302 EMBLEM: Flameworked Glass

2009-02-22T21:45:05Z

URL: EMBLEM: Flameworked Glass My dear friend Amara's husband Jake makes beautiful handmade glass jewelry, wine glasses & goblets, oil burner, pens, etc... He currently sells his pieces on Etsy and boutiques stores around town in San Diego. ]]> Since it was my mother in law's birthday. We ended up purchasing one of the pendant that had gecko attached to it. I wish I took a picture of it! It was so beautiful... and she just couldn't stop talking about how much she loves gecko and her pendant :-) The intricate detail work that goes into all of the pieces are just so insane. We discussed about some ideas for future products with them yesterday. We're so looking forward to seeing them in hand!!!

Z-GRADE Animals

2008-12-05T01:38:42Z

URL: Z-Grade RELATED LINKS: Eco-Monster Puppets New Z-Grade creations! We attended the holiday boutique sale event at TBWA/Chiat/Day again this year.]]> In additions to the Eco-Monster Puppets, I decided to make animals for my NC-17 series. These series of animals are called "Innocent Animals". I got the idea of making NC-17 series of animals when we run into raccoons making love in our neighborhood on the way back from our walk. For the event, I was able to finish making male and female cats and squirrels. And I also made some toys for kitties stuffed with catnip! Some of the leftovers are currently available on our online store, and I'll be making more and upload them as I finish! All the products are hand-made and crafted from recycled materials like old vintage t-shirts, shorts, jeans, and even dresses. I use eco-friendly fiber fill and some accumulated fabric scraps to stuff the animals. Marie sent me pictures of how her boy cat is doing in his new environment :-) It looks like he already found a girlfriend! Thanks for sharing the photos!!

Totokaelo

2008-11-25T18:26:46Z

URL: Totokaelo Juicy high-end online boutique store, Totokaelo. Judy sent me the link a while ago, and I've been a member since then :-) All their showcasing clothes are very selective and well edited. ]]> Amongst of all the designers, I always seem to like Junya Watanabe's collections. These two tops above and the dress below are designed by him.

Ohayo (1959)

2008-11-21T18:58:01Z

AKA: Good Morning | Yasujiro Ozu's Good Morning YEAR: 1959 COUNTRY: Japan LANGUAGE: Japanese GENRE: Comedy DIRECTOR: Yasujiro Ozu (小津安二郎) WRITER: Kôgo Noda (野田高梧) |　Yasujiro Ozu (小津安二郎) CAST: Chishu Ryu (笠智衆) | Kuniko Miyake (三宅邦子) | Koji Shitara (設楽幸嗣) - older brother "Minoru" | Masahiko Shimazu (島津雅彦) - younger brother "Isamu" | Yoshiko Kuga (久我美子) | Keiji Sada (佐田啓二) COLOR: Color RELATED LINKS: imdb | goo 映画 Lighthearted Japanese family film from Showa era. The set mainly takes a place in this small Japanese community outskirts of Tokyo.]]> One of the new trends at their Jr High School is to fart when someone pushes their forehead. So, all the boys have been practicing on the way to school. We didn't really know what was happening at first, but it was funny when we realized the game :D And one of the boys always tries too hard and makes a mess in his pants. LOL Other obsession for the kids were to watch TV. TV was still very rare and just started to be available for regular household back then. There was only one house (young couple) with a TV in their neighborhood. And kids were always getting in trouble sneaking to visit their house to watch TV. This family was not well liked in their neighborhood since the couple only worked at night and slept through most of the day. Under all the restrictions and getting in trouble all the time, Minoru and Isamu became frustrated and got in trouble again for giving fuss and acting out. The father told them to be quiet and not say anything anymore. So, the kids took it very literal and decided to not speak at home, school, or even to their friends until they get their own TV at their house. The story indicates some of the most ridiculous, but very common political incidents between all the Japanese housewives in the neighborhood. The film does a good job reflecting the era and teaches importance of communication.

Sori Yanagi

2008-11-19T16:07:00Z

URL: Sori Yanagi RELATED LINKS: Sori Yanagi Design | Bookendless SHOP @ Tortoise | Amazon | Chatchada | Tendo-Ply CAFE: Menya Sou When I first saw Sori Yanagi's cast iron sauce pan at a small Japanese boutique stand at Manhattan Village Mall called Uzu in person, I fell in love with Sori Yanagi. And I've been discovering more of his products, and I'm always amazed and surprised with his genius design and sensitivity for usability. It's rare that product itself makes you think and smile.]]> One of his most famous designs called "Butterfly Chair" designed in 1954. The kettle design (left) is also well known of his design (designed in 1953). It is designed to boil the water faster because the bottom structure of the kettle is designed wider than most kettles. Also, I love the fact that he placed the holes on the side of the lid, so you won't burn your hands by touching the handle or the lid. The set of stainless bowls and strainers are super cool as well... I saw them at Tortoise last month. The bowl and strainer stack perfectly together for easy use of soaking and draining. Very tempting! When I was browsing online about Sori Yanagi, I ended up finding a ramen shop/cafe which opened in Takadanobaba, Tokyo last year called "Menya Sou". The owner is related to Sori Yanagi, and the restaurant is designed with Sori Yanagi's furniture, plates, silverware... and etc. Menya Sou ADDRESS: (MAP) 1-4-21 Takadanobaba Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan PHONE: +81 (03) 5876-7640 RELATED LINKS: All About | TabeLog | MisAdventures in Japan You can choose 2 different styles of noodle. One called "Temomi BokoBoko Men" which means handmade rough and tumble beat up noodle. And the other one called "Chu Buto Chijire Men" roughly translate to medium thickness irregular noodle. And you have a choice of salt or yuzu salt soup. The broth is made with duck, chicken, and fish. And they blend pink salt from Himalayas and Natural sea salt called Hamamishio from Japan. They also serve other items like chicken rice and desert. I'm already getting super hungry!! I would like to definitely go there and try the ramen and experience and appreciate Sori Yanagi's design when I'm in Japan next time!
大きな地図で見る

