Powell Street Festival July 31 - August 1!

It's that time of year again, yaaay!

I'll be in Vancouver's newly renovated Oppenheimer Park, for the 34th annual Powell Street Festival. Come on down for lots of great Japanese food and a schedule packed with amazing entertainment! Lots of music, dancing and taiko (Japanese drumming), both traditional and contemporary. Complete schedule of both days can be found by clicking here.

I'll be in great company as usual, among the many wonderful artisans selling accessories, glass, pottery, soap and lots more. For the list of sellers and a complete programme of the festival week-end, click here.

News...

Finally, photos of some pieces I've been working on! I'll have some of these at Powell Street in Vancouver, as well as at Montreal's Matsuri Japon on August 14th in the Old Port. Other new stuff as well, including these long 'n skinny pendants and earrings, plus a different sushi platter that I'll keep as a surprise... (^_^)

Marché la Récré outdoor market

I'll be at the Marché la Récré outdoor market in Montreal's Mile End this coming Saturday, July 17th. It's the first time a weekly event of this sort is being planned, where you'll be able to find artisan-made creations, vintage treasures and great eats all in the same schoolyard, under the summer sun!

It'll be happening every Saturday in the schoolyard of Ecole Lambert-Closse, corner of St-Urbain and Bernard, from 10am to 5pm. I'll be there tomorrow for sure and might make it back for some other dates as well! Lots of goooood stuff to be found, see a partial list of the sellers here.

Vancouver...
I'll be heading back to the Powell Street Festival in Vancouver in a couple of weeks, July 31st & August 1st. Looking forward to being back in the newly refurbished Oppenheimer Park and seeing all my Vancouver friends and family!

For the occasion, I decided to make a new fancy tamago maki, or egg roll (hee hee!) sushi! Click to see more detail. Other new pieces in the makes as well!

More on my trip to British Columbia...

I'm so proud of my family.

My siblings and I are taking the promise we made to my mom (and indirectly to my dad too, of course!) to heart - we stay in touch with each other by email and see each other when we can, but it's not that often since we live scattered across Canada.

However, selling at the Powell Street Festival in Vancouver for the past three summers has meant I can see my two brothers who live close to Vancouver. And my sister in Edmonton has also been selling at the festival for the past two summers so I get to see her too. The first time I did the festival in 2007, Nancy surprised me by showing up without telling me (although the rest of the family knew, including my husband!) - there was a lot of screaming and tears at the airport when we first saw each other. We can be pretty loud.

It has now become a tradition (can three years in a row make it a tradition?) that after the Powell Street Fest, we go to this amazing Japanese restaurant in Coquitlam, close to where my brother, Mike, and his family live. Good Japanese food and sushi is easy to find in Vancouver - everything is so fresh. I'm jealous. There are maybe a handful of good Japanese restos here in Montreal (maaaaybe), everything else is mediocre at best. Anyway, this place, Shyun, is wonderful and Mike and his family go there pretty regularly. Here we are after our scrumpy meals have been wolfed down. Looking forward to eating there next year again!

My sister Pat (my only other sib here in Montreal), supplied the surprise factor this year, by just showing up at the festival! Picture lots of hooting and hollering going on in front of our tent that you see in the pic below. Good thing she showed up with her boyfriend early in the day, or we would have scared customers away with all the shrieking. Did I mention we can be pretty loud?

Here we are on the ferry to Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, to see my oldest bro Ron, who just retired in April, and his family. I know it's no big deal for people who take this ferry all the time, but I just love this ride!

We took another small ferry from Nanaimo to Gabriola Island to do some kayaking - what a perfect afternoon! Here's my niece Emily, patiently waiting to leave the dock.

And below you can see Ron and Nancy practicing their strokes in the bay before we headed out to more open water.

JF had the camera, so this is shot below was taken while I was paddling alone against the crazy current, just before it nearly swept us into these rocks. That's what you get for trying to get closer shots of the seals (hey, we're city folks).

Here's one little guy on his own, click on it to see it a little bigger! There were sooo many seals and little babies; our guide was saying it was a good year since there was enough fish to feed all the moms and pups.

Here are the paddling siblings! Mike and Doug, you HAVE to join us next year!

JF and I can't go anywhere without taking this shot at least once. Awwww!

We are seriously trying to plan for a six-sibling and families vacation at some point. JF is aiming for Japan, but I'd be happy out on the west coast again, which is a little more affordable if we want to do this in the next couple years. This year, we had five of the six sibs... maybe next year? Ahem, Doug?

