I'm still experiencing a crush on all these mercilessly adorable homemade japanese crafts — apparently called zakka. This may start to become a full blown love affair. I was just day dreaming of traveling to Japan to photograph and shop at all these funky little zakka stores. Maybe write a zakka guide? How fun would that be?! There are so many little darling handmade goodies out there to behold and have. Yummie.

I got to thinking... what exactly does zakka mean? I was off searching the web (as per usual) and haven't found much to explain. Best so far is from maki is not a nameless cat "zakka" - I don't know if there is any English equivalent to this word, but it means "miscellaneous item". There are loads of zakka-ten (zakka stores) in Japan, where one can buy anything from a bobbing head doll of a sushi chef to a set of handkerchiefs to...anything your imagination desires. In terms of variety, it may be equivalent to the old American five-and-dime, but in terms of sheer playfulness there is no comparison at all.

I've linked to lots of great crafters over there —> in my endless blogroll. But while surfing today I found these pretty japanese textiles & embroidery by mina perhonen and here's a zakka webshop with a fabulous links page blanche, and these sweet illustrations by miori, delicious!