11.06.09
Posted in Japanese Gift, Japanese Traditional Gifts, Japanese Unique Gifts, New Products, Tea, gift idea at 4:44 pm by jflairhomestyles
Where do we begin… We have been busy adding new items this past month or so and more to come… We’ll list up what we have received so far. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, let us know. We’ll put them on our wish list!
1. Paper Pot: This is an award winning product from Japan! You can use it for tissue paper as well as toilet paper. Your friends will certainly notice this beautiful paper pot!
Paper Pot-Black
2. Ninja Shuriken Magnet: “This is cool!” That’s what your friends would say when they see it. It’s so unique!
Ninja Shriken Magnet
3. Perfume Atomizer: Tired of spraying perfume all over yourself? This is the perfect solution! Just roll it on yourself without anybody noticing it. Small enough to put in your pocket!
Slick Perfume Atomizer
4. Rubber Stamps: We’re so excited to have this new collection of cute Japanese stamps. These are very popular in Japan and we’ve just ordered more. If you’re creative and into crafts or scrapbooking, you’ll love these!
Petite Stamp - Tea Time
5. Chopsticks & Chopstick Rests: We’ve got a lot of Japanese chopsticks and chopstick rests! They’re all beautiful and almost everything is made in Japan. We recommend hand wash for long lasting use.
Chopstick Rest-Rabbit
6. Sushi Plate Set: Love sushi? Get our sushi plates so that you can enjoy sushi at home! Of course, you can use these flat plates for other food. The high quality plates will show off your meals!
Sushi Set - Brown Beige Platter
7. Sushi Slicing Play Set: You want to share your love for sushi with your children? This is the perfect toy for kids to learn about sushi! You can also teach them about how to use chopsticks and Japanese culture while you’re at.
Sushi Play Set
8. Coin Storage: Do you see a lot of coins laying around in your house? This is a great way to remember where it should go. Before you know it, you’ll have stashed away enough money for something special!
Coin Storage-White
9. Wind Chime: We’ve got a beautiful collection of Japanese wind chimes (”furin” in Japanese)! Hang it on your porch and enjoy the relaxing sound!
Wind Chime - Castle
10. Tea Pots & Tea Cups: This is another beautiful collection. All of them are made in Japan and are high quality items. If you need to take a break, brew a cup of tea and indulge yourself!
Tea Set Pearl White
Whew! That’s it for now. We’ll update our site and blog when we get more!
Thank you for browsing!
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07.25.09
Posted in Event, New Products at 5:05 pm by jflairhomestyles
On Saturday, August 1st, we’ll be attending a Japanese festival, BonOdori, at the Wachovia Atrium in Charlotte, NC. It’s a one-day event from 11am-4:30pm. They’ll have a lot of Japanese food, drinks, dance, raffles, creative workshops, gift items and more.
We’ve been ordering a lot of new items from various vendors these past a couple of months. We have anything from cute stationery to Japanese traditional dishware, and many new items will be introduced at the event.
We hope to see you there, but if you cannot make it, no problem. We’ll be attending another Japanese festival in Atlanta in September. Stay tuned for more information.
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06.20.09
Posted in Event, New Products at 11:46 pm by jflairhomestyles
It’s been hectic at J Flair, but we aren’t complaining…We want to give you belated updates on what’s going on!
We attended Animazement in Raleigh this past May. We just knew a lady who was heading the whole event, so we thought it would be fun to try it out and see what that was all about!
Well, we dressed up in a casual attire and showed up in the vendor room. As we pushed our cart to our booth, we saw other vendors setting up their booths. I was thinking to myself “we’re in totally different world!” We saw cat hats, tails, swords, and other costume things that I had no idea what they were for… And that made me worry a bit in a beginning…
As we were setting up our booth, we heard people shouting and making noises upstairs. I thought they were just being loud, but they were just getting excited about the start of the festival! When the door finally opened, everybody rushed downstairs and started heading to each booth. When I saw all these people dressing up in costumes, all of a sudden, I felt very under dressed…. A lady came up to our booth with beaming yellow eyes and trying to ask me some questions, but I couldn’t help, but staring at those eyes at first. It was all new to me. Everybody was pausing in a character and taking pictures of each other, but I couldn’t recognize who they were supposed to be. I watched Anime growing up in Japan, but that was sadly years ago…..I have no idea what people watch these days….
After a while, I got used to those bright pink wigs or blue painted face, and focused on work, which is to sell our J Flair Goods.
We were told before the event that cute items would do good. So we brought newly arrived cute stationery, bento boxes, and mugs, along with some traditional items. There were a lot of occasions where people rushed to our booth from somewhere and saying “kawaii~!” meaning cute in Japanese. Many came back to our booth a couple of times with different friends, talking about what they bought and what their friends should get. It was also nice that many people asked us if we had a store somewhere. Yes, that is one of our goals!
After 3 days, we were ready to go home. We were tired, but felt good about what we accomplished! Thank you everyone for coming to our booth. We plan to attend next year again with more J Flair Goods!
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03.26.09
Posted in Culture, Japan, New Products, Trend, noren at 5:17 pm by jflairhomestyles
Noren have been around in Japan for a long time. They’re made out of fabric and were initially used as signage for stores. When a store is open, Noren is placed up in front of the store and taken away when it’s closed. They come in various sizes, colors and designs. They are usually short and narrow, and hang over your head. You tend to lower your head or put your hand up to keep it away from your face when you enter a store.
