Japanese furniture and home decor company Francfranc has just launched a collection inspired by popular Disney princesses! The PRINCESS DAYS by Francfranc collection was inspired by five beloved Disney princesses, and fans can find these unique items at Francfranc stores nationwide and online.    To celebrate the launch, customers can take a quiz on the Francfranc website to find out which Disney princess they are and which goods they should buy!   Cinderella   Ariel   Belle   Jasmine   Rapunzel   Original EmblemCustomers can choose from items inspired by Rapunzel, Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, or Belle. Which princess do you think would best accent your home decor?   © Disney

The Saga Prefectural Products Distribution and Design Corporation, in collaboration with Koimari Sake Brewery, a sake brewery that has been brewing sake in Imari, Saga for over 100 years, has begun selling the first new patterns of NOMANNE Arita ware Cup Sake in 16 years. The new products are available to purchase from the Sagair souvenir store at Kyushu Saga International Airport for a limited time.    NOMANNE Arita ware Cup Sake is pure rice sake made exclusively from Saga Prefecture rice. This tasty beverage is served in local Arita ware porcelain cups, each with a traditional design. These make an amazing souvenir if you’re ever in the area!

NOMANNE Lineup

  Five varieties of these cups have been released prior. After drinking, many prefer to use them as cups, vases, penholders, or simply as a decoration. The Maeda family, which runs the brewery, originally ran a kimono fabric shop in Imari. This is where Arita ware is the most popular, and it certainly seemed to leave an impression.     

Sakura Nishiki: ¥5,500 (Tax Included)

  Sakura Nishiki is the perfect spring design, dotted with cherry blossoms. These are the symbol of a new beginning, and often mean that something good is about to happen.   

Kawari Daruma: ¥5,500 (Tax Included)

  These Daruma have a purposefully strange shape. Traditional Japanese Daruma dolls have different meanings depending on their colors: red wards off evil, green is for good health, and white is for achieving one’s goals.    Both sets will be available for presale for a limited time. Each NOMANNE cup comes in a beautiful box that makes a perfect gift. 

Ginza Tsutaya, located on the 6th floor of the GINZA SIX department store, is now holding a Spring Ceramic Fair until March 7, 2022.   Many popular ceramic artists are coming together for the event. This year’s lineup includes dishes and mugs with botanical patterns and animal motifs in spring-like colors to add color to tables and living spaces. A large number of works, from vases to tableware and even ceramic brooches, will be on display, including works by Wato Maekawa and Oda Pottery.   

Participating Ceramic Artists

  Ritsuko ImaiAfter studying pottery in England, Imai currently lives and works in Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture. This year’s exhibition will show off her dyed works, including Zougan works, a technique in which different materials are inlaid into one material. Enjoy her small plates and teapots with soft colors.   Miki FuruhataMiki Furuhata is a pottery artist in Nagano. Using gentle colors and unique self-made glaze, her colorful pieces are a lovely addition to one's daily life.   Hanako SakashitaHanako Sakashita uses a ‘kneading’ technique, in which colorful clays are kneaded together to create patterns, marbles, stripes, checks, and countless other patterns. Enjoy the many textures, shades, and patterns found in her works!   Wato MaekawaA ceramic artist living in Toyama Prefecture, Wato Maegawa creates works inspired by the four seasons. Her flower-shaped plates are reminiscent of Japanese sweets. ToutousyaUsing candle wax to make prototypes, these ceramic brooches and boxes are made with a technique adapted from candle making. These hand-painted pieces are very popular, and those on sale in this year’s exhibition are covered with flowers, birds, and animals in spring colors.   Oda PotteryOda Pottery was founded in 1921 in Mizunami City, Gifu Prefecture. Their lineup features vases that are easy to incorporate into any interior. 

From January 5 until February 13, 2022, the Museum of Japanese Art Yamato Bunkakan in Nara will feature a large exhibition of Japanese pottery, spanning from the Jomon period to the present day.   

Important Cultural Property - Painted Platter (Imari Ware) / Yamato Bunkakan Collection

Celadon Porcelain Vase - By Soubei Kinkouzan (Taisho Period) / Privately Owned

  The exhibition will feature both potteries from the museum’s collection and those held by private individuals. The history of pottery in Japan began in the Jomon period around 14,500 BCE, and this earthenware eventually evolved into Sue ware, formed on a potter's wheel. The Nara period saw the emergence of glazed ceramics. During the Momoyama period (1573-1603), the world of pottery was revitalized with the popularity of the tea ceremony. During the Edo period (1603-1868), porcelain was first successfully fired in Arita, and these pieces became popular throughout Japan. Painting on ceramics also became popular during this period, and although pottery saw less popularity after the Meiji Restoration, it has since evolved in different ways with more modern technology.   

Karimoku Furniture has started taking orders for items inspired by the Mirror of Darkness from the smartphone game Disney's Twisted Wonderland, which features characters inspired by the villains that adorn Disney's works (Villains), from December 18, 2021.     Karimoku Furniture has been developing the latest woodworking technology research and applications at its own factories for a while now, with the aim of improving the quality and value of wooden furniture. Don't miss out on this unique item, which features the "Disney Twisted Wonderland" logo on the back of the mirror and on the packaging.   ⓒDisney

To commemorate 40 years during September 2021, Afternoon Tea LIVING will be giving away an original series of seasonal snow globes to 3,000 customers who spend at least ¥4,400 yen on September 10, 11, 17, and 18. Limited-edition gifts for Afternoon Tea members and commemorative T-shirts made of sustainable recycled polyester will also be available on September 10.  

Four Seasons Snow Globes

  SPRING: September 10   SUMMER: September 11   AUTUMN: September 17   WINTER: September 18    

Members-only 40th anniversary mini bag and tape

  PINK: September 10~GREEN: September 17~  

40th Anniversary Commemorative T-shirt: ¥4,950 each (Tax Included)

    A limited number of mini bags and tape featuring the 40th anniversary logo will be given to the first 5,000 customers on September 10 and 17.   The BRING brand creates new clothes from old clothes by chemically decomposing used garments. The company has collaborated with Afternoon Tea LIVING, a brand always committed to sustainability, to produce its new 40th anniversary T-shirt using BRING material, partially made of recycled polyester. The design on the front features two photo prints: one of a meringue cake by confectionary researcher Rika Fukuda, and the other of a cat sitting in a windowsill, selected from one of Afternoon Tea LIVING’s past free papers.   Which snow globe is your favorite?