|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| Gus helps you do the things you can't do yourself. |
|
|
Check it out! All 80 String Doll Gang members now come with a woven fabric tag that will never rip or wrinkle, as well as a lobster claw clip and keyring that will ensure your little buddy does not fall off your bag or keychain. String Dolls and their owners can now stop worrying about loss - PHEW! As before, each string doll's name appears on the front of the tag, and his or her special power appears on the back. Best yet is that the price is the same as before - pretty nice, eh?
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| Debo Suphero Usagi-bo, the Hero of Lovin', changes his appearance every day! |
|
|
Just when we thought there was no way to make our everyday lives a little easier, the Debo Superheroes™ came into the picture to change all that. Made by the DEBO art collective in Thailand, these 2 - 3" vinyl Superheroes stay the same shape but change their features regularly so they never look quite the same. Each one comes in a limited edition of 50 (the number is stamped inside the doll’s tag and ensures that no two orders are ever the same) and helps you overcome such irritations as delayed planes, bad hair days, and finding true love. Thanks DEBO Superheroes – we needed ya bad!
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| Our new wood spinner display can be used with 1 product, 2 products, or all 3 products at once! |
|
|
Happy New Year!! We’ve decided to “go green” in ’08 and have eliminated the packaging that The String Doll Gang® comes in. When we started telling stores about this we heard back that many of them actually took the dolls out of the bags when they received them, so that was good news! This will also save us some “bagging” money and will allow us to improve the string dolls so that they are better than ever without having to raise the price, and that’s always a good thing too! (stay tuned for news on that…).
Now that our String Dolls no longer come in a bag, we also have a new wood display for them which is free with an order of 50 dolls. This same display can also be used for our other two handmade dolls: The Koonin Family Pets™, and our newest product (coming soon!) DEBO Superheroes™! Order 25 each of two different products and get a 50 – 50 display with a different header on each side, or if you’d like to use it for all 3 we have a three-way header as well!
Please note that there is $10 shipping fee per display since it ships direct from the workshop where its made in Oregon. We can also only offer one free display per product per storefront (additional displays may be purchased) – many thanks for your understanding!
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| Finnegan makes sure your luck is always Irish! |
|
|
|
We are teaming up with Pocorn Posters, a great company out of Glastonbury, CT, to sell 11 x 14" and 11 x 17" framed prints (with different framing options) of ALL of Minoji and Kirieya's wild and wooly images.
We're still hammering out the details, so keep checking back for ordering information, prices, and choices. But you can still order some framed prints through us if you can't wait that long. Look here.
Plus, we now have a Leprechaun String Doll named Finnegan, just in time for St. Patrick's day. Give one to all your Irish friends for good luck!
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
| What's new? Popular Minoji postcard- turned-greeting-card and Sid! |
|
Happy 2006!
What’s new is that we’re going to update this section of our website a little more often so that it truly reflects all the goings on at Kamibashi and in a timely fashion too. The newest event as of this writing is that we’ve taken the most popular Minoji and Kirieya postcards and turned them into greeting cards. We’ve also started printing our cards in greater quantities which has resulted in a cheaper price for us and in turn you. Our web store prices will be updated to reflect this soon, so if we haven’t done that yet please check again in another few days. We are also happy to report that all of our paper products are printed in the U.S. and always have been.
Also new on the Kamibashi shelves are Sid and Bella, the two latest members of The String Dolls Gang. Both of the kids come in an array of different hair color and Bella’s outfit also changes color. Although Sid is always wearing his signature black pants, his body comes in white, blue, and red, making Sid the most diverse member of the whole String Doll crew. Hope you love ‘em as much as we do!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| Mini minimarket in Brooklyn is one hot little Kamibashi shop |
|
It’s been almost 3 weeks since our return from the (wholesale) National Stationery Show in NYC and we are still sending out boxes! The show is really great – I mean, what’s not fun about meeting all kinds of cool people from all over the US and Canada (some people even come from overseas!) and talking about your products?
We got a great response from stores who bought from us last year (it was great to see everyone again!) and we met lots of new cool store owners too. Thanks everyone! We couldn't be happier about the kinds of stores that are into what we have to offer. If you live anywhere near one of our stores we highly recommend checking them out – not only for Kamibashi stuff (though definitely don’t leave without buying some!!) but for all of the other great products they carry. These people have good taste!
If you don’t live anywhere near one of our stores then use the Buy Now option that Chris has been working hard to put up. We are really excited about being able to sell online to people who don’t get out shopping much or who don’t live near a Kamibashi store. Have fun clicking away, and if you have any questions or would like to make any comments please write me at: Kristen@kamibashi.com. Thanks and happy shopping!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| Little Prince - one of 16 String Doll Gang characters |
|
Wow, we’re back for good here in the U.S. (it’s been 4 weeks and 2 days now since we moved from Japan!) and everything’s going great!! We’re in our new place outside of Asheville, NC (very cool town, put it on your list of places to see) and are working feverishly to strip wallpaper and also get ready for the Stationery Show in NYC next month (Booth 5023 – it’s only open to store owners so if you’re one of them then please come have a look – you won’t be sorry!)
