Boiserie

Boiserie is a Japanese specialty store with a focus on antique French furniture.
It was hard to understand the items' descriptions or get more info about the shop, although google translate is doing a great job with translating Japanese into English.
But the words are less important here. The atmosphere in the photos and the fine selection of furniture, decorating goods, lighting and mirrors are marvelous and speak for themselves.

I find their selection of products to be in line with the Wabi Sabi aesthetics, which I'm so drawn to - a collection of items that have a past and therefore a character of their own. I believe, when you add one of those to your home, you enjoy more than just a new decoration, you add personality to you space.

Although since we had arrived to Australia we were buying mainly second hand furniture, I still haven't found that special something that I can truly say there's an interesting story behind. I always wanted to get my own old leather couch that is 20 years old and got that smell of distant places, journeys or even just... tobacco. Something like in this apartment for example.

Do you hold a piece of furniture or decoration that has got a special story or memories? Please share with me!

More Wabi Sabi

After running by accident into the Wabi Sabi Style book I have mentioned before, I had an urge to find more about Wabi Sabi.
Looking around at the library catalog, I found the book titled simply Wabi Sabi.
It turned out to be a real gem.

Intended for young readers, this beautiful picture book by Mark Reibstein, illustrated by Ed Young, explains the meaning of Wabi Sabi in a simple yet smart way both children and their parents can find fascinating.
It tells the story of a cat called Wabi Sabi who tries to understand the meaning of her name after hearing her master describing it as 'Hard to explain' when asked by a foreign visitors.
Wabi Sabi then leaves her home at Kyoto and starts her journey to the foot of Mount Hiei in a quest to find the answer to her question.

I can't tell which I enjoyed more - the glorious and heart-warming lyrical writing of Mark Reibstein or the superb illustrations by Ed Young.
The combination between the two is what probably makes this book so admirable.

Mark Reibstein also enriches the book with Japanese haiku by Basho and Shiki so the adult reader can have an extra flavor. It 'hides' decoratively throughout the book in its origin Japanese and translated into English on the book's last page.

Ed Young's illustrations are simply breathtaking. He made a sequence of collages, made from a collection of natural and used 'Wabi Sabi' materials (as 'New things don't have stories to tell' in his own words).
The vertical design is another factor that contributes to the feeling of a journey.
As you turn the pages you can sense the different places, emotions, even the pace in the cat's current location through the collages textures, patterns and colors.

I fell deeply in love this book!
It is fascinating how the authors took a subject as hard as a Japanese philosophy which is really 'hard to explain', as the story begins with, and succeed of making it so simple and delighting both for children and their parents. The combination of the two - the poetic words and the perfect art work reveals the essence of Wabi Sabi - The beauty in simplicity.

The best way to end this post is to enjoy a few Haiku by Basho (indicated with {b}) and Shiki (indicated with {s}).
Enjoy!

. . . . .
another year is gone
a traveler's shade on my head
straw sandals at my feet
. . {b} . .

. . . . .
from the firefly
in my hands,
cold light
. . {s} . .

. . . . .
how comfortable
touching the cool wall -
a daytime nap
. . {b} . .

. . . . .
rustling softly
over the bamboo -
snow in the night
. . {s} . .

. . . . .
along a mountain path
somehow sweet and charming -
a violet in bloom
. . {b} . .

Some more:

* Great review on this book can be found at SEVEN IMPOSSIBLE THINGS BEFORE BREAKFAST.

* More on Ed Young's illustrations as well as a fascinating interview with him can be found at How to Be a Children’s Book Illustrator.

* Mark Reibstein and Ed Young discuss the making of the book, from the book idea, the collaboration between the two, the art work and all the long journey they had until publishing.


*** All photos from the book Wabi Sabi are copyright © 2008 by Mark Reibstein (Author), and Ed Young (Illustrator)
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers; (October 1, 2008)

*** Haiku by Shiki - Masaoka Shiki by Burton Watson

*** Hokku and Haiku by Basho - Basho and His Interpreters: Selected Hokku with Commentary by Makoto Ueda and 1020 Haiku in Translation: The Heart of Basho, Buson and Issa by William R. Nelson (Author), Takafumi Saito (Contributor)


{---This post is dedicated to Tal - My dear! I Wish you a safe journey and easy going back to the US! Lets conquer the time differences!! :) xoxo---}

Wabi Sabi in Etsy

The item that has got most of the attention on our Etsy shop is the Japanese Tiny White and Blue Vase. And it wasn't because of its beauty (Even though it is beautiful! It is so charming and special little piece) but because of the book I used as a background while shooting the pictures...

It is a great book I borrowed from the library (yes, it's very sad that it isn't mine) called Wabi Sabi Style. It is an interior design book with suggestions to follow and very inspiring photos and poems.
The wabi sabi concept seems to be more and more correlating with the way I think/experience beauty and aesthetics lately.

I don't think I'm the right person to write anything new on the subject. Instead I will give you some quoting from the book and new pictures I took at our front yard. Fair enough?
Enjoy!

Winter
"Winter is the embodiment of wabi sabi. Nature pares down to the bare essentials. Melancholy paints the skies. The very sound of the word winter, with its resonant r, brings a chill to the mind."



"One could begin by taking a walk of discovery. The purpose of this walk is to find all the subtle hidden beauty passed by until now. If perchance it is not presently winter or circumstances do not permit, then a mental walk through a winter woodland will serve the purpose."



Spring
"Wabi sabi in spring is not found in moments of lavish bloom. It is found in hidden jewel-like moments...
It is found in the evocative forms of swelling buds and in the flurry of fallen petals...
With spring, life energies begin to flow again. The energy to start life anew can be found in the simple act of breathing air heavy with the sweet scents of apple blossom and lilac"



Autumn
"Nature is the master colorist. Anything and everything one could possibly want to learn about creating color schemes, color contrasting, and coordination can be gleaned straight from nature itself."

All of the above quotations are from Wabi Sabi Style by Sandra and James Crowley