Cute Gifts

They don't only make great products in Japan, they really know how to package and present everything in the store too. Their attention to detail, and their flair for display really shows everything in it's best possible light.

Pancake anyone ? 

They even make plastic food to entice you into the cafe's and restaurants, a quick scrub in the washing up bowl and it's as good as new !

Soft Toys Everywhere !

Just love the face on this one ! 

Steph Thannhauser's Artwork in Paperchase

Steph was shopping in Paperchase, and spotted one of her designs on a new notebook ! It's always rewarding to see it on a product in the store. 

Dan Auerbach

Okay I got waylaid on my way to downloading El Camino ! While listening to previews of some of the tracks, I noticed that Dan Auerbach had a solo album out too ! This came out in 2009 and it completely passed me by, but the album is great. Instead of the full force of the Black Keys swampy gritty sound, the songs on this album have a lot more depth and feeling to them.

It's just so hard to just pick a track ! So here are two, well it is the weekend :) ! The first is When the Night Comes :

Wonder if it's all the beards that inspire such a great sound, this next track just rocks ! It's titled Heartbroken, In Disrepair : 

Please bring the band over to Ireland ! Have a great weekend ! 

The Black Keys : Gold On The Ceiling

We have so far resisted buying El Camino by The Black Keys but we are only putting off the inevitable !!!

They recently did a sold out tour of the UK which we could not get tickets for, though we did get to see them in Atlanta a couple of years ago. They're a great band with a great sound ... this track is the latest single in the UK ... Gold on the Ceiling : 

Think I better go download the album now !

New Kids Activity Books

Andrea created the cover artwork for six new Kids Activity Books called Little Buddies Phonics Fun. The books are packed with loads of fun educational things to do, and they are published by Creative Teaching Press in California. For a list of stores in your area that stock their books you can go to www.creativeteaching.com, and search under 'Find a Store Near You'.

We received a brand new copy of each book, it's always great to get our hands on the finished product !

Franc Franc Tokyo

It was about this time last year that we got back from a trip to Tokyo, and a week later the earthquake and tsunami struck the east coast of Japan. So it was with with a sense of wondering how things were going to be twelve months on, that we headed back to Tokyo this year. The city is not THAT far from the disaster area, so it was nice to find that Tokyo was just as buzzy as it was last year. The japanese are an amazingly resilient people, and they have just got on with clearing the disaster area up, it is going to take a long time but you just know they will do it.
We have been to Franc Franc several times in the past, it is a store full of colour and their own unique style for the home. The shop in Shinjuku is on a terrace just below Takashimya. It is also just across from Krispy Kreme that has queues outside the front door all day long !

Here are some images of the exciting products in Franc Franc this year :

Candles that look good enough to eat !

Patina Xmas 2011

Before the Holidays become just a distant memory, I was lucky enough to be in Minneapolis back in December, which meant I got a chance to go into Patina when all their xmas displays were out. As always, it was a great time to go in there, not only to shop, but also to take in their eclectic mix of gifts, toys, cards, gift wrap, and great idea's for the home. Here are some photo's from the store :