Provenance…Byobu and the Race to Acquisition

prov-e-nance ˈpräv-nən(t)s, ˈprä-və-ˌnän(t)s
noun. the place of origin or earliest known history of something.

This month over at my Provenance column on Krista & Tami’s blog Cloth & Kind I could not resist writing about byobu, those wonderful folding Japanese screens which have been entrancing the world for centuries. I have long loved them and purchasing an antique one was on the top of my list when I moved to Tokyo almost nine years ago. I knew the perfect spot to hang it, just above my 18th century Shanxi region bamboo altar table. Early on I found many byobu of the right age and patina to be priced beyond well beyond my reach, but perhaps in my second year I stumbled across this small one, made from the fragments of a very very old screen, at the Heiwajima Antiques Fair. This instagram photo does not begin to do it justice as it doesn’t highlight the delicate gold leaf confetti in the left corner or the fencing around the chrysanthemums in the right. Unfortunately, everything is all packed now, so I can’t show you a better photo – you’ll have to wait for the unpacking at the other end.

It seems like perfect closure then that at the very last Heiwajima show I would be attending for a while this past May, that I found my dream byobu! I’ll give you a tantalizing detail but for more on it and on byobu in general, please click over to read the post on Cloth & Kind.

I know these last few posts have been all about my stuff, but there is something about leaving a country that one has lived in for a while that sends everyone on a frenzy of acquisition! I can’t tell you how busy I was with antiques for other people this spring (antique stone statue everyone!) and along the way I caught the bug myself. Honestly, while hundreds of items have passed though my hands these last years, I have always been good at letting them go on to their new homes. Here at the very end, I felt the need to tick off some boxes for myself. Has this ever happened to you? What did you buy when abroad, either living or traveling? Are there things you regret not buying?

Jun 14, 2013 By tokyojinja in Antique Shows, Artist Spotlight, Expat Life, Provenance Columns 5 Comments Tags: byobu, Cloth & Kind, Japanese screens, pine, Provenance

Toran on Provenance at Cloth & Kind

prov-e-nance ˈpräv-nən(t)s, ˈprä-və-ˌnän(t)s
noun. the place of origin or earliest known history of something.

My obsession with ethnic textiles continues, this time in a new Provenance post over at Cloth & Kind on toran, the embroidered and embellished door hangings from Northwest India. There is nothing I like better than a little repurposing and they are ripe for it. Why confine them to the entrance doorway? What about a window valence…

…or a divine bed canopy?

Please head over to Cloth & Kind to read the full details – I know this is a column you won’t want to miss! Leave a comment there if you are so inspired!

On the same note, if we are talking obsession or inspiration, I realize I have not mentioned Australian stylist, author and self-proclaimed bowerbird Sibella Court enough. Her books and her Sydney atelier, The Society Inc, so vividly encapsulate everything I love about life as a global nomad and collector. In these last weeks, every time I think of an image or an item I want to talk or write about, I turn to her and she has it! Toran as bed canopy? Yes. Giant abacus? Yes. Unlike many, she has spent time trolling the markets of Japan and never ceases to amaze me with what she picks up and how she uses it. Can we just stop and ogle this photo for a moment?

Copper rain chain, Sori Yanagi’s Butterfly Stool, temple book and old black and white photo portrait (this one Chinese though) all set against a faded bamboo fence. Sigh…

Image credits: 1-2. Pinterest, 3. Sibella Court, Nomad: A Global Approach to Interior Style

Apr 26, 2013 By tokyojinja in Books, Movies & TV, Guest Posts, Interior Design, Provenance Columns, Textiles 6 Comments Tags: bed hanging, Cloth & Kind, door hanging, embroidery, Krista Nye Schwartz, Provenance, Sibella Court, Tami Ramsay, toran, valence

Provenance…My New Guest Column on Cloth & Kind

prov-e-nance ˈpräv-nən(t)s, ˈprä-və-ˌnän(t)s
noun. the place of origin or earliest known history of something.

I am so excited to announce my new gig as a monthly guest columnist on Krista Nye Schwartz‘s blog Cloth & Kind. I’ll be penning the Provenance column and it’s a match made in heaven. Krista and I had long been admiring each others aesthetic – she describes herself as a “self-diagnosed textile addict” – and I basically stopped bothering to Pin once I discovered her Textile Files on Pinterest. I’ll be joining forces with two other talented bloggers, Tami Ramsay, an interior and floral designer from Athens, GA and Bonnie Berry, a wedding and food photographer from Austin, TX, who will also be writing new columns on art, flowers and you guessed it, food! Although the internet knows no geographic boundaries, I often toil away here in Japan feeling a little bit isolated, so I am so thrilled to have a team of great women to work with.

My post this week is on the origins and techniques of Japanese kasuri. For my readers, it would mean the world to me if you would head over to Cloth & Kind and read the post and leave a comment to show you’d been there – here’s the link straight to it. I know it’s just the kind of post you would like. For those coming to my blog via Cloth & Kind, welcome! I think you’ll find lots of content here to enjoy and I’d love to hear from you. I have category tabs down the right side of the blog and I use tags pretty freely as well. Search away!

One photo that didn’t make it into the post is these kasuri work pants. I am constantly tempted to buy some of these old work clothes with an eye towards wearing them and then the voice of my 13, soon to be 14-year-old daughter pops into my head. So unfortunately (perhaps fortunately), I left these as the market last week.

In addition to Krista herself and her content on Cloth & Kind, I just adore the physical design of her blog. She takes such care with the art direction and this has confirmed for me what I have long known and talked about before. I need to get out of my standard blog platform and move to a design that matches the quality of my content. So if you know of any great graphic designers with wordpress.org skill (or are one yourself), please let me know. And if you want, instead of the usual currency, there is the opportunity to be paid in antique textiles, porcelain or whatever else!

It truly has been an indigo trifecta over the last week or so, with the long-awaited post on the amazing Amy Katoh and her treasure filled shop Blue & White. The giveaway for the LuRu Home pillow was a huge success with 83 entrant spaces. I am excited to announce that Loi Thai, proprietor of Tone on Tone Antiques in Bethesda, MD is the winner. Loi also writes a beautiful blog, he’s a dear and his taste is impeccable so I can’t wait to see what he does with the pillow as it is a little bit outside of his usual palette.