Up til now we’ve mostly been working to get Kamibashi ready for our big move back from Japan, and now that we’re here it’s time to really get things rolling and get all the great stuff we’ve put together out there for folks like you to see. In addition to finding fun new stores to carry our stuff, we’ll be working on putting “Buy Now” buttons on everything so you can buy direct from us if there’s not a store near you - be on the lookout for that later this spring.
The latest fun product news is that we found another really cool score on our travels this winter and we can’t wait to have it in our hands. We call them The String Doll Gang™ and they’re these awesome little characters that are handmade in Thailand using just one piece of string + some tiny accessories to really bring out their personas. They’re best used as keychains or hanging off your backpack (though you can use them however you want –hey, why not put a couple on your Christmas tree this year!) Pictured here is Little Prince, and if he could talk Iwould bet you a tenner that he’d win more than one princess heart. Get acquainted with The String Doll Gang™ on our site in just a couple of weeks and then we’ll have them for sale (with those Buy Now buttons I was talking about) to send out to you as soon as we can get enough of them for ourselves. All kinds of exciting things to look forward to….including wallpaper free walls!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| Minoji -- Coming to a t-shirt near you! |
|
More Minoji products are on the way and we are psyched! In addition to the postcards seen online, we’re going to be adding some new great designs and putting them onto greeting cards and t-shirts. We’ll be putting everything on the site before the National Stationery Show in New York in May (Booth 5023 – it’s only for wholesale so come have a look if you’re a store owner!) We’d have even more cool new products ready but we’re in the midst of moving back to the US from Japan (can’t wait till that’s over!!), so we’ll add more before the L.A. Gift Show in July.
Just as exciting will be the addition of 1 more great Asian artist this spring - Ryo Takagi of Kirieya has just joined us with his very cool hand-cut silhouettes that we’ve put onto postcards and greeting cards. Other new artists joining us by mid-July this summer will be Taiwanese designer and all-around creative guy Mr. Eyeball, and Thailand-based Japanese painter Kyoko Abe – check back then to see postcards, greeting cards, and t-shirts with their art as well. We just can’t wait!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Kamibashi website, despite no advertising as of yet, is starting to attract some really great folks who have come across us by chance and who have brightened up our mailbox with their kind words and appreciation for our products. It is nothing less than great fun to be in contact with people who share our interests and passions, and we are delighted that some friendships and sales have been made, proving that business and pleasure really do mix!
The beautiful card featured here, made with one of Kamibashi’s yuzen papers, was sent to me as an “RAK” (random act of kindness) by Heather Taylor, a member of the “Oriental Stamp Art” group (OSA) management team. OSA is a web group whose members all share a love of oriental art and stamping. They produce handmade cards, calendars, and bookmarks, etc. which they send to their friends, family members, and each other. I was introduced to this group by Gene Limtiaco, who came across our site while doing a search on Kimono and then posted our address on the OSA list so that others could check us out. I too joined the group to see what it was all about, and found not only an extremely talented group of artists (have a look here at examples of the beautiful cards they make!) but a close-knit community of kind, friendly, and generous people from all over the world who support each other in their creativity and everyday lives as well. How cool is that?!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| Unique show at a unique place: Textile and Tobacco Box Designs from all over Asia |
|
Kamibashi and Markuz Wernli will be organizing a show in Kyoto on exquisite Textile & Tobacco Box Designs from Laos, Thailand, Japan & China. The exhibit takes place in a traditonal old style Japanese merchant house.
Reception is on Friday, June 11 , from 18:00.
Open: June 11 - 27; 10:00 - 20:00
*Weekdays please call in advance: 075-761-0329
Place: Honenin Noriba, Kyoto (near the Philosopher's Path) 36-1 Shishigatani, Sakyo-ku, Honenin-cho, Nishimachi.
Access: Kyoto Bus #32 (Honenin-cho stop); Kyoto Bus #5, 17, 100, 203, 204 (Kinrinshako-no-mae stop).
Please e-mail Kristen for further information: kristen@kamibashi.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We are pleased to announce the launch of our website! Shop for Japanese papers and Asian textiles using our easy-to-use online catalogue. Our goal is to convey not only the beauty of Asian craft on paper and fabrics, but also the story of the people behind the products. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated – please write to: kristen@kamibashi.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
In our first act of charity, a Kamibashi shawl raised $500 in a silent auction for the Alliance Française in Chicago. The auction was held at a benefit party at Union Station (Chicago's main railroad station) on May 14th, 2004.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This past March, Kamibashi spent 3 weeks meeting with our textile suppliers and liaisons in Thailand and Laos. The highlights of the trip were our visits to quite a few weaving villages and our many conversations with the weavers themselves. It is both amazing and awe inspiring to see these marvelous works of art in progress, and the pride that was evident in each weaver as they worked is well deserved. Depending on the size of the textile, the weaving style, and the weaver's amount of experience, a single silk
weaving can take anywhere from a day to several months to complete.
In a continuing effort to establish working relationships with textile producers and to set up fair trade practices with weavers and weaving villages, we will continue to visit these and other countries regularly, and will update you on our progress as well as introduce you to the weavers we are working with. Our next trip to Thailand and Laos is scheduled for the end of July 2004 - come back to this page in the fall to hear all about it!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BACK TO TOP