In Japan, all the 'small, various products used in everyday life' are commonly called 'zakka,' a term which encompasses household goods, daily necessities and sundries. However, zakka has also come to represent a style of art and craft that is simple, charming, and of Japanese esthetic. Most items in the zakka style are handmade, but there are commercial companies that mass produce items using the style. The Japanese dictionary describes zakka as "general merchandise", "miscellaneous goods", "sundries", "sundry goods" including interior goods, kitchen goods or even cosmetic product.
Zakka Alertz!
Latest Zaka Finds Alert!http://www.shirokumasha.com/zakka.html - Handmade sitressed leather messenger bags and more, amazing polar bears.
http://www.anano.net - stuffed bears
http://www.tupera-tupera.com/ - illustrators, a bit like eric carle
http://www.le-duvet-doux.com - muted zakka
http://blog.livedoor.jp/liecot/ - chewi-choak blog
http://www.colobockle.jp/index.html - another great illustrator
http://www21.ocn.ne.jp/~jellyfis/- kyoko kurabe - prints and handmade books
http://www.bonboog.com - cute stationery and home products
Printables Download Alert! KF Studio has a zakka style calendar for 2007 you can download for free. There are more fun downloads on the Paper Goods page.
I love Kitty-craft Zakka. But I did not know there was an area called Pattern Room on the site. There are about 21 patterns you can download for free. They are written in Japanese, but you can clearly follow the images. I love the needle case, hedgehog stamp and elephant coin purse.
A new shop called Superbuzzy! It's got imported Japanese fabrics and trims with more stuff soon to come! Opened by Mariko of supereggplant.
Zakka style...
Popular types of zakka
Super zakka Hedgie Pincusion! I posted this on my Urban Debris blog. Adpated from a vintage felt toy pattern. Go here to try it. Send me a photo and I will post to this lens. (robinb at mail dot com)Oooo! Make your own Chenille Check out this lens by JaNelle Golden in which she describes a method for making your own Chenille. JaNelle also has other lenses on altered art.
Make a sweater scarf Though these directtions are in Japanese, the scaff is simple to construct, and the images give you enough information to make it easily. The sweater scarf is not the only pattern here - Click on the pink squares with numbers near the top and see several more projects in zakka style.
Tall Poppy is a website that sells handmade handbag supplies. Check them out here.There are also Free Patterns.
Felt "hatbag" Handbag Kit from Calle~Feliz Check out this cute felt kit using a felt hat shape to create a wonderful handbag. These can be purchased from Calle~feliz from their webpage on sale for 1323 yen (about $12.00) Click the drop down menu and then the "In basket" button to add to your cart, or email info@calle-feliz.com for information.
Idea!! Check out these pillows from Velocity These could be made by printing images on fabric using your computer and then creating the pillow. For some vintage animal images, check the Florida ETC Clipart site.
Zakka Style Gallery
Please check the Zakka style gallery located on my bloghere: Zakka Style Gallery. I will be adding images that reflect the zakka aesthetic continuously, as well as links to this page so you can visit the websites with the images yourself.
Random Zakka Style list
More Zakka
Kit Alert!! Did you know you can find some wonderful zakka kits online? Check out Cotton Factory Mini Boom. They have Zakka kits, Baby Kits, Magnet Kits, Retro Kits, and Natural fiber kits. All the kits are zakka style. There are keychains, change purses, key fobs, softies, handbags and much more. My favorite is the Zousan no Erick tape measure cover. A cute little ellie has a tape coming from an unusual place.There are some lovely zakka style blogs out there. Boomark them or use Bloglines to keep up with your reading. Here are a few of my favorites:
Fluffbuff All things knitted.
minitblog Fluffy cakes, but you can't eat 'em!
Paquet Large eyed cuteness.
Petit Beans My absolute fave!
Pu-ku Be sure to see the shop, too:
Unico-memo Knitted and stufties.
Want to make your own zakka style stationary? Look at these stamps from Zakka diary They will surely fill your paper craving. The site also has books, tableware, animal carvings, and swedish metal cookie cutters.
Japanese.craft.books is a blog with scans of those ymmy zakka books about stuffies, handmade flowers, knitting, crochet, etc. The website just has a few books on it right now, but I am hoping this blogger keeps it up!
Curious is a "Zacca" shop that features large headed bears. What makes them unique are their blue and green eyes. The same bears are featured on buttons on cotton lace phone straps. There is also a selection of simple zakka style jewelry and hairpins.
I'm just a geeky gal with a penchant for crafting. Check out CH's Amigurumi sources Lens right here on Squidoo!
Zakka Links
On Squidoo
Link relating to zakka style and handmade items, for inspiration and some for purchase if you can't live without it!
- Softies
- I'm the KnitOwl. Let's make toys! Here are links about making soft toys for kids, babies, for gifts or just for fun! Also check out my other lens Nuigurumi!
- zakka-robo
- Zakka-robo, zakka items direct from Japan.
- zakka-zakka
- ** In Japanese. Zakka-Zakka shop. register to receive mailings, although e-mails are in Japanese. You can translate using Google.
- Chiyodataku
- ** In Japanese. Click on the "shop" link at the top to see their offerings. I especially like the bird straps located here: http://chiyodataku.mikosi.com/strap-1.html
- Leo's Bear
- See the progress and results of this Amigurumi style bear from a Japanese pattern by midnight knitter.
- Amigurumi Along
- A Japanese style crochet blog by Jessica. Here are her rules:
To participate:
Find your favorite soft toy pattern and get hooking!
