Big in Japan

Japanese pop culture event Hyper Japan took place between 1st-3rd October. It was a heady mix of fashion, food, gadgets, all things anime and more fashion. How come I didn't know about it until about 3 days before the event?! Clearly I'm losing my touch..

Or perhaps not, as it turned out I was able to nab a press pass through work and escape for some 'serious research' on the Friday afternoon - yay!

I kicked off my taste of Tokyo street culture with an interview with Misako Aoki. Don't know who she is? She undoubtedly has one of the coolest job titles in the world: Japanese Ambassador of Cute. I am not joking. In addition to miscellaneous duties connected to this, she splits her time between working as a model of Lolita fashion (more of that shortly) and a nurse. Oh yes, only in Japan folks.


So what does the Ambassador of Cute look like? Well, positively doll-like:


Don't you just want to go 'aaw'?


After being grilled with questions such as 'don't you ever get tired of being cute?', the interviewer moved on to Tania Tanzil, who apparently is the queen on Lolita fashion in the UK:


Rather impressive hair!


The final guest with Naoki Matsumura, Supervising Editor of Kera Magazine - Japan's top Lolita fashion mag. Here he is looking rather at home between the two lovely ladies:


As you've probably guessed, there were plenty of Misako admirers in the audience and they had even gone so far as to create a little scrap book for her with materials amassed from UK Lolitas. So Lolitas do 'scrappin'? Who knew?



And then all the Lolitas in the audience were asked to come up on stage for a photo opportunity. Tidal wave of cute:


Worth noting that most of the audience had made an effort. This was the view from my seat:


Once the show was over I picked my way through the exhibition, checking out cutesy clothes with kittens and strawberries on. Worth noting that one of the very pretty shirts I picked up cost £125. Yipes! Looking cute obviously does not come cheap.


I'm not sure who this antlered dog was, but I blame him for what happened next..


Just as I had finished photographing the above mentioned deer-dog, I nice lady came up to me asking whether I would mind being interviewed. I hesitated for a millisecond, but then thought 'well, how bad can it be?' Hmmmmmm.

I was brought over to a big screen and introduced to two presenters who indeed seemed to embody the 'hyper Japan' vibe. They began by asking me a bit about myself and I told them I was looking for innovative bits and pieces for our Global Innovation Reports which they seemed to find quite exciting.

Soon I noticed that in addition to being able to see myself on the screen in front of me, there was also text flowing over the picture (mainly in Japanese). I didn't realise until later that I was in fact being broadcast live on the Japanese video sharing/streaming website Nico Nico Douga - 13th most popular website in Japan, if Wikipedia is to be believed. This is Lotta, live from London.. This also made what came next infinitely worse.


I was interrupted during my Global Innovation monologue by one of the presenters who said: 'Are you married? Are viewers would like to know!' I then noticed the over-layed text flowing across the screen, containing the words 'pretty' and 'beauty' along with lots of '8s' which I took to mean that lots of Japanese people were indeed sending me little happy messages from the other side of the globe.

I stammered something about living with my boyfriend, and the screen suddenly filled with little 'yay' and 'boo' messages. Incredible! The presenters then asked if I knew any Japanese music and whether I would sing for them. Erm, hello? A) I don't know any Japanese music, or even any Japanese for that matter B) I cannot sing to save my life. Of course I had to drop myself in it though, by gleefully saying: 'Oh, I don't know any Japanese music, but being from Sweden perhaps Abba would be more fitting?' Me and my big mouth.

The presenters proceeded to do lots of hopping about in excitement and said in unison: 'Yes! You sing 'Dancing Queen!' One, two, three go!' Oh crap. So I had no choice but to perform approximately one verse of 'Dancing Queen'. Live. Oh dear.

They then asked me about my favourite Lolita fashion style, to which I replied that I actually preferred Steampunk. They seemed confused by this so I, obviously beyond mortification at this stage, got my digital camera out and showed them a pic from the last White Mischief party. Obviously one presenter grabbed my camera and proceeded to shove it into the lens of the recording device. The screen filled with 'ooooooo' and 'eeeeeeeee'. I sensed it was time to go.

