork. With a background in fine arts and graphic design, it’s surprising that she’s gone into craft, defiantly anti-slick and handmade. “There is nothing nicer and more meaningful than something handmade,” she says, adding that it’s both therapeutic and rewarding.

Part of the charm of Ebony’s blog is that in addition to showing us behind the scenes of her latest projects, she also takes us through the back streets on her “mamachari” - granny bike - with her trusty camera, to explore and discover. “The little homes, potted gardens, street signs, hidden cafes, tucked away shops always bring a smile to my face,” she says. She’s turned some of those discoveries into a very popular downloadable Tokyo guide, focusing on quirky, unique places that don’t make it into conventional travel guides. Her self-published craft-zines have become so popular, she’s now working with several publishers to make craft books in English and Japanese and she has a huge following amongst downtown Tokyo girls who flock to her monthly craft workshops. She’s also travelling
overseas to give presentations, hosting an exhibition at Shimokitazawa’s Commune Gallery and working on her next Hello Sandwich Tokyo Guide. Far from a life of leisurely ‘crafternoons’, Ebony’s life has become busier than ever.

Her work often features a mix of stripes, spots and retro motifs, so we asked her to choose…polka dots or stripes? “Absolutely polka dots!” Ebony will be in Melbourne in August as Artist in Residence at Harvest Workroom and she’ll host two craft workshops.


Thank you Kirsty for this lovely story. xoxo




Check out more stories over at Scout.

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

日本ホビーショー!

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Hello Sandwiches!

I have a few photos to show you from the last day of the Japan Hobby Show.

Every morning Motoko-chan and I met at the station, picked up our soy latte at the nearby Tullys and snuck in the Hobby Show side door with our booth holder passes. It was interesting to see the crowds waiting to enter the exhibition hall as they raised the roller doors each morning at 10am. This was accompanied by some serious morning-show-style music and an announcement which said something about 'please do not run'. Ha ha! These were some intense craft-loving crowds! (and by the way, they didn't listen to the 'do not run' warnings')

The last day of the Hobby Show went very well. We even snuck in an extra workshop for the company President! But all good things must come to an end and at 5pm we packed up for the last time. It was sad in a way as I really enjoyed working with a team again and saying 'お疲れ様’ to people rather than my computer - yeah I'm a bit strange aren't I?... Because I work from home I only get to say 'お疲れ様’ to my MacBook Pro when I shut down each day. Side note: I also say 'がんばって’to my rice when I shut the lid of my rice cooker. My dad was telling me recently that my mum apparently used to hold up the picture of the recipe to the food in the oven and told the uncooked food that "when you are cooked you should look like this"...runs in the family I guess ;)

Anyway...back to the Hobby Show.


At 5pm on the last day a sweet message came over the loud speaker and praised everyone for their hard work over the last three days. ”三日間お疲れ様です” Ah I love Japan! 

The de-install happened so quickly that it came as a shock to me. As I was running around taking photos of packing boxes with their little Japanese signs, rubbish on the floor arranged randomly in colourful combinations, and trying to capture photos of other random pack-up scenes, the de-install team were ripping down the Martha Stewart Booth at a pace I could not imagine. Here are a few pics of the process.


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Bye bye Martha Stewart stand. Hope to see you next year!

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It's just ゴミ but to me it's so beautiful, like a stage set. Or a 杉戸洋さん painting.

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日本ホビーショー!

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Before I knew it the Hobby Show was over, and I was off to a special art / food evening at Le lieu. On the way I spotted this lovely pattern design above a train station store.

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The incredible Miss Bisaiji-san was making お結び dinner sets that were more like artworks than food. They tasted amazing too! AND she served everything wearing sequin pants and with her perfectly shaped pink bowl hair cut.

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Upon arrival at the gallery we were presented with our お結び (rice ball) dinner set tickets. Two rice balls, soup and a assorted snack plate. The tickets were in a shape of one big rice ball triangle which then perforated off into smaller individial rice ball triangle tickets. I can't remember when dinner was this much fun, and this definitely brought a smile to my face after a days work!

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The AMAZINGLY presented first snack plate! Served with Yebisu beer of course!

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This lovely onigiri-head made us some lovely salmon and ume お結び!

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Chika-chan greeted guests in her usual graceful manner. Gahh she is sooo cute!

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Also on offer was sake with the best designed label ever. Why can't typography with English fonts be as fun?

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And finally back to the Chuo-sen on the way home after another great, only in Tokyo day!

I always feel soooo lucky to live here. I really never want to leave.

Happy Golden Week Japan Sandwiches!

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

First day of the Japan Hobby Show!

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We had such a great first day at the Japan Hobby Show today!

The two workshops were booked out in the morning and we ended up putting on an extra demonstrations for some of the many customers who asked about other workshops. The Martha Stewart products are soooooo にんき!

Everyone made such cute items in the workshop! みなさん、お疲れ様です!

If you're in Tokyo over the next two days please come along to the Japan Hobby Show and say hello!
There are so many cute booths there - although I didn't have time to look around much, but I spotted some neon textas that draw like crayons, patterned zippers, and a million different types of stamps and punches!

Better get to bed early so I'm ready to explore all of the booths after my workshops tomorrow.

Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo