Umi Fuku Zakka [海福雑貨}

I mentioned on my IG post that this would be first and last visit to Umi Fuku Zakka [海福雑貨]. Ha! Famous last words, total love at first sight with this place. Their website does not do the place justice. Having said that UFZ was surprisingly busy. Which good is but not when the place is small and you have a big bum, trying to squeeze past people and keep a hold of your purchases. 

One of the owners Mami-san (pictured below!) was very friendly and was chatting away to other costumes when I arrived. Soon after I was offered a cup of green tea. She also allowed cameras which was great as I can show you the amazingness that is her shop. There are 2 other owners 海福雑貨. There is some connection to Nastumehiro and carried a few similar brands. It had a few leaflets and other information on other stores, workshops and events. Incidentally I passed a cool yarn shop on the way there that had a knitting circle going. 

Asides from the few similar brands a 海福雑貨 has a lot of vintage and zakka items. Not only that but vintage stationery supplies that makes the sweet dreams of some of my Instagram friends. Among them were vintage pens, nibs, ink stamps, paper ephemera etc. Unlike Natsumehiro I actually regret not buying more. But as something's weren't priced it was difficult to tell and manovuering my way around other shoppers didn't help. Some things were reasonable making me want to stock and others make made me cringe. I already want to go back and have a proper look through their draws at some of their paper ephemera. 

I could go on and on but I think the photos speak for themselves. The only thing that could be found in a regular shop were the mt tapes. 海福雑貨is a rare and great find and def worth another visit despite my best intentions. Oh and yet again another unsatisfactory 'web shop' it is a real mess and doesn't give a real indication of their stocks and supplies. It's definitely a shop to be visited and rummaged through. But you can gauge the type of shop it is from this post an their Facebook page. Enjoy!

Address: 252-0311 Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Minami-ku, Higashirinkan 3-18-3 1F　

Tel: 042-705-3392 

E-Mail: mail@umick.com

Hours: 11:00-18:00

Outgoing & Incoming [September]

As previously mentioned I've slowed down with my letter writing. Unfortunately the same can't be said for my stationery buying (>_<). Ho hum, but sending and receiving mail has been so rare this month I've decided to combine my monthly Incoming and Outgoing posts. I imagine October will be the same but I do want to clear some of the backlog before November so there may be more outgoing next month.

I seriously can't believe how little I sent out this month. I actually have a strange sense of achievement. Simple because I always wrote, even when I didn't want to, maybe because it would pile up and I felt I had to keep going or else be overwhelmed. But with my recent cull and just being busier this has been avoided. The few letters I received were great as usual. Oh I included a few postcard and stamps that I bought this month and sent out. I will try to do a stationery post again. Hopefully I will get to using my new supplies soon!

Natsumehiro [ハイカラ雑貨店 ナツメヒロ]

Evil evil Google it's just as bad as Instagram and Etsy, actually damn you internet! Before I left on Friday I decided to last minute google to see if there was anything else worth checking out while I was out and about. A few stops along the Odakyu line at Higashirinkan Station is ハイカラ雑貨店 ナツメヒロ Natsumehiro, a beautiful zakka shop.

Natsume as well as being a shop hosts pop up events and mini exhibitions mostly displaying Japanese artist, craft makers and designers. This means that for once I had access to all the business card for all the brands or artists they sold/exhibited. It was nice to be able to have more information on my purchases and make some new discoveries. On my visit they had their Traveler's Trunk Exhibition, more information can be found here. It was very cute and with different trunks placed around the shop with different wares from the artist. I wish I could provide more info on each but my Japanese is practically non-existent.  

I made a few impulse buys I now regret but this was due to my excitement of finding somewhere new. Oh well. The owners seemed nice and were photo friendly. I would've taken more photos but more people turned up and and it got a little crowded in there. I will keep an eye on their website for future events. Unfortunately their online shop is not very good I think Natsume is a store that is better to visit than buy online. However it's probably better to look at their event or facebook pages to get an idea of what's in store. As usual I've ended with photos of my purchases again.

Address: 252-0311 Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Minami-ku, Higashirinkan 5-16-20 

Tel: 042-812-4726 

Mail: info@natsumehiro.com

Hours: 12:00 to 19:00