At the moment I'm unpicking some lovely yukata. These are 100% cotton and a perfect weight for quilting. (I know it horrifies some people that I unpick so many old kimono so in my next blog I might talk a little about that...)
We always have a small selection of netsuke in the shop. We recently put out a few more and this charming ojime bead is my favourite. This serene little boy is only about 2cm tall. Ojime beads were used to pull together the cord that connected the netsuke to whatever item (eg a medicine case) they were holding in place. The netsuke was tucked up and over a man's obi to secure the case hanging below.
These metallic papers were intended for weaving. They were cut into fine strips and used as woven embellishments on garments such as haori. Of course they can be used for other crafts as well.
Similarly this necktie silk doesn't have to be used for neckties! It's very affordable and lovely for other clothing and crafts.
Some wonderful little retro metal food containers. These aren't big enough for a whole 'bento' lunch but were used for side dishes and make great storage containers.
I've put out some rolls of mid-20th century kimono sample fabric. I sell these as whole rolls. They were used as commercial samples to show what designs and colours were available. There was also a tradition of making the rolls up into nagajuban undergarment kimono when they weren't needed anymore.
Finally, I've also put out a box of old handmade washi paper oddments. Here are a few examples...