Vancouver's Powell Street Festival 2009

Every time I go to Vancouver, British Columbia, I think "Hmmm, I'd be happy to stay here..." I totally understand why two of my brothers have been living there for 30+ years. It is a beautiful city - the perfect blend of urban living in the most gorgeous setting, with greenery, mountains and the coast. Sigh... the coast...

Who in the world would want to leave this? AND the support for crafters, artisans and all things handmade is incredible. I kind of think we might end up living there one day... one day. Above is a shot of our kayaking trip around Gabriola Island - it was such a great day! I'll write about that another time.

This is my third time selling at the Powell Street Festival, our nation's biggest Japanese Canadian festival. It was on August 1st and 2nd, and while eastern Canada was living through a cool and rainy summer, Vancouver had gotten our hot and steamy weather. My brother Mike wouldn't let anyone in his house use the oven for over a month because it was too hot!

The festival days were great though, and people came out as always, to taste some delish Japanese food, watch some traditional and non-traditional Japanese entertainment and happily for us, do some shopping. Above are some of the artisans' tents; you can see how dry the grass is from lack of rain. My sister Nancy, who was also a vendor again this year, and I shared the corner white tent in the left of the photo - lots of traffic!

Here I am, behind my table, preparing someone's purchase, and below, you can see Nancy in action. She made some snazzy baby bibs to go with the adorable booties she did so well with last year; she also had some gorgeous scarves and tote bags, along with her lovely pearl jewellery.


Another shot of our tent...

And the entertainment... here's a duo from Okinawa, Japan, amazing costumes!

Kenny Endo's ensemble, from Hawai'i, with special guest Kaoru Watanabe of New York. A mind-blowing set!

Last year I had photos of little dogs in their finest festival wear. This year, this man came to my table and I had to take a picture. I had a good snicker, but I know if my cats would let me, I'd probably try this with them too. With Chibi and Ebi tho, not a CHANCE!

Final thing of note at this year's Powell Street Festival. Festivals are fun, right? The worst thing that could happen is a little sunburn, right?

Well, at Japanese festivals, people parade around hauling an omikoshi, or a portable Shinto shrine (supposed to carry some form of deity), and it's essentially a mini-building on huge pillars or beams. Festival goers line up under the beams to cart the omikoshi around and sometimes people stand on the shrine to challenge the carriers and shout out a rhythm or pace. My husband, Jean-François, volunteered his services this year - you can see him on the far right with the wide-open mouth, enthusiastically doing the peace sign.

J-F was quite a bit taller than most of the other omikoshi carriers, so he had to either bend forward a little, which was hard on his back, or bear much of the weight when he was standing up a bit straighter. He came back to see me and Nancy at our craft tables, his white t-shirt red with blood on his right shoulder. He had to go and see the medic, and altho he was embarrassed (had to happen to the tall white guy!), it was indeed, an impressive and rather icky wound. The top layer of skin was completely worn off!

Ewww! Owww! He had a hard time showering and sleeping for the next several nights, but it healed well. A memorable festival wound.

Tadaima! I'm home!

I guess thinking about my blog doesn't really count as blogging, right?

All the photos I took during my trip to Vancouver and Los Angeles had me thinking, "This will go into my blog"... Oh well, I should know myself by now. Thank you for coming back for a peek!

My last entry saw me looking downright pathetic - haggard and a little green-skinned. That's what too much coffee and no sunlight will do to you. Be my witness. (clickable for full effect)I also realized how taiko (Japanese drumming) really does keep me in shape - not playing taiko for a couple weeks and my arms turn to mush. Actually my whole body turns to mush, or I should say more mushy. But I'll blog about that another time.

Anyway, I'm feeling a lot better now, after having a couple weeks to recover from the trip and the lead-up time to it. It was that lead-up time that killed me. Preparation, production and that other p-word that keeps following me through this life: procrastination. I wouldn't have been so exhausted if I had just paced myself. This comes back to me over and over in this business, but as usual, there's Sandra slamming her head against the wall once again, "DOH!"

While I was out west, my lovely friend, Rhiannon, was selling for me at home here in Montreal, down in the Old Port at Matsuri Japon, a one day Japanese festival. I cannot thank her enough for the amazing job she did. Thanks so much, Rhiannon! This is a photo taken by Jo-Ann, and I didn't even ask for permission to use it - hope it's ok, Jo-Ann, let me know!

I'll write again, with more pics and trip info. I'll be doing a thorough cleaning of my studio to get ready for fall and upcoming production for the holiday season. Eeep!

My tail between my legs...

Hullo.

It's me, yes, it's me!

