Weekend highlight

This week was the autumn festival for the small shrine that is close to our store. Exciting to see the procession pass in front of our store!

The idea of the deity from the shrine is actually taken around the neighborhood in the carriage is interesting to me.
It was really interesting this year because it was the first time I noticed the procession.

Usually the focal point of the festival and the parade is the mikoshi and the people who are carrying the mikoshi. There is an energy around the people carrying the mikoshi with their voices and rhythms, however large or small it maybe. It is an exciting thing to see.

Most fancy outfit I think~

the priest of Onden Jinjya in the red. Musicians in gold.

There are probably specific meanings to each persons purpose and duty and I would like to know what they all mean.
The shrines' priest was there and a tengu, which is considered to be a mythical creature, there were two people playing wind instruments which are old Japanese instruments and really set the mood where those traditional outfits made sense. 

I think I like seeing the old traditional atmosphere right in the middle of today's surroundings. It reminds me how colorful people's outfits were, and how that vibrant colors look good in a gloomy and almost raining, humid weather.  These events takes place once a year and I feel lucky having to see the event. 

July

It is almost going to be our fourth month after opening the store.  Can't believe how fast time has passed. 

Since we have opened our doors, we have been making little  changes like making a window for the door and making our edible plant garden in the front.



It's getting hotter and some days are more humid than others. But the sunsets are really pretty. Yesterday,  it wasn't cloudy and rainy and we saw a glimpse of the sky. the store was more orange like the sky. 




In the photo you can see the sky reflected. 

Every week we change the jewelry on the dress form. This is this week.

Long lapis necklace by Mityl. Long necklace with golden sculptural piece by Steven Hanna. Carrot necklace by Corinne Simon Jewelry. 14k melody necklace by ileava. 

Update.

Ileava has a new project.

We now have a store~! !  The store is Ileava and co.


It is in Seibu Department Store in Shibuya, Tokyo.
So, come visit us when you are in town!

We are now preparing for the holidays. So many pieces that I would be happy to receive as gifts!!


Here are some of the views of the store~

this a view of the back wall portion before the holidays

Now I clearly know I need more and better picture of the store~ stay tuned!

meteor shower

I heard the peak to see the meteor shower was sunday, but unfortunately I couldn't go anywhere to see it.

I remember years ago when everyone was talking about the meteor shower a few of us drove up the 5 freeway, away from the LA lights to see it.

That was really something!

Tonight was clear so I had to see if I can see at least the brighter shooting stars. I got my anti mosquito incense ready and watched for the meteors from my balcony.

I saw 2, which I guess it is good considering the condition I was in with all the city lights and street lights around me.

Maybe next year I could go to our usual camping place in the mountains around this time in August. Lay down on the streets and watch the stars the planets ( maybe it won't line up the same) and ooh.... I hope the moon is not up......

I will just have to try again tomorrow!

Great news! 

We are excited to share that ileava is going to open a store in Shibuya !

We are planning to open in September which is just a month away. 

we are in preparation mode, thinking about our store to look like this and to have that, and need to buy this and want to make that...

Time seems to be never enough.

But I cant wait for the moment I can post the photo of the completed store here~!

Layers of clouds

It's so bright out now that we are in June.

I can catch the sunset when I'm coming home on the train.

Today I was feeling a little happy picking out a gift for friend.  I found something I think she would be happy with.

When I was done and went outside, this view of the clouds  layers of  clouds, moving slowly in different direction across the Ueno station. 

Love the sky when I could see so much of it.

This is another view as I was getting off the train at my station.  Another great spot because the platform  for the train is about the same as a three story building.


It almost feels like friday...... almost.

Mid May

   

Love it when the weather is perfect!

The trees and plants are soaking all the sun and everything is turning green all around us.

At our little balcony garden, this year there are lots of flowers on the citrus tree.

The fruit is called Kabosu, in Japanese, it is similar to a lime, it is green and small but smaller, more round and  but I think is tastes a little sweeter.

