Matsuzaki-san -- aka "Shonan Reiko" or "The Other Reiko" -- will close her shop near Kamakura station at the end of May. Weather and I arrived at the shop to pick up a special order today just minutes after the 50 percent off signs went up. Lucky us.
See the blank spot on the wall in the photo at left? The tote bag that was hanging there is now relaxing on my kitchen counter.
Matsuzaki-san specializes in transforming old kimono and obis into all manner of bags, book covers, cases, and clothing. Among other things, she has turned a blue silk kimono into a stunning jacket for me and two obis into an amazing tote bag for Weather. Next she will make placemats out of two obis that Weather nabbed at last week's recycled kimono sale.
Her son Yutaka, shown here wearing an aloha shirt Matsuzaki-san made from a samurai yukata, has managed the shop since it opened four years ago. Closing the shop will allow him to pursue other business interests and spend more time with his wife and their three-year old daughter. The terms of their lease have been onerous, especially for a two-person family operation, since their landlord requires that the shop be open all but five days a year.
Speaking of aloha shirts, did you know they were invented by Japanese people who took their kimono with them to Hawaii? They found the climate too warm for kimono so cut them up and sewed them back together as shirts.
If you want to take advantage of the sale, visit Kamakura between now and the end of May. The shop is on the second floor of the The Scene arcade building, on the same side of the street and just past the Peko-chan/Baskin-Robbins store. Take the stairway on your right to the second floor and the shop will be the first one you encounter. There's a live turtle in the window.
Otherwise, look for Matsuzaki-san at bazaars around our base. The next one, sponsored by ATG, will be the first weekend in June. The big Navy Exchange bazaar has been re-scheduled to late July.
If I begged, would you bring me something made out of a kimono. I would love it with all my heart no matter what it was.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about Reiko's shop closing. But hopefully she'll still bring her beautiful things to the bazaars. Love her original "pyramid" party purse, which I bought myself as a "last minute" purchase before leaving Japan. If it clashes with my outfit I figure it's all the more authentically Japanese. :)
ReplyDeleteIs the "pyramid" party purse the one in the last picture? I had three of those in my hands, trying to think of something to store in them so I could keep them out all the time.
ReplyDeleteAnn's getting a kimono-something just because she said something nice about tomorrow's filler post.