Bonsai literally means tray planting and is a Japanese art form that was inspired by Chinese penzai. In the 6th century Buddhist students and imperial diplomats would visit China and many brought back miniature trees planted in colourful pots.

Two new Stalogy notebooks have joined the family! The award winning Editor’s Series notebooks are now available with plain or dotted paper.

From the earliest cave drawings to the most modern masterpieces, humans have always drawn. Whilst not too many of us go on to be professional artists, we still find ourselves doodling in the margins of textbooks, or on the back of envelopes.

If you’ve visited NishuraEast before then you’ve probably seen pictures of our HARU tape – pictures of rolls that come in so many colours and sizes. But what actually is HARU tape, and what is it used for? Well the quick answer is that it's washi tape. But HARU is washi tape, like you’ve never seen it before.

There is an entire music industry in Japan that most of us in Europe and the US know nothing about. In fact, Japan is the second largest music market in the world, behind the US, so it stands to reason that they produce their own musicians.

With the weather lately bring as bad as it has been, I’ve been spending a lot of time on my computer (not that that’s new!). I’ve been watching a lot of Japanese craft videos on YouTube, so I thought I’d share a few of my favourite channels with you.

To celebrate the arrival of the 2021 Limited Edition Stalogy notebooks we are offering some free Stalogy gifts to you, our wonderful NishuraEast customers!

After months of waiting, we are thrilled to say that you can now buy the Limited Edition Stalogy Notebooks in Matcha Green, Cobalt Blue and Smoky Grey from NishuraEast.

Hidden in Kyoto is the last silk marbling workshop. Nose Moriyoshi is the only person in the world who knows and uses this technique, to create incredibly patterned sheets of silk.

Today (May 5th) marks the end of Golden Week in Japan – a week in which 4 of the 15 national holidays occur. Golden Week is seen as a time to travel. Domestic tourism is a strong industry in Japan, and as a country with such a varied landscape and climate it’s not hard to see why.

We are now selling our HARU stuck-on design OPP tape by the metre. OPP (oriented polypropylene) is a durable, non-stretchy plastic film with a matte finish. The tapes have bold black patterns printed on them, perfect for adding flair to a room.

We often talk about washi paper at NishuraEast, but what actually is washi? Outside of Japan, washi paper tends to refer to Japanese paper. However, within Japan washi refers to a very particular handmade paper.

Our programme of asking artists to work with Haru stuck-on design has produced a wonderful array of different projects. For each artist, their first project with us is always doing a scheme here in the showroom, next to the canal in Westbourne Park.

Tea has always held a special place in the world. It seems every culture has their own version. There’s mint tea in Morocco, bubble tea in Taiwan, teh tarik in Malaysia, maté in many South American countries, and of course matcha in Japan.

This week a video about Nishijin-ori - textiles from Nishijin, Kyoto – caught my eye. Literally that is, because the thumbnail shows the most incredibly vibrant blue flower, embroidered on an obi belt.

With the recent easing of lockdown in England we are thrilled that the NishuraEast showroom is now open again! Those of you in London you can come and see all of our wonderful products in person.

I recently watched the most captivating video about a Japanese craftsman, rediscovering the art of natural dyeing. Sachio Yoshioka is a fifth-generation craftsmen, and the head of the Somenotsukasa Yoshioka dye workshop in Kyoto.

You may have seen that we’re currently giving away a free Stalogy canvas bag with every order of £40 or more. There are only a few days left of this offer, so be sure to order soon to get your free bag.

Finally, it seems that spring is in the air. Wednesday was the most glorious weather we’ve had this year, and it finally seems like there may be an end to the COVID-era we’ve been stuck in. As we move into spring and summer, I wanted to share a few products that will make your summer that much more enjoyable.

I’ve been admiring our beautiful yuzen paper recently and wondering how I would use it. Made from Japanese paper – washi – yuzen paper is printed with beautiful, seasonal patterns with fine golden detailing.

Last week I visited the Kyoto Garden in Holland Park. I was hunting for cherry blossom and whilst the garden itself wasn’t in full bloom yet, I still really enjoyed the scenery. The garden was a gift to London from the city of Kyoto, as a commemoration of the friendship between Great Britain and Japan.

I’d rather spend a bit more on one item that’s well made and will last, than on lots of cheaply made things that will fall apart within a wear or two. The bags from hoop are exactly that – well-made items that will last, and can be used for years, rather than going quickly out of style.

Dotonbori is the kind of place that comes to mind when many people think of japan with neon lights and crazy signs. It’s a food lovers paradise – one of the most famous food streets in Japan. Osaka is known as the kitchen of Japan after all.

For spring 2021, Stalogy are introducing three new limited edition colours of their popular A5 Editor’s Series Notebooks. Available in three new and exciting colours: Cobalt Blue, Matcha Green and Smoky Grey. They come in two different sizes: 365 Day and 1/2 Year.

I don’t know what I was expecting when I visited Osaka Castle, but it wasn’t what I got. When I think of visiting a castle, I think of rooms preserved and staged as if it was still their heyday, like Hampton Court Palace or Windsor Castle. That wasn’t the case at all.

I want to redecorate my room. Naturally HARU stuck-on design came to mind. Not only would it be a more affordable option, but I could really personalise the design. It would also be entirely removable and wouldn’t damage the walls (perfect for renters).

When we first started working with Haru stuck-on design, we had the idea of inviting contemporary artists to come and create works of art at the showroom just using Haru tape. We didn’t know how it would work out, but it ended up with some amazing artworks, some of them on the ceiling and floor as well as the walls.

We have now been working with Stalogy for around 5 years, so it’s clear what’s special about the products, and which the favourite ones are. It’s not surprising the best seller of all is the B6 365-day notebook.

There’s no doubt that Japan has some of the best food available, and the rise of sushi in the west only goes to prove it. Writing my last blog post about food had me looking through all my photos (and salivating), so here are a few of the best things I ate in Japan.

Back in February 2020 I was so excited when booking tickets to the Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington. Then of course the world went crazy, and everyone was locked down.