The smell is so strong it makes me want to leave the widows open all day. The breeze even carries the scent inside the studio at night.

During the day, there are butterflies, small bees, big black bees with black wings that come to the trees. We wait patiently so they can do their job and we can enjoy the fruit in autumn~!

exciting month

April is an important month in Japan. 

New school year starts in April not, September.

New employees start their new jobs in April. 

Fiscal year start in April. 

Cherry blossoms make us feel that spring is here and the weather is getting warmer. 

A lot of "new-ness" is felt everywhere you go.

There is a new building that is going to open tomorrow~

It is called Shibuya Hikarie.

It is a building that houses theatre, restaurants and cafes, shopping and a floor that is dedicated to arts and culture. There are offices spaces above and parking lots and the subway station should connect right below all of this.

I am trying to see when I can go check it out~

I get excited when I see buildings that are being built, and I can see the process. and yes I have shared it here before but it was two years ago when I took this photo.

A year later of so I took this.

This was also the same time I was preparing to do the pop-up store, at the department store right across from this one. We pack all the displays and everything else that we need and stack them up on the dolly so that we can take it inside and start setting things up.

Well, this time we had 3 white plastic containers and one cardboard box stacked up on each other and bound together with a durable rubber cable. 

You can see the similarity right?

The great and exciting thing is that there is a store that will carry some of the ileava jewelry, starting tomorrow! 

Yeah~!  I can't wait to go see it all!

In another month or so, there Tokyo Sky Tree will have its grand opening. Always a lot of exciting things happening in Tokyo!!

feels like Spring

It really feel like Spring is here when you see cherry blossoms in full bloom.

Every year I forget how pretty they are!!

This year I wasn't able to go to any area where the cherry blossoms are famous but I was able to see them bloom in my usual neighborhood.

This is the closed park from where I am. Small park but really great trees.

This was in Shibuya. It's really funny that cherry blossom trees are so appreciated this time of year but you forget the trees lining up the streets are cherry trees.

It is a also great to see them at night specially when it is lit up.

I know it's not that great quality but even my father who was visiting had to stop and capture that moment.

Then a week later another type of cherry blossoms are in full bloom!

They are the type that cascades downward and creates a really pretty walkway by the stream.

Here we are back at the small park. I love how the ground is now covered with the petals.

Rain is also happy that the weather is getting warmer.

The tradition is to have a small get-together and enjoy the cherry trees. There would be more people under the trees just a week before. But I thought this season is really nice, too. It's almost like snow falling but pink petals!

I never get sick of looking at the cherry blossoms every year. So pretty.

And sometime they surprise you by following you all the way home on a train back to you house~

April

Playing around with my new rings. 

This is the ring, I now where on my thumb. And I'll probably have to move it to my pointer finger when it gets warmer. My finger is half a size bigger......

For now I'm liking how flat the ring is and how this the line is. It will be part of the arabesque  collections.

I hope everyone will like it too ~!

Doing another pop up shop in Shibuya this time!

Tokyu Department Store Toyoko 4/5~4/11

the key

Sometimes I'm looking at the ground as I walk, just in case there are any diamonds that fell off a ring that no one has noticed.

Today I saw something that caught my eyes. It was right on the painted sign that says "stop" on the asphalt. 

I took a few steps back. Was it just the metal tab off of a can? Was it something gold? I tapped it with my feet so that I can pick it up.   

But no! This little key that was a pretty pink gold color was stuck. Mashed into the paint of the signage on the ground. It probably got run over so many times by cars that it can't be peeled off. 

A start of a little public collage....  

I could maybe add to it when I go there again.  

Either way I found a little story, at a place I go so often. It made me smile a bit~

I am doing a pop up shop in Tokyo~

Seibu Department Store 3/21~ 3/30

Tokyu Department Store Toyoko 4/4~4/11

getting ready for spring

So I looked up the other day, and there it was! Plum blossom. 

I was just in time to see the pink buds ready to burst.

I like the plum trees with a few flowers and those pink buds, and their the branches that usually  grows upwards. 