Walking around the rest of the exhibition, I felt oddly liberated. There were a lot of stalls selling very pink cutesy items:


And pink cutesy foodstuffs (I have no idea what that woman is wearing):


The only other point to mention was that I has to stop by the Kera Magazine stand and purchase a copy or two of the infamous publication. I even had them signed by Miss Misako herself, so there!


Otherwise that was quite enough excitement for one day. However I was back on Sunday for just a little bit more.

Misako and Naoki were back in action, rocking new outfits:


Tania this time sporting a more Gothic look:


Both looking pretty as ever though:

It should be noted that at this point, my camera decided to call it a day and pack up. My iPhone did a grand job of filling the gap, but the remaining pics are slightly more dodgy in their quality - apologies.

There was then a brief fashion show from the main Lolita fashion houses as it were. First up 'Innocent World', showing something of a classic, yet understated Lolita look:



Then 'Sexpot Revenge' showed the punkier side of Lolita fashion:


Lastly, 'Angelic Pretty' showed the popular 'sweet Lolita' look:


Next we were introduced to Mami Honda, Lolita hair and make-up artist extraordinaire:



Mami proceeded to add about 4 hair pieces by 'Loves Change' to Tania's willing head:


Producing something spectacularly bouffant:


Having been lured by the promise of humongous hair volume I decided to check out the 'Loves Change' wig stall and had Mami herself clip some blonde hair pieces into my mane. After a bit of styling, she looked at me and pronounced me 'kawaii'.


It's clear that for most who dress in Lolita fashion, it is only a bit of harmless dress-up fun, although it does worry me when I read articles like this that allude to the darker side of it all.
Personally I am intrigued, and although I may not be sporting dresses with sweeties on any time soon, it was so much fun to experience just a little of Japanese culture ahead of my trip next year.

Take 5

I love a good pop-up event, and Innocent's 'Five for Five Cafe' didn't disappoint.
First the facts: the cafe was open from 1-7 October and housed in a rather cosy location known as The Tramshed, just near Old Street Station.

The aim was to serve 5,000 people their full five-a-day portion of fruit and veg in one meal, for just £5. Lunch was served 12:30-3pm and dinner was procured in two sittings, 6:30-8:15pm and 8:30-10:30pm. We were lucky enough to grab a ticket, so moseyed down to the shed to see what was instore..

Thoughtfully there was also a 'take-away' area where busy people could pick up a veg pot and smoothie if they didn't have time to stay for a whole meal:


Inside The Tramshed:


The atmosphere was warm and rustic (the fairy-lights helped) with just a dash of community spirit, lent by the communal wooden tables. It felt a bit like a huge informal wedding dinner!


Interesting wall of salad, not for the colour-blind:


Here was the menu of the day, created by TV chef Gizzi Erskine. Diners could choose two dishes from the menu for their £5. The sweet potato brik was by far my favourite.


To raise spirits further and keep the crowds entertained, these lovely gentleman played some bluesy numbers for us. I have to admit it was a good choice of Innocent to choose slightly more *mature* talent, rather than plumping for the usual barely-out-of-their-teens musicians. Much more authentic and on-brand.


There was also a little kid's corner where badges could be made, but no children were to be seen during our visit. I would have been rather tempted to have a go myself, had my self-consciousness not gotten in the way.


On our way out, we were given a little pack of take-home recipes:


A nice touch to round off a nice evening. Maybe I'll give that brik dish a go myself..

Bootie call..

I can't believe that's it's really been almost 7 months since my friend T announced that she was 3 months pregnant! This means not only that she and her husband will shortly have their hands very full indeed, but also that I shall be attending my first baby shower this weekend.

With it being my first one and everything, I wasn't entirely sure what one does on these occasions (or indeed what one should bring), so I am falling back on my universal strategy of cake and knitted items. They always seem to go down well.

Hence I pulled out my trusty Saartje's Booties pattern and got to work:


Yarn is from my stash of left-over bits and buttons are from Kleins. So small yet so satisfying.

Return to Trinity Buoy Wharf

Contrary to how the title may sound (rather like a horror/thriller methinks), our return to Trinity Buoy Wharf (location for Hotel Medea, as you might recall) included a good deal of pottering around, checking out art studios, climbing up lighthouses and exploring buildings made of shipping containers. Oh and scoffing burgers. Rather a good way to spend an active yet relaxing Saturday.