Asa Ramen

2008-11-17T19:44:00Z

ASA Overall Rating (+++++) food (+++++) | ambiance (+++++) | service (+++++) | price ($$$$$) ADDRESS: (MAP) 18202 S Western Ave Gardena, CA 90248 PHONE: 310.769.1010 RELATED LINKS: Yelp | Go Ramen | Chow Finally found a good ramen place in my neighborhood! Asa is located in the small strip mall on the corner of Western and 182nd (same lot as Sen Nari Sushi and Sanuki No Sato). And they're open till 2am!]]> For Shoyu (Soy) Ramen, you have a choice of ordering Kotteri Shoyu (oily) or Assari Shoyu (light). Since most people were raving about Kotteri Shoyu on yelp, we both decided to get Kotteri Shoyu with Ajitama Egg. (Paul ended up adding extra Chashu for his ramen.) The thing I liked about their ramen was the ultra-thin hosomen noodles. The texture of it is almost like Soba noodle. And the noodle is white (not yellow), and it doesn't have the slippery texture like some cheap ramen noodles I've had in the past. Their noodle is nice and straight and not wavy like top ramen (yes, very important)! Even though it was Kotteri Shoyu, it didn't feel heavy at all. The broth was rich in flavor, but still felt light. Their Ajitama Egg was prepared perfectly! The yolk was still soft and the egg white was pickled nicely and was brown outside. I'm now curious to try their Assari Shoyu and compare the flavor :-) They also had Shio Ramen as a special menu which I would be curious to try someday! I was happy with their gyoza as well. It tasted like homemade gyoza. It would have been better if the meat was little juicier. Perhaps adding some dashi jiru in their meat might help? 2 bowls of Kotteri Shoyu, 2 Ajitama eggs, 1 chashu, 1 Gyoza, 1 Orion Beer. We spent $35 including tip :-) Not too bad for LA. The restaurant is pretty small and cozy. By the time we were done with our delicious ramen, all the tables were packed. Definitely a place to go back when we crave ramen again!
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Shuu Our Baby Kitten

2008-11-14T18:03:02Z

URL: Check out Shuu on YouTube We have a kitten now :) Her name is Shuu. Shuu means fall in Japanese (that's when we found her)... and she also has white paws which makes her look like she's wearing white shoes :D]]> Pictures with her buddy mouse :) I can't get over how cute she is!!! She loves playing with her buddy and climbing onto and pulling herself around the orange cushion using her claws. Buddy is stuffed with some catnip. I wonder that's why she loves to play with buddy so much :D Paul did a wonderful job picking up all the toys! She's getting super energetic now. She jumps, flips, and rolls with her buddy. Also, her recent favorite thing to do is to bite my fingers. Once she is in the biting mood, she bites each fingers back and forth. Then she starts going up on my arm nibbling her way up. She doesn't bite Paul's finger as much yet... I wounder his fingers are still too big for her mouth. Good thing she doesn't bite that hard, but it is sometimes painful for me! I made a nice bed inside the Trader Joe's bag the other day, and she loves to take a nap there :) Since we're taking her to the vet next weekend... I replaced the bag with a cat carrier with bedding inside yesterday to get her used to being inside the carrier. She still prefers Trader Joe's bag better. LOL These are pictures from a week and half ago when we first brought her home :) She was sooo tiny!! The vet said she was about 5 weeks old. Little too small for her age. We rescued her behind pallets at Paul's dad's warehouse covered with dirt and fleas. I'm so happy that she's very healthy and became so used to us! At night, we take her into our bed for 1 hour before I put her to bed in the bathroom. She loves to sleep and cuddle with us :) She discovers something new every day. And I can tell that she's gotten much bigger ever since we brought her home. It's so amazing to watch her grow.

El&Abe: Mossenger

2008-11-13T17:10:41Z

URL: El&Abe Cool post found at QBN on El&Abe's first collaborative project of Eco Graffiti called Mossenger. ]]> It's not just only cool looking, but I just started thinking many other possibilities with this technique... I can see design with a store front signage, street signs, address plaques, or even interesting patterns on pots and vases for plants with Moss. Any surfaces that could get wet on. I love it :) Very inspiring!