Thank-you all for letting me know I've been missed! You know how you leave something for sooo long, it's overwhelming to go back to it, and it seems too far gone to make it right again, anyway? I guess that's how I can best describe the shabby treatment of my blog and blog readers. I will no longer make any promises about writing every day or even every week, but will do my best not to let 3 months go by without a peep of news!

I'll just get right to it. The summer has been great, although we've not had ideal summer weather here in Montreal. Lots of rain, and cooler than average, which is fine for me who wilts and gets cranky in the humid heat.

Arashi Daiko, the Japanese drumming group I'm a member of, along with my hubby, JF (you remember him), has done over 20 shows since I last wrote in May; it's been a busy, taiko-filled summer. We're looking forward to settling down to our regular hard training this fall in preparation for the group's 25th anniversary concert next March. The television show that we were featured in aired in July, and it was pretty good. Strange to see us on tv, but fun!

Part of the televised "live" concert filmed at the end of May. That's me on the far right, arms in the air, with the demented, googly eyes... (click on it, you'll see what I mean)

Craft-wise, the summer has been busy, productive, and very good sales-wise, yaaaaay!

CraftMafiaMontreal's Fringe Bazaar back in June went pretty well, and although there weren't a ton of people, sales were good. I did Vancouver's Powell Street Festival at the beginning of August, which was just as fabulous as it was last year! Sooo many people, sales were great, and the food was delish! What made it even better this year was my sister, Nancy, from Edmonton who met me in Vancouver with her handmade baby slippers, bags and pearl jewellery, and who was my neighbouring seller at the festival - we had so much fun! We visited our brother there (he's already planning for our visit next year) and then went to visit another brother on Vancouver Island. All in all a wonderful trip.

Part of my display at the festival

Wee little hounds in their yukata and happi - too cute!

Fresh, heavenly yaki-manju... waited until the last few hours of the festival to get my mitts on this!

Last week-end was Matsuri Japon, a Japanese festival in the Old Port of Montreal, where I was also selling. The weather was perfect (one of the only good weekends all summer) and the turnout was great. Also great for me sales-wise. Online sales this summer were painfully slow (non-existant), so these good shows helped a lot!

Other exciting news - my things are going to be in a brand new shop, Artistri, opening in a couple of weeks. Can't wait to see what it looks like! I'll keep you up to date on that - I swear!

I think I'll stop there, since I don't to freak anyone out... or bore you with too much stuff. Fall is looking to be busy too, so I'll have lots to write about - back again soon!

Woof, yeah, I said woof

I am a cat person, not a dog person. I mean, I like dogs, and pretty much all animals, but I think I have an afinity for cats. Maybe this is because we had numerous family cats when I was growing up and I'm just used to their way of being.

Visiting my brother on Vancouver Island was wonderful. Yoshi, their dog, is your quintessential happy hound. He is enthusiastic, energetic and has the perfect smile. Have a look for yourself.

He's really grown on me! I used to laugh at him because I thought he was so odd looking, terrible auntie! Yoshi is a pugapoo, a pug and poodle mix. Cute, yes, but odd too (call me a meanie). Curly poodle coat on a barrel chested pug physique. And because his face is not as squashed as a pug's, his face shape and facial expressions make him look a bit like a man. Ok, a little man in a tight dog suit.

This time he had just had a shave, so he was all fresh and spunky looking. We went for a walk and met up with this fluffy creature, who was just as cranky and stuck up as he looks in the picture. Poor Yoshi tried to sniff him out, and nearly got his nose snapped off (Fluffy's owner may have been just as uptight).

Found Yoshi's favourite thing in the park, the slide!

I had a nice visit with my other brother's guinea pigs too, but I didn't take any photos of them. Bad auntie! They have 5 guinea pigs that are very communicative and fun to watch. You can see them here, although they were much younger in this video.

Since I am a cat person, I will end on a feline note. This is my baby, my Chibi. We adopted her from the SPCA last summer after she was given up for adoption because she was pregnant. Her kittens were snatched up quickly, but we chose her since she was the most adorable (and very much in need of a home). She is truly the best :)

More on the wild, wild west...

This is going to be yet another post about taiko, or Japanese drums. In case you didn't know, taiko is a huge part of my life; I spend as much time with my taiko group, Arashi Daiko, as I do with my family. Probably more. Yup, more. My husband is a member of the same group, which is great, otherwise I'd never see him in the summer since we are constantly rehearsing and performing. Last month was the biennial (this means every two years , and not twice a year, right?) North American Taiko Conference, this time taking place at the University of Washington, in beautiful Seattle.

Backtrack a couple of days to Nanaimo where I had a great visit with my oldest brother and his family; this was after being in Vancouver and the great visit with my second brother and his family. And my sister had surprised me by showing up in Vancouver with her family as well. Nice, or what?

