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.

Mt Fuji Climb

Sandwiches! I climbed Mt Fuji! And here is my certificate to prove it.
I can't say it was exactly 'easy'... But it was certainly amazing.








I took off on Saturday morning armed with my oxygen can, Japanese map and strange jelly sports 'drink' and up the mountain I headed.


Oh my! The Japanese have the best outfits - the mountain was dotted with bright colourful specks of flammable tracksuits!





No one really tells you, but it's actually a teeny bit tough trekking up in the freezing cold. It also rained on my way up and silly sandwich didn't pack a rain coat. It wasn't long before I started spotting climbers who were either breathing out of oxygen tanks or feeling poorly.







This poor lady threw up a moment after I took this photo :( poor petal!



After four hours of climbing, it's time to rest over night. And the accommodation half way up isn't exactly 'luxury'! ha ha! I have never ever slept in something quite like this. A giant communal bed with pillows the size of laptops, and one giant sleeping bad cover. The beds were triple stacked too so it was, well, let's use the word 'cosy' shall we? ;) For your own comfort, I'll leave out the 'bio' style toilet information, and get on with the trek!






So after a few hours sleep in said communal style beds, it was now time (4am) to rise and shine to continue the trek up to the top of the mountain. Everything that you have been through is worth it for the very moment of seeing the sunrise above the clouds from Mt Fuji! It was AMAZING!





There is nothing quite like being 3700m high and viewing the sunrise!







The other climbers LOVED it too, and in true Japanese style, a million photos were taken by all! The sound was beautiful too, people 'oooooooo'-ing each time the sun peeked out through a cloud. It was a little foggy unfortunately, so probably not the clearest of views :(









After reaching the top, I bought a can of hot green tea to drink with my salmon breakfast bento. It's not everyday that you get to eat breakfast at 3700m high on Mt Fuji!

If you ever have the chance, climbing Mt Fuji is an amazing thing to do. It's so rewarding! The mountain huts are open only two months a year during July and August. There is some more information here. Ah, well now it's back to hot Tokyo and getting some work done :(

Hope you had a lovely weekend!

Love Love
Hello Sando
xoxo