Nowadays, people use long Noren inside of their house usually between rooms. By hanging between door frames, you can hide your kitchen or bedroom from your guests. Or a beautifully designed Noren can be used to accent your hallway. At some restaurants, they use Noren as wall art to accent a bare wall or for use on the pathway to the restroom area. Modern Noren come in various fabric textures, but are usually hemp for interior use. Of course, cotton is used as an inexpensive alternative, but the hemp Noren gives you a more soothing and relaxing atmosphere and an authentic look because of the texture.
Here at J Flair, we have selected Hemp Norens that are popular in Japan. We hope you’ll enjoy our collection!
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01.13.09
Posted in Japan, New Products, Tea at 9:04 pm by jflairhomestyles
Holiday is finally over and what is your next big thing to look forward to? Your body must be tired from traveling or entertaining your guests during the holiday. Now it’s time to indulge yourself! The outside is still cold and you want to warm up with a cup of tea, but no cute cups for your delicious tea bags you got for Christmas? Well, we have something for you!
This Heart Shape Tea Cup and Saucer is nothing like you have seen before. It’s light and has delicate designs. When you pour tea, the heart shape becomes clear. You can just stare at the designs from the top and enjoy the smell of of Earl Grey (or your favorite drink). You can also enjoy the natural fragrance in the steam coming out of the tea cup.
I promise that you will rush into a kitchen once you see this beautiful Heart Shaped Tea Cup. My favorite time to sip a cup of tea is late afternoon. My stomach seems to know the schedule and it would crave for something warm around 3-4pm. Yes, we are all busy, but we need to take good care of ourselves before we take care of others. It’s also a perfect gift for Valentine’s Day!
Speaking of which, my little tea cup is calling my name….
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01.04.09
Posted in Culture, Greetings, Japan, New Products at 9:01 pm by jflairhomestyles
Happy New Year, everyone!
Hope you had wonderful holidays with your friends and family. We sure did! We ate a lot of good food with our friends, but missed Osechi (New Year’s special meal) for the Japanese New Year (Oshogatsu). Oshogatsu is my favorite event in Japan, but I’ve not been able to celebrate it in Japan for years. I’ll look forward to the time when I can in the future…
Yes, putting all of the Christmas decorations away can be sad, but what about replacing them with something unique this year? We recommend Red Beko to put near the entry or in the living room. 2009 is the year of the cow and it’s a perfect way to acknowledge and celebrate this year. You can also place a Kokeshi doll in a bookshelf or on an end table. It gives a unique accent. You can place those decorative items on a Silk Tea Mat to make it stand out more. It will look very elegant for sure!
Other small decorative items to dress up your rooms are Yamada Heiando Collections . Jewelry boxes or even paper weights can be used as decorations around your home. Put all of your Christmas cards you received from your friends and family in an Akikusa Letter Box and put it on a coffee table. You can share them with your guests for great conversation topics.
Did you take a lot of pictures during holidays? Show them off in Japanese fabric picture frames. Because the fabric is so pretty, it will draw everyone’s attention! You can place a gold leaf mouse pad (made from real gold) on a plate stand and it can be used as beautiful gold art.
Enjoy!
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11.14.08
Posted in Culture, New Products, Trend at 2:57 am by jflairhomestyles
People in Japan have used square cloths to wrap or carry things in since the 8th century. Furoshiki means literally “bath (furo) spread (shiki)” in Japanese. People used it to put their clothes in while enjoying a bath.
Since then, more people appreciate the meaning and the usefulness of furoshiki. A piece of cloth can turn into a “magic” cloth and wrap any shape or form. See “How to Use Furoshiki” provided by the ministry of environment, government of Japan. The best thing is that furoshiki comes in various designs and sizes, and most of all, you can use them over and over!
Furoshiki has started getting attention from people around the world for environmental reasons. There are so many ways for us to be a part of this environmental movement.
For example, if you’re invited to a party or dinner, you usually bring something for your host, right? Instead of using a paper bag to put your special gift in, why not wrap it with furoshiki? It will look very pretty and your host will love the presentation, too! You can give the furoshiki with the gift or reuse it again for a next party!
Here at J Flair, we have a good collection of Furoshiki wrapping cloths: from luxury nylon cloths to cotton cloths. Our customers purchase these for use as a regular wrapping cloth or as art. The holiday season is approaching. Just remember to give yourself a pat on the back when you use a furoshiki. You’re doing something good to the earth and hopefully people around you will notice that, and do the same!
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10.28.08
Posted in New Products at 4:57 pm by jflairhomestyles
Today, we’d like to introduce our new addition – Wagokoroya’s Heart Shaped Tea Cup & Saucer. The Japanese company designed this beautifully shaped teacup and it’s been VERY popular in Japan. At J FLAIR, we offer the heart shaped cup in white and pink. With this unique cup, you can forget about your work or a stressful day and take a moment to indulge yourself. People tend to use mug cups more than a teacup & saucer, but try a teacup once! It will bring you to a totally different world! As you hold this heart shaped cup and start drinking, you cannot help but admiring the detailed designs of the cup. Despite the shape, it fits your lips perfectly! Once you try this cup, you don’t want to go back to your ordinary cup.
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