East meets West

Muji Magic

If you are familiar with this store, you know it showcases simplicity at it's best.

On my first run down of shopping I came upon this wonderfully stocked store from Tokyo, housed in the New York Times bldg. A cool little store, sleekly laid out and extremely chic! Muji's basic mission is to be efficient and disdain of waste in products carried. In their pursuit of the pure and ordinary - they achieve the extraordinary!

In the store as you enter is a fab station where you can "build" your own pen or pencil. My little guy loved this & on the second round I picked up the eraser pen & another pencil! Ssssshhhh! He does not know yet!

With travel so hectic these days, these clear bottles range from spray to container only. Size range is also vast and a nice price too! I picked some up for travel as well as art use in the studio.

Another great find, ( and gift ) in many colors ...... A compressed cotton t - shirt for my girl. So cute, perfect for Valentines Day......... soft and tissue type t - shirt!

Although a fan of the spin brush, a toothbrush for the purse is as neccessary as gum these days....Noi?

This little baby is clear, cleanly shaped and cool!

Foldable slippers in gray ( also in many color choices ) perfect for that carry on!

To go with the t-shirt, they also offer a compressed scarf as well, many colors to choose from.

To view the online catalog, I nearly touched the top of the iceberg.......

go to:http://www.miju.us/

77th Street Flea

I also had a hankering to go to the 77th street flea market located in the Upper West Side; open on Sundays 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ( every Sunday, inside & out of the school )

A couple of buys that were totally unexpected but too interesting to pass up!

This one is going in the carry on bag, a Chinese stool with a wonderful patina and color of wood. Joined with legs and mortise joints! Old but lovely, that perfect piece of patina!

The merchant was as charming as his wares, he showed me his personal stool, used to rest between selling. A relic with scratchings from his childhood, much like this one that I purchased, he travels home throughout the year and brings furniture back with him to NYC.

My next find was while I was out the door, but stopped to peer into this English gentleman's booth with many pretties. I saw this Neolithic warrior statue from the traditional & modern Chinese art period of Qin Shihuangdi, Xian. I also got the papers for the piece, what a find! I am looking into properly showcasing the statue, but it will make a nice piece of sculpture for my desk. ( Consequently, I was on the lookout for a wonderful, unique piece of sculpture as I have been reading bits on sculpture in decor in the Style Court decor blog, by Courtney ).

A terracotta warrior figure that is perfect laying down, but I think I will affix to a base with rod.I will consult a museum friend for the proper way to showcase the figure.

I just loved the old, patina of this figure. As you can see the bottom is old and worn so it does not stand up straight, but with a little help it will stand once again.

 Consequently, there was an exhibition at the Guggenheim July - November of 98'

A pic of three of the life sized warriors from the exibition;

 Funny, I was there with my sister who lived in NYC at the time and my daughter, on our first trek to the big city. What a coincident; enticed with the wonderful exhibit, my how far my interest has come,......exposure, exposure,....... never ever thinking of having a blog or even it's existance back then!

I still have a wonderful China over the shoulder bag from that "special" exhibit gift shop.

Huummm,..........

what a small world!