It doesn't feel like spring yet but there are a lot of signs from nature.

Like the frogs in the pond....... very loud and big!

something warm

It is still very cold in Tokyo and what is great for cold seasons is something warm and sweet. A little bit of alcohol will help you warm up.

Tonight I had a cup of Irish Coffee. 

There is a place that is right by the train station that is nearest to me and it is always nice to warm up before you ride your bike back to the house.

snowflakes

It has been a while since it last snowed in Tokyo. It is really colder in January and February here than it is in December.

But even if it snows all day, there are never snow on the asphalt, only on lawns and dirt. So there would never be enough to make a good snowman in this neihborhood!
I was thinking of making a very very small snowman, but thought that I needed to pull out my good gloves that I wear for skiing or snowboarding... and that wasn't going to happen today.

This was a card that I made. My dog making the snowman.

So, as I watched the snow fall today, while making waxes and new pieces, I was thinking of the new Kate Bush song Snowflake.

I wonder how many times it will snow this year~

the sea

I was going to the Tokyo International Exhibition Center, there was a jewelry show that I wanted to check out. As I got off the train, I could smell the salty air.

I forget how close the ocean is from where I live.

There are boats you can take across the bay so I think I'll look that up next time and try to enjoy the bay more.

Color of fall

There is something that I do everyday around this time of year.
It is eating persimmons. I love them! 
There are different types of persimmons and depending on the orchards, they taste different. 
But I just love them all!

This year my grandfathers tree had some fruit and my husband was there to pick them, I was thereto photograph him.
There were about 20 to 30. All very small but really sweet.


Around the neighborhood there are a lot of persimmon trees. A lot of them are big trees that have lots and lots of fruit that are ripe ready to eat. I wouldn't leave it hanging on the trees all for the birds, but I guess those neighbors don't like persimmons as much as I do.

Some of them were still a little hard so here, we have them sunbathing. Each day they are getting sweeter and softer.

tower in the dark

I sometimes go to this area where the new tower is being built, the Tokyo Sky Tree, but not that often.


But when i do I try to take a picture of the tower to see far along it has been built.
The day is so much shorter now a days, I wasn't able to get a clear shot.  I hope you can see the tower though. 

The tower I think is mostly finished. There were some light in the globe section, so I am guessing they have to do some interior work.
I was surprised to see the building next to it was taller than I had expected. And that was finished too I think.


It is opening next May.  
I'm not sure if I want to see Tokyo from that hight,though. It's very very high. But I bet on sunny days you can see so much!! 


...I just can't decide yet. 

so pretty

I love it when I have flowers in the studio.

This one is special because it was given to me by a neighbor.  She plants and grows them each year and when the flower blooms she gives it away to her neighbors.  Everyone can see them getting taller and taller in her garden when we pass by her house until it blooms at last. She gives us all to look forward to.


The gesture is so nice, and she does it every year.
It's also right when it is starting to get colder, more cloudy days and shorter days. Nice to see some colors. 
This type is my favorite of the bunch.

Thank you for this years flowers!

visitor

The days are getting shorter, the nights are a lot cooler than the day.  And it's November~!!


Just the other night I had a surprise visitor.

I didn't know that they can still be roaming around in the autumn/winter temperature, but there it was a really big gecko.
The ones I usually spot in the summer humid seasons are very small, sometimes so tiny and cute that it is you can't be frightened by them.
I know they are good luck. They protect your home. So, I thanked the big gecko for protecting us, and also to come back the next day.....

and then got back to work again.

I have a pop up shop at the Tokyu Toyoko Department Store in Shibuya, starting the 3rd for a week.
Stop by if you are in the area~!

purple

The humidity, temperature, everything has changed now.

The sun is setting a lot earlier.

This is the time when I can get a good view of Mt. Fuji. from my station. I haven't seen it yet, but one of these day. I'm constantly looking out of the window of the train.

Here ia a photo I took few days ago. The neon signs are just starting to show more presence.