Post to the blog - successes, frustrations, progress pictures, etc.
Photos should be hosted on your own server or on a free service (like Flickr) - Bloom Zakka Handmade
- **In Japanese. Bloom: Zakka: Handmade features handmade items from various artists and craftsians. I especially like the Nima-Nima moblies, Mochi-Mochi handmade paper, and Bisou Bird hair ornament. Or, maybe I just like the names!!
- Crafting Japanese
- The mega daddy of zakka information on Janpanese Crafting books on huangfamily.com. Super compliation of images, ISBNs, and also related site. Lots of fun to peruse.
- Chotto futto
- ** In Japanese. This zakka style shop features kitchenware, some vintage items, books, stationary, toys and gadgets. There is a super cute mushroom keychain and a vintage handmade apron book that I covet
- chocoA
- chocoA is a shop that sells lots of Decole (commercially produced zakka items in the "French" style), but I though they were worth including for their fabric and notions For more about Decole, visit their website here. You can also purchase Decole from Atelier Jade which is in English.
- Mederu
- These items are for sale, but you can get some good ideas for creative zakka to make.
- Jamcover
- Lovely puppets, amigurumi and lots more. I love the one of a kind stamps and everything on the girly page.
- LensRank: #457 Amigurumi (crocheted dolls)
- Lori - a Squidoo Lensmaster, gives us the lowdown on Amigurumi, the Japanese art of crocheting small animals or toys. The dolls are done in single crochet in the round.
- Polkadot Zakka
- A new source for zakka and Japanese craft books and magazines. The prices are not too bad, either. :-)
- e-zakka
- Zakka style handbags, jewelry, tissue covers. In Japanese.
- Lycka
- Super - delicious zakka jewelry - mostly the kind with lots of danglies, like squirrels and birds.
- Jade Shop
- This shop has Decole, Cute Zakka, Paper Zakka, Fabrics, as well as Japanese fabrics and notions. The sticker sheets are way cool.
- Jugando con Hilos
- A zakka site in Spanish? There is no content yet, but the site says it will be an online Zakka magazine.
- merry's selections
- oooh! Love the bean shaped oven mitts, and the stationary, cards, and books. merry does workshops, too!
- Michiyo
- Nicely done zakka blog with lots of felting.
- noomsie
- Kitchen and home zakka, as well as "zakka life". Check out the blog, too.
Flickr Zakka Pictures
A selection of zakka and handmade posted on Flickr.
Zakka closed :(
muji 肥皂盒底
The MAKE Blog
Zakka or Zakka Style Books on Amazon
Kokoro no Te: Handmade Treasures from the Heart
Amazon Price: $18.45 (as of 10/11/2008)
Handmade Bags
Amazon Price: (as of 10/11/2008)
Hand Felted Jewelry and Beads: 25 Artful Designs
Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 10/11/2008)
Top Ten Zakka Items
Here are the top 10 items that you see the most when looking for the zakka style. (Not in any particular order)
- pincushions
handbags or purses
embroidered kitchen linens
stuffed toys or dolls
print gocco items
amigurumi
tea cozies
jewelry
buttons
hotpads, potholders, doilies
Zakka on CafePress
Urban Debris Designs Jr. Ringer T-Shirt
Deer Pinky Tee
Price: 20.99
Urban Debris Designs Messenger Bag
Sunny Flower Bag
Price: 20.99
Urban Debris Designs Baseball Jersey
I'm Hip Hippo
Price: 23.99
Urban Debris Designs Tote Bag
Zakka style fruity, summery tote bag.
Price: 15.99
Urban Debris Designs Postcards (Package of 8)
Everything Blu-Blu Postcards
Price: 8.99
A Zakka Article by Kaori Shoji
A zakka articleSource: International Herald Tribune
More Than a Consumer Fad, It's the Art of Finding Savvy in the Mundane : Japan's Zakka: What's in a Word? By Kaori Shoji International Herald Tribune
Tuesday, May 15, 2001
For once, the Japanese word for a fashion phenomenon sounds as hip as it deserves to be: zakka. It's the term for everything and anything that spruces up your home, life and outlook.
It could be a wooden clothespin by an obscure company in New Hampshire, it could be an empty tomato-paste can saved for planting basil. Zakka is the art of seeing the savvy in the ordinary and mundane; it's also the act of paying hard cash for such things as can openers in "skeleton pink" (think iMac translucence), just so one's friends will know they're dealing with someone who pays extra for a minor sensory pleasure.
On one level the zakka boom is just another in a series of consumer fads, but on another it's plugged into something spiritual. The Japanese are not into self-expression, but the zakka boom shows they are quite willing to let floor cushions do the talking for them: expensive floor cushions, made by a particular manufacturer, selected with loving attention and displayed just so.
Zakka's elusiveness is defined by the fact that it's often hard to define a zakka item from mere household sundries. For example, a plastic ashtray will not qualify as a zakka but a plastic ashtray picked up in a flea market in Paris with "Pernod" inscribed on top, is zakka at the maximum level. The dividing line is often nothing more than a teenage customer going "ooooh," but that line is more difficult to cross than it looks.
Zakka is shop, café and gallery, but the kicker is that nothing looks like it's for sale. The staff members take turns working at an antique sewing machine installed in the entrance space, there's a shelf of sorts that shows linen towels and a few soaps, plus a couple of metal chairs nestled against battered wooden desks.
[Not to be reproduced without the permission of the author.]
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