Whenever I leave my siblings out west, I cry. I try to control it when I feel the good-bye is getting closer, but I cannot seem to keep my chin from wobbling and that durn lump in my throat from forming. With my sister there too, it was a veritable weep-fest. I'm just a weepin' fool - sounds like a country song.

Took the ferry from West Vancouver to Vancouver Island, which is one of the loveliest places I have ever been. Nanaimo, where my brother, Ron, lives with his family, is a beautiful place to live, not too big or small, looking out onto the ocean.



Take a look at these photos and say you don't agree. Below, walking with bro and niece, Emily.


I once again had to summon some much-needed help from my family, preparing stock to be express-shipped to the taiko conference.

Sigh. Will this girl ever learn? Here I am at 2am, making some last, last, last-minute mini-drums, that were made into cell phone charms and earrings.

Took the ferry from Victoria on Vancouver Island to downtown Seattle. Highlight: seal on a buoy, sorry no photo. I'm easily amused/impressed/entertained whenever there are animals involved. Got this from my mom, I'm sure.

So nice to see old friends at the taiko conference. Taiko people are warm, energetic, friendly, passionate and generous. That may sound like quite a generalization, but I challenge you to go to any North American city that has a taiko group(s), track down the group, let them know you love taiko, or you play taiko, and either they will invite you to their practice or invite you out to lunch after practice - a taiko player's favourite thing to do, second to playing taiko of course, is EATING.

Proof, we take photos of our most gorgeous meals: this is JF's chirashi at a Seattle resto.

I won't go into all the details of what happened but my shipment of handmade goodies prepared for this taiko crowd was held up at the border so on the first day of the two and a half day long conference I had an empty table, put on my best smile, and said "Pleeeeeeeze come back tomorrow, I swear I'll have something to sell." My back had cramped up from all the worry. Long story short, my shipment arrived in time for me to sell much of my stock on the remaining day and a half. If it were not for the help of my favourite conference volunteers, Keith and Tyler, the steady leak in my brain would likely have gushed and my helmet would have been full of grey matter muck (don't ask).

Saw some inspiring taiko peformances, and even got to play a little, yay! Here we are on the last morning, and an outdoor jam session. That's me and Hisako, who was 6 months pregnant when this was taken; she is in incredible shape, wouldn't you say? Yumi is standing in the back in the orange top, looking thrilled.

Taiko jam at 8:30 am Sunday morning, U. of Washington campus - wakey, wakey!

And here is the unstoppable and unsinkable Molly K., who is truly an inspiration to us all. She is 80 years young and still playing taiko, so I really can't complain that I started playing too late in life, nine years ago at the age of 31.

I want to be just like Molly when I grow up.

Back from the wild wild west...

I'm back home from my working holiday, and it was great. Got to see my two brothers and their families in British Columbia; my sister who lives in Alberta (the province just east of BC) totally shocked me by showing up with her gang! So nice to be with my family.

Embarassingly enough with my family as witness, this was the most badly organized I have ever been for any craft sales event, and I realize now it was my own fear that made me procrastinate so ridiculously. And although it was shameful to be so ill-prepared with them all watching, thank goodness I had so many helpers at my disposal! I had people gluing and glazing and cutting and punching holes and making knots. I wouldn't blame them if they combined forces to be my main competitor at a future craft show.

Surprisingly, my poor organization was rewarded with surpassed expectations in sales, contacts and positive feedback. Vancouver's Powell Street Festival is the largest Japanese Canadian festival in Canada, and I was absoultely amazed at the number of people who attended. And the food - the food was soooo good! I think it's the super-fresh salmon that really did it for me; I ate sockeye every chance I had! No salmon photos, but here's one of the takoyaki stand; takoyaki is a popular snack at Japanese festivals, or matsuri: little dough balls with chunks of octopus inside - delish! This was particularly impressive for numbers of takoyaki they were churning out!

Here is the omikoshi - a portable shrine that is hoisted above the shoulders of gutsy festival goers, who are encouraged and yelled at to keep going by the crowd and by the people standing on the shrine, making it even heavier...

We were kept pretty busy at my table, in a high-traffic area with lots of shoppers. Can you see me back there at my table ?

Here I am! I think I went to washroom once on the first day. My display was a little flat with everything laid out on one level on the table. I couldn't bring my display stands with me in my luggage, so I had to make do. Turned out alright though, and sales were great ☺

And here I am with my ichiban and most patient craft assistant, Jean-François.

I'll stop here and pick up again where I left off. From Vancouver, we went onto Nanaimo and then to Seattle....