Japantown in SF :: Treasury of Cool Art Finds

Last weekend, my family and I spent a few hours downtown and originally, we only set out to visit one of my hubby's favorite places on earth, The Guitar Center. He and my eldest son, Josiah, are musically gifted and love spending hours in there playing guitar, drums, keyboard, etc. My youngest, Lucas, is more like me and loves anything colorful and artsy. So while they spent time doing their thing, I grabbed out my smartphone and browsed through the Yelp app for art and craft stores nearby. Surprisingly, I didn't realize that Japantown was just a 10 minute walk away, so Lucas and I set out on our little adventure.... Luckily, the weather has been really beautiful in our neck of the woods, sunny and mild, a little strange for winter, but I am not complaining!

When we get there, we take a moment to take a break and sit in the center of Japantown where they have one of their popular attractions -- The Peace Pagoda. Usually in the spring, the cherry blossoms are in bloom everywhere.  Every year, thousands travel to Japantown for their annual event--Cherry Blossom Festival--celebrating the Japanese culture, traditions, and diversity. Spring is just around the corner, so I am hoping to make it out here this year....

This is inside the Miyako Mall, Peace Plaza.

Strolled into Ichiban Kan, a Japanese Dollar Store, and saw these poster markers that were 2 for $1. Used them on a project that I will post about soon.:)

 

Next we walked over to Daiso Japan, another Japanese discount store where almost everything is $1.50. I absolutely adore it here. They sell everything from household, kitchen, hardware, stationary, art, gifts, food, and more. Sometimes I'll find the most unique items that you would've never thought was invented. Sooooo cool. This location is one of the biggest stores I've been too and has more products than the one closer to home. 

So, my first cool find is this foam placemat. Look at those details and can you guess what I am thinking of using this for?? A stencil mask!! I would probably cut it up to use on different sized projects, but I already know it would really fun to play around with it...

Then walking down their craft aisle, they have washi tapes, decorative ribbons, gift bags then I spotted these Lace Border Tapes... I am already imagining the uses for these on my art journals and canvases. I love the designs, especially the black lace. 

In the art aisle, the have tubes of acrylic paint in so many colors... I don't know if the quality is any good being that they are cheap, but I think it would be great to have on hand to play around with and incorporate it with other mediums.

Paintbrush packs, carving tools, drawing accessories, inks, palettes, etc... Very basic stuff, but affordable if you are on a budget. Love it!

Origami papers in so many pretty patterns. Yummy!

When I wandered by this end cap, I had to stop. These stationary packs with papers, envelopes, and stickers brought back memories of my childhood. Though they are not Hello Kitty or Sanrio, I remembered how I loved collecting these and pretending to play office with them or simply to just have and write letters or make cards.

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Kinokuniya Book Stores are just one of those places that I immediately fall in love with, mainly because I love books AND secondly, I love their Japanese collections of art and design books, magazines, and stationary. It's heaven!

Here is a whole table spread of artsy journals and notebooks.

I love the doodled design and the simple words-- I WRITE.

This face covered the entire front of a notebook. It totally caught my eye, kinda mysterious like me.

Here is where I can stand for hours just browsing through the art eye candy of graphic and print designs.

In their craft section, there are tons of instruction books on drawing, painting, ceramic and textile arts, etc. But they were all printed in Japanese.... One of my goals: Learn to read, write, speak Japanese!


Well, these are just a few of so many artful and creative finds that I discovered during my impromptu visit to Japantown. I can't wait to go back!

I've been thinking that maybe I can start a series of posts relating to creating mixed media or art and craft projects, using items we may already have at home or by purchasing affordable and inexpensive art tools, mediums, innovative supplies etc.  Hopefully, I can encourage and teach others out there who want to learn mixed media, but are on a tight budget like myself.

Let me know what you think????