Hello! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend❤ Mine was nice, but it went all too quick. One of the things I did this weekend was to go to Nippori fabric district to get some fabrics I needed for custom orders. I went there at around 2pm, and ended up wandering around there for about 3 hours, trying to find this perfect, teal color that matches with the ribbon that my customer sent me (right). You have no idea how happy I was when I finally came across with the perfect match!
My usual routine was to go straight to Tomato and get all my shopping done there. I’m used to Tomato, and I felt like I knew my way around – also thought they had the most reasonable prices in Nippori. However, after checking out bunch of other stores in Nippori this weeknd, I was convinced otherwise.
Through this 3 hours of wandering around, I found a new shop called “Zak Zak“. I think you would love or hate Zak Zak, because the place is not all well organized. It’s like a warehouse type of place, and reminds me of the warehouse fabric place I used to go in Philly, called “Jomar”. I love it because it is like a treasure hunt, and I can find good deals there at amazing prices – if you have time to kill, that’s the place to check out. Also it’s great when you don’t have any particular fabric shopping list, to enjoy what you can find in such a mess!
Also the other shop I like is “Miki“. I go there if I am looking for dressy fabrics, like satin or silk. They have different varieties of higher end fabrics, and that’s where I found the teal fabric. Although the satin is in polyester, it is rather higher quality and drapes it well as compared to some 290yen (3 bucks) a meter poly satin you find at Tomato.
I also enjoyed reading this article on Sew, Mama, Sew! blog about Japanese craft store.The writer of the article, Karen has a cute blog, called Seam Ripper.
If you live in Europe, this article about European sewing scene might interest you:)
What I’ve been working on…
Four Years Old
Valentine’s Day Idea | $20 Gift Exchange
Forgotten Fancies says
Oh I LOVE Nippori, I went there the last time I was in Tokyo. My boyfriend thought I went mad because I had such a big grin on my face. I'm already planning my next trip back to Japan, going to check out those other stores you've mention. THANKS!
vivatveritas says
Forgotten fancies,
Me too! I love nippori! Enjoy your next time shopping there – I'm glad to be able to be of some help!
Katherine says
Well done for finding the perfect match, I love teal. You should have a look at The Sew Weekly because they are doing blue floral this week.
Ai says
oh great fabrics 😀 how i wish i live in a place where fabrics are so wonderful, where i am living now i am kind of struggline finding fabric stores, if i can find one i dont like what they have.
tks for mentioning about european sewing scene. i will definitely check this out since i am living here in europe.
vivatveritas says
>katherine,
thank you for letting me know about the sew weekly! this is the first time i visited the site, and i love it!
>ai
that's too bad that you dont have good fabric shops around you.. mine is not close close, but i can get there in an hour. i hope you will find something interesting from the european fabric scene link:)
karen says
Hi-I'm glad you liked the article. Japan is heaven for fabric! I'm going to spend 3 days shopping in Tokyo soon; can't wait! Glad I found your blog…you're gorgeous pregnant!
vivatveritas says
>karen
thank you for your comment! yes i really enjoyed your article on sew mama sew:)
have fun fabric shopping in tokyo:) xx