Create your own store with Amazon

2008-11-11T23:45:11Z

URL: 302 Amazon Store I decided to create my Amazon store just for fun :) ]]> aStore by adding (featuring) any existing Amazon Products online. The template already comes with a built in shopping cart. The informative product descriptions and customer reviews are automatically added to your product page. And you get referral fees if someone purchases items from your personalized store. I just decided to build one and feature products I already have, want, or looks interesting for myself :) If someone could get use out of my Amazon store, great! I will keep adding and organizing the categories when I have time! Here is a screen capture showing the interface of adding products into your store. Setting up the store is super simple, but there are a few things I wish were different. Reordering and sorting products takes a while with their current setup since you can only view 9 products at a time. I wish there was a way to do batch process to organize kind of like how the Netflix is setup. I also wish that the main store front could be set up to pick random products from each categories. And I don't know why all the products you put in under sub categories don't reflect onto the main categories... I decided to not do sub category for mine for now. Also, ustomizing the design of the store is limited. But, I'm sure it will keep getting better as it gets popular :) I just thought this was very cool... and Amazon is very cleaver that they offer services like this for free. It's beneficial for both ends.

Hakusan Shop

2008-11-05T21:03:07Z

HAKUSAN SHOP ADDRESS: (MAP) From First G Floor 5-3-10 Minami Aoyama Minato-Ku, Tokyo PHONE: (+81) 03.5774.8850 Open between 11am - 8pm RELATED LINKS: Ping Mag One of the store I want to visit when I go back to Japan :) Hakusan Shop in Aoyama showcases and sells all the Hakusan's products directly from the manufacture.]]> One of my favorite designer, Masahiro Mori had designed many porcelain ceramic pieces for Hakusan producing more than 800 household items which are on market now. He has unique minimalist style. I love how simple they are... yet feel very special and has very distinctive looks. The soy sauce pot (Left Top) sells around $24, and the Condiment Set is around $65 online. These cups are my favorite! Each cup has the indent(s) of one's finger(s) and were designed in 1969 for blind people to easily distinguish what's contained inside the cups. It is used as a few of his timeless designs. Available around $18 at Chatchada. Mori's work of art can also be found at MUJI. Little after his work started appearing at MUJI, he passed away on November of 2005 at the age of 77. I have purchased many of his products as gifts for other people, but I don't own any of them yet. I think it's time to start my own collection soon :P

Freebies to Voters Today

2008-11-04T18:10:01Z

Vote today and enjoy a free cup of coffee at Starbucks with "I Voted" sticker and more!]]> Groundwork coffee shops today or tomorrow. Wait! There is more! Ben & Jerry's is giving out free scoops of ice cream at select locations today between 5 and 8 p.m. Krispy Kreme is also giving out star-shaped doughnuts to customers with "I Voted" sticker at select locations.

Free Swirly Graphic Resources

2008-11-03T21:06:52Z

URL: Blog Spoon Graphics I came across this great blog post on Blog Spoon Graphics. The post lists all the free resources for where you can download free sets of Ornate, Floral, Swirly and Curly Vector Graphics. Crazy!]]> Read all the restrictions if any... But, they're good resources to have in your library. Don't forget to be creative though!

HORRORTHON at American Cinematheque

2008-10-31T23:21:39Z

URL: American Cinematheque PLACE: Egyptian Theatre & Aero Theatre Happy Halloween! Dusk to Dawn Horrorthon at American Cinematheque! American Cinematheque hosts all night horror movie night for Halloween every year, so we went there again this year :D ]]> Here were the list of movies. 1989 SANTA SANGRE Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky 1982 PIECES (MIL GRITOS TIENE LA NOCHE) Director: Juan Piquer Simon 1973 SCREAM...AND DIE! aka: The House that Vanished Director: José Ramon Larraz 1960 ATOM AGE VAMPIRE aka: Seddok, L'erede Di Satana Director: Anton Giulio Majano 1969 NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES aka: La Horriplante Bestia Humana Director: René Cardona 1981 BURIAL GROUND Director: Andrea Bianchi

Free Photoshop Brushes + Icons

2008-10-30T16:39:33Z

URL: Smashing Magazine Smashing Magazine offers good resources and tips for making your life easier in design world. I downloaded and experimented with some free photoshop brushes and vector icons this morning. Pretty cool!]]> website. I love these cute animal RSS Feed icon set which I downloaded this morning. Time to update my blog with these icons! Hehehe:D Supposedly, you can freely use them for both your private and commercial projects. Definitely worth adding the link to your bookmark :)

Elisabeth Timpone

2008-10-29T23:13:57Z

URL: Elisabeth Timpone ...just came across Elisabeth Timpone's illustrations. ...those beautiful delicate detailed fine lines... love them!!]]> The painted breast cast for The Keep A Breast Foundation look amazing as well.... It is being auctioned right now on ebay to help educate breast cancer and spread awareness among young people.