Bye bye 2014... Japan and Zodiac Cats....

I've been a little slack on the blog these last few months due to living in hectic land in the lead up to Christmas! I was pleased to see orders go past 1000 at the beginning of December and quickly whizz up to approaching 1300 now so on top of fairs and commissions it's been a whirlwind!

It's been a fabulous year though! The highlight of which was Japan which I fell in love with to the bottom of my heart this time. We're currently saving for a big trip back in early 2016 via Shanghai. I've put a few pics of my highlights but the trip was so incredible in every way there is too much to document here!

Day one took us to the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, an overwhelming experience. No photos are allowed and that made it all the better to keep those memories special! Inside there were three floors with all sorts of animation paraphernalia, reconstructions of the animation studios with storyboards, desks overlowing with inks and ideas and beautifully made dioramas. A life sized cat bus (only children were allowed on sadly!) sat upstairs and a film shown in the theatre which only those who go to the museum will see. (so my lips are sealed but it was beautiful!)

A cat cafe in Tokyo filled with the happiest cats :)

 

Fabric Haul at Nippori

 

The foxes of Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto. These red dressed foxes (to ward off evil spirits) lined the mountain, all with their own characters. So so beautiful. The shrine is to rice and sake and many of the red gates (below) were sponsored by businesses for luck. So it has grown and grown as more torii are added to become a truly amazing sight and my favourite place that we visited.

 

The Red Torii gates covering 4km of pathways around the mountain of Fushim Inari Taisha, just breathtaking... literally.

Hattifnatt in Koenji, a kitsch as anything treehouse style cafe serving cute food whilst you listen to nursery rhymes :)

 

Cats in Shibuya. I.. have... no... idea!

 

Memory Lane in Tokyo with the most fabulous street food!

 

Feeding the deer at Nara. Even when they were biting my belly and sticking their stilletto like feet into mine they were still the most wonderful creatures!

 

We went to a host of other magical places, met the most gracious people and had a truly life changing experience which I am sure will lead to many more.

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Once back from Japan it was back to the real world, well if you can call immersing oneself in drawing pictures of cats and foxes in fields made of sweets the real world! I attended so many fairs the wheels of my trolley's have all but melted. Renegade at the Truman Brewery was great as always and BUST Craftacular which was a new one for me was really successful although there were so many awesome sellers there I did a little more Christmas shopping myself than I had intended! 

Clutter City in Norwich and Norwich Makers Market were both hugely successful which bodes well since I have now taken over Norwich Makers Market and am currently designing new branding for it and organising the Easter and Christmas markets. 

So it's looking like another busy year coming up! To help with the planning of the year I have put together a downloadable Zodiac Cats Calendar which you can buy in the shop here.

 

This one below is me, Capricorn cat!

 

My birthday is on Christmas Day and what a lovely day it was with lots of lovely pressies from family and friends and a ridiculous feeding frenzy leaving one feeling very slothlike. I was truly spoilt though and feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who knew that getting me a yellow plastic cat on wheels and a pink plastic jingling bunny would make me so happy :)

Have a great New Year and here's to another year of misadventures :)

  

I should also just mention I am far more regularly active on my facebook page so please do follow for updates on new work and offers and probably a lot of pictures of my cats, a few capybara and the odd French bulldog :)