Designer's Blog

I spent my summer vacation in Hawaii and visited two islands, Kauai and Oahu.

Kauai Island is constantly surrounded by the beauty and abundance of nature.

I cruised around the Na Pali coast, a fifteen-mile stretch of rugged coastline and was surprised and lucky to see so many dolphins swimming around the boat!

I learned that Kauai is called the “The Garden Island” because most of it is composed of undeveloped mountain ranges and rainforests.

This big cactuses and flowers are all very powerful!

The famous Waimea Canyon!
I was amazed to see this geological wonder on this small island. The panoramic view from the top is just incredible.

I also went horse-riding on the beach and enjoyed the gentle sea breeze.

I’ll let you know about Oahu in my next blog so stay tuned!

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I went to Joana Vasconcelos’s contemporary art exhibition at Versailles with my friend Paola, Aisha from Barbette store, and also Giorgio and Jun from the Paris office.

Joana is a visual artist from Portugal and she often comes to Barbette store when she’s in Paris.
Thank you so much Joana for shopping at my store!
I’m looking forward to seeing you soon in Paris!

This huge and colorful chandelier-like artwork is called Mary Poppins.
It is made from an original mix of textiles and pre-existing objects, an assembly of indsutrial textures and hand sewn fabrics. Very vigorous and powerful!

The day I visited was a regular closing day but it was opened specially for me so no one was around and it was a very special and private visit.
We were explained of the whole work of Joana and the story of Versailles. It was really interesting.

This two warlike lions in white lace napkins reminded me of a guardian lion-dogs at Shinto shrines and also sphinx from Egypt. I wonder how long it took to make this artwork.

Her artworks are very beautiful and I really enjoyed them.
They also have message behind them which made it more interesting.
Thank you very much for this special invitation!

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I spent a great time last month in Kyoto as I visited a couple of temples and had delicious traditional Japanese food.
When I’m in Tokyo, it’s quite difficult to spend nice and calm time and I was able to purify my soul during that trip.

The first temple I visited was the Ohara Sanzenin.
This temple is in a rural town nestled in the mountains of northern Kyoto and the landscape is very beautiful.

Also it is known for its beautiful moss covering a garden and the Momiji (maple leaves) in Autumn.
I’d like to visit it during the Autumn season someday.

The second one was the Entsuji Temple.
This garden employs the “borrowed landscape” technique.
It’s difficult to find out in my picture but usually you can see Mount Hiei through the trees in the back.

I spent a very quiet time contemplate the garden.

The last one was the famous Kiyomizu Temple.

This temple makes me excited every time I visit!

I went to the Pontocho district for dinner and had great dishes with Maiko-san.

There are many geisha houses and traditional tea houses there.
The ceramics and vessels made with tortoise shells were just beautiful.

The last two pictures are in Tokyo.
It’s the oldest temple in Tokyo, surrounded by modern buildings and within the Tokyo Skytree’s sight.
I think it’s interesting how new and old things are mixing up in Tokyo!

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