Exploring London has always been one of my favourite things and getting to go inside usually restricted buildings holds a particular thrill. It's a way of satisfying my urbex impulse while keeping my sensible side happy.

We began with a tour of the 'experimental lighthouse' where a Mr Faraday used to spend much of his time experimenting with electricity and light. It is now also home to the intriguing Longplayer: "A computer generated musical creation from Jem Finer designed to play for 1000 years." At the time of writing, it has been playing for 10 years, 266 days, 5 hours, 23 minutes and 32 seconds. It sounded rather like whale song, with melancholy drawn out notes echoing around the lighthouse turret it a rather haunting fashion.

Stairs to lighthouse:


View of Canary Wharf from lighthouse:


Random desk by the lighthouse stairs. Is it me, or those this look like a scene from some sort of surreal Terry Gilliam movie? "Why yes, we have been expecting you.."


We then had a poke around a couple of studios, finding some very varied pieces of work. Including this one made with fruit flies:


Rather cool and gross at the same time. Some fishy art going on:


Apparently they are made to be lit from the inside - much like those cocoon-like IKEA lamps (the artist would probably slap me if he heard that).

Next we had a look at Container City and Container City 2 which are all made from, you guessed it, old shipping containers! Most are live/work studios, and although tiny they are perfectly livable and normal looking from the inside.


I rather wanted to check out the Zahira's Boudoir studio for a free leather working workshop, but unfortunately it was closed. They make some rather cool leather corsetry and even run classes.. Tempting!

Did you know that Trinity Buoy Wharf even has a primary school? Well, now you do. We had a look around Faraday School, which had a rather funky rooftop play area. Here was the view:


Loved the cloud-shaped cut-outs!



And as the school is also built using containers (as well as brick), there is the possibility to expand upwards if they need to!

We rounded off the day with a malt shake and burger from Fatboy's Diner. The diner was great, as was the milkshake, but the burger was a little disappointing as it was of the frozen beefburger + white bap variety. Still, only a small disappointment during what was otherwise a lovely day.


We might just be back. Again.

Mr Abominable the Second

You may remember Mr Abominable. I created him as a Secret Santa present for P last year, and is characterised by a permanent despondent air. Since then, M has been subtly hinting that he would like a Mr A of his own, so for his Birthday this year I decided to oblige (under the pretense of making him for a pregnant friend).

So here he is, Mr A the Second:


M seems to like him a lot, and I must mention that the below pic was totally unposed:


Turns out that Mr A is the perfect accessory for hanging out in bed playing 'Angry Birds' on your iPhone, while feeling a bit coldy. Who knew?

Yarn tourism - Swedish style

Ok so maybe this title isn't quite correct seeing as we were in Sweden for reasons other than yarn acquisition also, but I did manage to visit quite a few fibre shops during my stay.

The first was Tant Thea in my home town of Helsingborg. Now, Helsingborg isn't exactly a yarn mecca but this new store was definitely an improvement on the existing offering i.e. a tiny shop selling mainly acrylic (I can see you wincing). Tant Thea has a pretty good offering, and I succumbed to some nice Drops Alpaca which was discounted by 30%. The discount was due to the owner being fed up of being bossed about by Drops, who were trying to tell her exactly how to market their goods in store. I actually thought this was normal practice, but held back from pointing that out as she seemed pretty fuming over it. Oh the drama behind yarn!

Behold the Alpaca (dark grey/black and murky blue/green):


I had the pleasure of spending a day in Copenhagen and actually had no intention of going yarn shopping - honest! We did however, stumble upon a cute yarn shop called Bette Design and thought it rude not to go inside.. My mum fell in love with a pretty shawl which I (probably much too hastily) said I could knit up for her. We left the store with some gray wool and a knitting pattern for the shawl..in Danish. I might just have to ask L, our resident knitting Dane to help me with the translation. Either that or I'll just have to hope that my mum doesn't quite remember the exact design.. ;)

Next on the cards was a trip to Stockholm. We stayed in a very cute hotel called Sven Vintappare in Gamla Stan (The old Town) which dated from the 1700s:


Our room took up the entire width of the building, so it was lovely and bright with windows on both sides, but being from the 1700s it was also rather wonky! I found it all quite charming. Even the lethally steep stairs:


Before I launch into more tales of yarn, I should probably mention a couple of other highlights. The food in Stockholm was exceptional, and although rather pricey, it was worth it. My favourite restaurant was Djuret (The Animal) which specialises in seasonal meat. The menu changes every couple of months, depending on which animal is in season and then serves about 5 dishes of various cuts. We enjoyed some succulent reindeer. Great restaurant detailing included meat hooks on which to hang your coats, tablecloths displaying diagrams of meat cuts, and meat grinders which had been turned into table lamps. Do I have to mention that they have *no* veggie options?

You may not know this, but I am slightly obsessed with cinnamon buns. Whenever I go to Sweden I *must* have one. At least one. I have been known to bake my own in London, when withdrawal reaches it's peak. So after reading that Saturnus Cafe sold the biggest cinnamon buns in Stockholm, I made a beeline.
On entering the place I was at first distraught to see that there were none on display, but the kindly lady at the till informed me that they were currently baking a new batch and that they would be ready in 5 minutes. So after an impatient wait the steaming package of cinnamon loveliness arrived. And it was HUGE. I'm not sure the picture really illustrates this fact clearly enough, but perhaps the coffee spoon helps a little in terms of scale. I had to call it quits after half of it and pack the rest away discreetly in a doggie bag, as I would otherwise had done myself and internal injury. But man was it good!


We also stopped off at a rather random junk shop in Gamla Stan. It didn't seem to have a name, nor did the owner seem too interested in customers being able to walk around it in. We spotted lots of interesting items from old fashioned pilot helmets to dashing vintage army coats, but erred on the side of sensible in the end.


And so to the yarn! First stop was Litet Nystan in Soder which I really liked. Easily identified by the yarn 'flag' outside:


A great selection of pretty yarns and friendly staff on hand to explain things. They were also hosting a book launch that day. It was one of those cute crochet books which makes me feel like I really should learn how to crochet properly: 'Valkommen till Virkligheten'.


Of course some purchasing occurred:


Two skeins of Merino Extrafine Lace by Tedman & Kvist (about 1,400m each) and some pretty blue Merino Silk with aloe, jojoba and vitamin E (apparently it's kind to your hands!) by Viva.

On the way to the next yarn store, we met some would-be escapees looking to fly their undignified confinement.


Next stop was Anntorps Vav in Gamla Stan, run by a charming lady who does a lot of her own spinning and dying.


Again lots of pretty things, but I fell in love with one sort in particular: Östergötlands Ull. Handspun and dyed locally, I was hooked. Oh and the colourway (called 'karamell' = sweets) totally won me over.


Colour close-up:


With approximately 1,500m of it, I should be able to do something interesting too.. I'm toying with the idea of creating project bags for myself. Choosing a pattern from my file (stuffed) and selecting some corresponding yarn from my stash (considerable) so it's all ready to go. It might just cut down on the time wasted on faffing. Knitting efficiency here I come?

Puppy power!

My colleague M left for her maternity leave last week. She absolutely loves dogs, as could be seen from her appreciation of the Bramble I created for C some months ago. So this time I thought I would challenge myself and create something a little more representative of canine anatomy. Would I live to regret this?

After some hunting around on Ravelry, I found a rather charming Alan Dart pattern which looked vaguely do-able. Shame I had only given myself about a week to do it in.. Anyway, after scoring some cut-price Rowan during a John Lewis fly-by I got to work swiftly. In just a couple of days, most of the bits were done. They did however, (in their non-seamed state) appear more like beige Humboldt Squid pattern pieces than Labrador components.. I regret not taking more photos of the process, but time was of the essence (poor excuse I know).

Thankfully my lovely knitting ladies came to the rescue and showed me their seaming skills in between bites of Carluccio's finest pasta. Phew almost done! The stuffing and final assembly was a little rushed, but I think in the end it turned out alright.

Obligatory mug shots:




M seemed more than happy with the result, which of course made it all worthwhile.


Not sure I'll be making another one any time soon though!