Get in touch

Vivat Veritas

Custom Wedding Dress & Kimono Upcycled Clothes | オーダーメイドウェディングドレス&着物ドレス

/ Archives for blogs / every day life

every day life

Etsy Craft Party 2015

By

Etsy craft party in Tokyo 2015 via Vivat Veritas3 Etsy craft party in Tokyo 2015 via Vivat Veritas

My friend Natalie and I went to a Etsy Craft Party held in Shibuya last weekend. I’ve participated in the Tokyo Craft Party in both 2012 and 2013 and have met some wonderful people there including Taren of Oslo and Alfred. They always make for a good time. It was not a “party like a rock star” event but fun nonetheless. I was able to make this weird perpetual motion (yes I know that is wrong but I don’t know how else to describe it) origami thing called a flexagon. I simultaneously amazed my daughter and bored my husband with this thing.

All in all it was fun. I look forward to the next one.

Here are some groovy people I met at the party:
– Hiroko Japan (hand-dyed textile)
– RosieKarin (culinary illustrations)
– necocoa (prints and iPhone cases)
– Kaede (graphic designer)
Flaxagon at Etsy craft party 2015 Japan Etsy Craft Party 2015 via Vivat Veritas 今年もEtsyのクラフトパーティーに行ってきました♪
今年は金曜の夜、渋谷で。
2012年、2013年と行き、毎回楽しい出会いがあるイベントです。
日本でハンドメイドグッズというと、CreemaやMinneを良く聞きますが、
私はアメリカに居た2008年からずっとEtsyで販売しています。
Etsyにてカスタムオーダーやセレクトショップへの販売の道が開けたこともあり、結構忠実なユーザー。。
これから先、日本用サイトもできるみたいなので（今は部分のみ日本語になっています）期待してます！

Etsyロゴ入りケーキやクラフト出来るブースがあって、楽しかったです。
chie sig2

Find me elsewhere:

Four Years Old

By

cupcakes3

Kiko turned four last month. Although we threw her birthday parties every year up until now (first, second and third), we decided not to do it this year and enjoy a quiet birthday by ourselves. I made her mini cupcakes and Andy got her Belle and Rapunzel dolls. She loved them and played with them for an hour. I loved playing with my dolls as a child, so I enjoy seeing Kiko plays with them too.

On her birthday, she had  daycare in the morning. At the end of the daycare, a caretaker usually gives me a slip of paper describing what she ate, whether she pooped and one paragraph journal of how she was for the day. On that day, it said something like this in Japanese: “Today was Kiko’s birthday. She was excited to tell everyone about her birthday. I (the caretaker) asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. She said she wanted to be like mommy”.
Parenting has ups and downs. There are some days that I feel I’m doing an alright job as a mother and there are some days that I get haunted by the thought that I might be screwing up or completely ruining Kiko’s life because of what I’m doing or not doing. It was one of those days that made me happy because she said she wanted to be like me! It was such an honor. I know you might think that every little girl says that, but it made me happy nonetheless.
娘が4歳になりました。
これまでは毎年お誕生日会をやっていたのですが、今年はお休み。
家族でゆっくり過ごすことにしました。
カップケーキを作って、一緒に飾りつけ。
保育園の先生に、大きくなったらマミーみたいになりたいってこっそり言っていたと教えてもらって、
なんかほっこり。
嬉しかったです。

cupcakes1 cupcakes2 cupcakes4 kiko 4th birthdaychie sig2Find me elsewhere:

Rental Sewing Space in Tokyo

By

tokyo rental sewing space vivat veritas

“Co-working spaces” have been popping up all over Tokyo these days. It is a great place for someone like me who works from home to work, to meet new people and network. I’ve signed up for one place near Tokyo station and have been enjoying the new environment. Little did I know that a co-working space for sewers and crafters existed. Recently, I saw a facebook post that my friend made. The place is called “coromoza” and it is where you can sew, print fabrics, use a CAD  laser cutter and hang out with like-minded people.
Some of my expat friends here in Tokyo sew, but have a problem finding space to set up a sewing machine or find the length of their stay prevents them from investing in a machine and other equipment. Coromoza seems to be a perfect place for them!
I decided to check out the place one afternoon.

The place is a bit hard to find, unless you have Google Maps or exact direction to the place. It is about a minute walk from the exit 7 of Meiji Jingu Mae (明治神宮前駅) station (Fukutoshin line or Chiyoda line). The outside looks like an ordinary apartment building without any distinguishing sign. The name of the building is “Jingu Heights(神宮ハイツ)”. I double checked because it felt as though you are going into someone’s apartment without permission. Coromoza is on the 4th floor of the building. Coromoza outside view Vivat Veritas BlogHow to get to sewing studio coromoza

The place is smaller than I expected, but is well equipped with professional sewing machines (the speed and power are somewhat between that of home sewing machine and industrial sewing machine), surgers, CAD, vacuum iron, embroidery sewing machine, fabric printer and more. The price is 270yen per 15 minutes for non-members (so it costs 1080 yen per hour) or 3780 yen for a day. More details here (Japanese only).

tokyo rental sewing space vivat veritas blog1 tokyo rental sewing space vivat veritas blog2 tokyo rental sewing space vivat veritas blog3 tokyo rental sewing space vivat veritas blog4 tokyo rental sewing space vivat veritas blog5 I hope this review is useful, and feel free to email me if you have any questions.

P.S. My review on Japanese online sewing supply stores here.

Coromozaという、明治神宮前にある服作りに必要なものが揃っているレンタルスペースに行ってきました。
職業用ミシン、ロックミシン、刺繍ミシン、ＣＡＤ、レーザーカッターや布プリンターなど、家庭には置けないようなものも揃っていました。
場所は駅近ですが、ちょっと分かりずらいかも。
外見はふつうのアパートの一室です。

家に使えない機械を試したりと、今後活用したいと思います！

chie sig2Find me elsewhere: