PataPri News

happy new year!

2012-01-08T21:08:00.004-06:00

happy new year!
hope everyone had great holidays and starting new year with joy and happiness!

my christmas and new year was about family gathering.
even though im back in japan and my family lives an hour away from me, i dont get to see them often. so my holidays were to spend little time with them, and it was good time.

i started to grow succulent plants as my new year new hobby.
they look so pretty and amazing!
and super easy to care that i can handle. :D

now im on the look for perfect pretty bowl, container to grow them in.
my first pick was domsai terrariums. so cute!
i bought perfect size and shaped succulent plant for this little guy.

i also put together five different kind of succulent plants in little bowl.

december

2011-12-07T21:25:00.002-06:00

hello,
how are you?
december is here, my favorite month of the year.

i ve been cleaning up around the house.
in japan, we do major cleaning end of the year to have a fresh start in new year.
since im not good at cleaning, it takes time coz i take a break every 20miniuts....

i bought beautiful wool fabrics the other day, its soft and airy so i decided to make a new bedding for myself. the fabric has 2 layers but very light and soft on skin too.
i used the wool on front and cotton sheets on back.
duvet cover is easy to make, and sleeping in new bedding is sweeet!

i cant wait to sleep tonight! or i take nap. :p

have wonderful holidays!
yuko

cotton&paper bags.

2011-10-06T20:05:00.004-05:00

hi,
weather is so nice out and im heading to tokyo today to see the textile art show by akemi chon.
i met her at lillstreet in chicago where i learned screen print, she teaches japanese textile there.
it will be great so see her in japan!

the show will be at ginza where we have the first apple store in japan.
i will stop by apple store to feel him...

besides that, im working hard for the fair im doing in a couple of weeks.
i printed paper bags and cotton bags.
i bought a bunch of bags from muji. and i think i will give it to the customer who purchase baby blanket at the fair.

friend of mine from school is coming to japan, im so excited to see him someone from chicago in here, and he will be a big help at the fair. heavy tables etc...

you have a great weekend!

こんにちは
日本語ブログとかやりたいなーと思って、２年がたちました。。。
まだないので、ここに書きます。
今日、天気いいですね。秋晴れってやつですよね。
夏の暑さに心も体もくじけっぱなしでした。引きこもりの私がますます引きこもりになる季節が終わり、今うれしくてやったー！ってかんじです。
天気もよいので、今日は銀座までシカゴにいた時にお世話になったあけみ先生の個展にいってきます。彼女のテキスタイルすごい素敵ですよ。

昨日は、クラフトフェアに向けて紙袋とエコバッグのプリントとかしてました。
エコバッグはMUJIのやつなんだけど、フェアで５０００円以上買っていただいたお客様にプレゼントしようとおもってるんだ。あと、このブログ読んできたって方にもプレゼントしますので、声かけて下さい。
日本でこういうフェアをするのははじめてなんだけど、とっても楽しそうなイベントなので遊びにきて下さい。
近所に住む帽子作りの達人ちかちゃんと一緒のブースです。彼女のつくる帽子はほんとかわいくて帽子の似あう人だったら良かったなーって思う。

ではまた

hello!!

2011-10-02T22:35:00.005-05:00

hello everyone!
im sorry for long absence from blog. :p
it's just that summer weather was killing me.
the heat and high humidity of japans summer really put me down.
the weather affects me in the big way.

now, fall is here and im super happy!
im ready to work!!
the article about me and my work was in the local free paper " shonan beach FM 78.9 magazine".
if you are in shonan area, please grab it. you can find it at shops and restaurant, convini. now im busy for the craft fair im doing on oct 22nd at kamakura.　鎌んどいち場
it seems really fun fair, so if you in kamakura area please stop by.
im sharing the table with my neighbor chica, she makes beautiful knitted hats!
i recently bought a lock sewing machine finally.
i was staying away from it coz it looks scary and not sure if i can handle using it. but im glad i got it, it makes life so much easier!
im using it to sew my pillow cases.
i will be making more pillow cases and maybe duvet covers too.

アートの畑＠ISETAN

2011-08-03T20:56:00.001-05:00

hi!
hows your summer going?
mine is hot and humid and i hate it!

im having a lazy summer but i am doing a show right now.
アートの畑＠ISETAN

im show casing and selling my embroidery piece, posters, and towels.
If you are in shinjyuku area, please stop by!

夏暑いですね。
海のそばに住んでいますが、日本の夏の湿気がにがてなので引きこもり度がましてます。
でも今新宿ISETANでアートの畑@ISETANというイベントに参加しています。
いろんなアーティストの方達が参加していて、私もタオル等を販売しています。
来週の月曜日までやっているので是非来て下さい。
私は月曜の午後に会場にいってます。

hello!!

2011-06-21T05:30:00.002-05:00

remember me?
sorry for long absent from blog...
im doing great, and my motivation came back finally! :p

i have printed many baby blankets last few week, and i wanted to show you new one.
friend of mine asked me if i can print the design i made it for wrapping paper for baby blankets and i thought that would make fun blankets.

pillow cases and bath towels will be available soon.

thank you...

2011-03-30T04:19:00.003-05:00

hello,
Thank you so much for your kind words and support.
we have been dealing with very hard time here in japan, but we will get through this. really?

ok, ive been really depressed by watching the news, so many people lost their family and home. dont feel like to enjoy anything.
i want to do something for them, but i dont know what can i do for them besides donate money, blanket, etc.

but being depress and feeling sucks dont help anything.
so i work.
i wanted to make an original wrapping paper to wrap my towels when i ship, so i finally made it.
i found a very unique print shop called retro printshop, they specialized to print old school style using newspaper , card board, craft papers and etc...
i chose the paper that has texture on the front and smooth on the back. i love how it turned out.
now i have cute wrapping papers to wrap my towels. :) since i print a lot, i might be selling at etsy.

earthquake in japan

2011-03-12T23:07:00.002-06:00

hello,

thank you for all of your concern emails and convos.
my fam and i are doing ok.

but so many people are not! My heart goes out to all those who suffered from
this.
its just heart breaking.

i wanted to help, even a small way.
so I will be donating $5 to earthquake relief efforts in Japan for every towel sold on my shop from now until April13.

i listed more colors.
please take a look and purchase towels to help them.

thank you,
yuko

new embroidery "home"

2011-02-21T19:53:00.003-06:00

hello!
it has been forever since i wrote on my blog...
February is almost over, and how are you guys doing?
my 2011 started nice and peaceful, i love new years in japan, good food and chill mode all the way with family.

i have lots of plans for patapri this year, but ive been slacking! :p

i wanted to show you my new embroidery piece called " home ". I just finished last night.
i put all my energy into this piece, and its finally done! yay!
i was working on nothing but this piece since january.
the bird on the bottom is toby, my bird who come to my balcony everyday, which represent my home. those triangles and colors represent life, things happen to your life, happy things , sad things by colors and each french knots.

all those french knots left me with sore hands and fingers, but its all worth it. :D
i love how it turned out, its on my living room wall now.

2010-12-19T17:34:00.004-06:00

sorry for the mess!

Hello,
the holiday season is here, you guys are probably busy busy and enjoying the winter.
i've been busy doing PataPri things, getting orders together, prepare for the craft fair im doing and etc...
the exciting thing for me was my stuff from chicago finally arrived!!
i was waiting for this for long time!
since i didnt pack my self, every things from furniture to old instant miso soups were in those 65 boxes...
it was really fun to open each box, reminds me of life in chicago and good times. :)

my house is finally getting feel like my home!
i will put pics when i finish cleaning up.
oh , i slept in my bed for the first time in 15 months and it was wonderful!
no more couching!

have a happy merry Christmas & new year!!!

thank you!

2010-11-15T02:08:00.004-06:00

thank you so much all for coming!

i had a great time at the show. :)
i met many great artists and people who loves art!

special thanks to mr.kurazume who organized this event (giantmango) and old friend yasu who helped me to set up the display and took down. :D

展示会に来てくれた方、ありがとうございます！
タオル、ブランケットを買って下さった方あまり会場にいなくて会えなくて残念でしたが、タオル使って下さってると思うととてもうれしいです。

いろんな他の作家の方々に会えてとても楽しい時間でした．

*more baby blankets are available at my shop. :)

colors展

2010-11-08T06:54:00.004-06:00

hello,
first of all I would like to thank you so much, for visiting my etsy shop. since I've reopened my shop as of last week.
I was a little nervous since I closed for a while.
The status of the yen currency thing and new imabari towel. I had to raise my price a little sorry.

I also would like to thank you all for the sweet words about my work, it means so much to me!

Today I was at Daikanyama, Tokyo setting up my wall for the show I'm doing, what do you think?
i think it turned out nice. :)
i was able to check some of other artists work, and i loved them.
cant wait to check all out!

i'll be there over the weekend, so if you see me say hi!

PataPri is back!

2010-10-29T08:56:00.003-05:00

hello,
thank you so much for waiting.
my shop on etsy is finally re-open.

free shipping until end of november, so please shop! :)
im very excited to use imabari towels for my gauze towels.
they are more thicker and fluffier than the one i used before. these new towels are perfect to use in the kitchen and bathroom.

baby blankets and bedding will be available soon.

colors

2010-10-28T07:36:00.004-05:00

hello,
while im working hard to getting ready for re-open my shop, im also preparing for the show im doing second week of november!
my new towels are available to buy and other artists art work.

if you are in tokyo area, please stop by!!
hope to see you!
i'll be there on first day and weekend.

when 11/9 - 11/14
place daikanyama hillside terrace
map

誰もが自由に、身近に楽しめる、ちょっとスペシャルな来場者参加型アートイベント。価格や評判に左右されることなく、自分の感性のみを頼りに、驚き、刺激を受け、好きな作家や作品を発見できる機会。ジャンルにこだわらず、才能溢れるアーティストたちの作品を一堂に集め、子供から大人まで、誰もが純粋に楽しむことのできる展覧会です。是非あなた自身の「色」をみつけにきてください。

[会期] 2010年11月9日(火) - 11月14日(日)
10：00 - 20：00（入場は閉場30分前まで、土日は17：00閉場）
※入場無料

[会場] 代官山ヒルサイドテラスF棟「ヒルサイドフォーラム」
www.hillsideterrace.com/access

[主催] ジャイアントマンゴー
[協力] 株式会社アートオブセッション / ヒルサイドテラス

[出展アーティスト]（42組）

IP / AKI / acco / あづさ / 阿部和貴 / AmADomA-アマドマ / MK Lab(来本曜世・増田茂) /
大平暁 / 大野慎也 / 修武 / 神山祥子 / 川上カオリ / 木村哲雄 / 熊兄弟 / くり / 栗山たくや /
黒猫菊地 / サトウテン / 修平 / SHOOEI / たしかゆい / 塚本衣絵 / 土田瞬 / 戸賀崎珠穂 /
戸塚くるみ / 鳥居葉子 / 長野由美 / 夏苅羚 / 西澤克実 / のぐちみか /
PataPri by yuko uemura / 日比谷泰一郎 / 古澤杜宇子 / Macro / 麻真梨 / まろまろ /
Mr. QUEEN / moha / 柳沢新 / 山本麻璃絵 / you / LUMMY

working hard here.

2010-09-30T21:19:00.004-05:00

oh nooooo!
It's already October.
My plan was to re-open my shop at the end of September.....

The heat slowed me down... but now that the weather is better, I'm working hard!

My shop will be ready for a grand re-opening in 2 weeks. :)

My new towels are just so wonderful; they're fluffier, and thicker.
They're thick enough that you can use them in the kitchen or the bathroom.
I can't wait for you to try them.

updates!

2010-09-12T07:49:00.004-05:00

entrance

living room before( my grandma style )

new living room

apron front

apron back

toby

hello!
it's almost mid september and its still hot as hell in japan.
sorry i complain about weather too much, but i just hate hot and humid weather. :p

anyway, my summer project of my new home is almost done.
i couldn't do big projects because of the budget, but my living room had a little face lift.
i change the ceiling color and light fixtures. it looks so much brighter in the room and i love how lights looks at night.
take a look at before and after pic!
little changes makes a big difference, isnt it?

i started to print towels a couple of weeks ago, and im enjoying working again in my new studio.
hopefully i can re-open my etsy shop by end of september.

my cousin and her daughter visited me today to pick up the apron i made for her.
she loved it and im happy! :)
she ( she is 10 years old )and i had a printing session together, and she enjoyed screen printing! i love screen printing, so see her enjoy doing it made me happy too.

i also had a fun visit few weeks ago, hitomi of kalla design and her friend came to my studio. it was great to see her in person, she was what i imagined from her work.
she said i wasnt what she expected... haha
we talked about screen printing, she shared resource of screen printing materials in japan and process of how we print, and whats her plan with her business, and mine etc...
i had a wonderful time with them, she gave me motivation! since i was slacking because of the heat!

so thats what i've been doing last few weeks besides feeding to my bird toby.

before & after pt.2 new studio!

2010-08-10T19:27:00.007-05:00

hello,
hows your summer going?
it has been hot and muggy summer here in japan...
i dont do well with hot and humidity so i stay inside ac on working hard.

my new studio is almost done!
take a look at my new studio :) and before pics.
sorry about the mess on before , i took it right before i started to renovate so its messy!
i painted the wall and ceiling, and made this room clean and bright!
i like how it turned out.
the living room next to studio is heavy on wood and kind of dark, so i want my studio to be bright.
i chose white furniture for my new studio.
now im waiting for my new imac. :)

i changed the ink station little bit.
got 2 of white shelves from ikea, $19 a each, love ikea...

and my new curtains looks really nice with the beautiful view!

now im onto my bedroom,
im still waiting for my furniture, my clothes and all my personal items from chicago...
i cant wait to get my stuff back!
you know ever since i came back here, ive been sleeping on couch!!!!!!!
coz im little scare to sleep another rooms where no tv and empty.
im used to sleep on couch by now, but im big fun of bedding, love to sleep on bed with nice bedding soon!

before & after pt.1

2010-07-14T22:42:00.001-05:00

hello,
my shop is closed for summer!
for first project of update my house is change the curtains.
i was printing all day yesterday, i bought a beautiful white linen 100% fabrics.

i printed with rain drop design with light colors.
i put 90% extender in the inks, so it looks really transparent.
i think i will use this one for my new bedroom, since colors are not screaming, it goes well with my new wallpaper and bedding.

i also upholstered 3 stools.
these are for my 2 nephews blue one and niece pink one when they visit here. :)
there are 6 dining chairs that i wanted to upholster, but they have fabrics on back side that there is no way i could do that. so i send them off to pro.
its coming tomorrow and cant wait to see it.

i wish you have a wonderful summer!

elephant magazine!

2010-07-07T22:55:00.002-05:00

im so happy that my work was featured in english magazine elephant with other talented designers like hitomi of kalla and heather of skinny laminx and many other. what an honor! im so thrilled.

thank you so much ana at elephant mag!

*in the article, it says im a male! but just in case you dont know im a woman!! :)

PataPri is taking a summer off.

2010-07-03T20:04:00.004-05:00

hello, its july, hot and humid! ugh.
it has been 8 months since i came back to japan, longer than i thought.
but, i decided not to go back to chicago.

it was a hard and big decision for me to make since chicago is my second home town and spent most of my life after high school.
just a year ago, i never imagined that i live here, but now i am and loving it.
as much as i miss chicago, maybe this is meant to be.

living here alone surrounded by nature with lots of time in my hand gave me time to think about my life and business, not too serious but i did thought about it.
im happy with my decision.

so now that i really decided to live in japan, i want to make my house to reflect who i am.
and i want PataPri to have a fresh start with new towels.
so im closing my etsy shop for the summer and come back with new towels, new website, and just fresh start from japan!

here is my plan for summer.
+ update my website
+ print towels with my new imabari towel
+ prepare for wholesale business (finally!)
+ paint my studio and change things to make it way i like!
+ renovate bedroom and living room
( all my furniture except ikea furniture and my stuff are shipping from chicago, which cost me more than cost of furniture! but i like my furniture and there is no room & board (my favorite furniture store )here.....

i will update how things go during the summer time, and post before and after of my rooms, it will be diy style, hopefully i wont mess up!

so PataPri will be closed from july 14th to end of august.
shop now with free shipping!!

a visitor at my home.

2010-06-24T00:24:00.007-05:00

the other day, a kite bird was chillin at my balcony.
a pretty big bird. so i gave him a raw meat, to see if he eats it or not.
i heard that a kite bird is very cautiousness、and dont come close to human, but he did.
now he comes every afternoon waiting for me.
he is smart, one time i gave him a bread, but he ignore it, looking at me like no thanks!
and as soon as i had a meat in my hand, he flew towards me. he has a very good eye site!

more blankets are available at my etsy.

mt masking tape!

2010-06-17T23:03:00.003-05:00

i love these mt masking tapes!
i use them when i wrap my towels and more.
i even custom ordered tape dispensers for them.

i have been wanting to make my original masking tapes, so i checked.
when i searched last year they are offering for custom masking tapes but minimum batch was 1000 rolls or more which cost around $4000!!!
so i gave up.
but now they are offering for less with variety of tape width.
so now i can make it around 1G. that's a considerable price, dont you think?
still lots of money, but i love masking tapes and it will be so much fun making my original design tapes.....

hmmm thinking time....
maybe for next year's PataPri anniversary, i need a big excuse to spend 1g! :p
can i wait for that long....

new baby blanket.

2010-06-12T21:39:00.006-05:00

i made baby blankets with a gauze fabric.
the material is so soft, and perfect for baby.

they are available for $58 at my etsy shop.

my front yard looks happy now.

2010-06-09T01:57:00.001-05:00

just wanted to share beautiful flowers in my front yard. :)

june...

2010-06-05T04:09:00.005-05:00

hello,
its june already!
how are you guys doing?

ive been getting lots of good feedbacks of my new bedding.
im so happy that people enjoy what i make.
i printed a couple more queen size duvet cover and pillow cases sets.

today, my fam visited me from tokyo and my mom cleaned up my grandma room a little
since i havnt touch anything and just left everything as it was except my studio room.
she found some of my grandmas handmade bags.
i thought the crochet beads bag is so beautiful!
and those pattern books are from 50's.
it's sad that i never had a chance to learn crochet from her.

i moved to this house 9 months ago, wow already?
and it was supposed to be for a few months, but i love here so much that i dont want to leave!
weather i will be here for a few more months or year, i think its time to change around the house a little for my taste.
first thing im thinking about doing is change the bedroom wallpaper.
those 2 are my top 2 choices.
from here.
what do you think?

i will be at hayama environment festa tomorrow.
if you are in the neighborhood, please stop by!
there will be locally grown veggies and fish.

new bedding at my etsy.

2010-05-14T23:20:00.003-05:00

just finish taking pics of all 4 bedding set!
i hope you enjoy these :)
you have to touch to really appreciate these beddings but hope pics can show a little bit of texture and feel of these new bedding.

available at my etsy shop.

new bedding!

2010-05-13T23:59:00.006-05:00

i finished 2 set of twin size duvet covers and pillow covers!
i was gonna wait till i finish queen size one, but i couldnt wait to show them to you. im very happy how it turned out. i like new fabrics!
i think these will be perfect bedding for children's bed room for all season.

hopefully i can finish sewing queen size one in a couple of days.
so i can list these on my etsy.

papers & wood

2010-05-12T21:46:00.005-05:00

this is a memopad! i
printed on newsprint paper with 4 designs & 4 colors.
240memos on the cherry wood block.
they are bundled together by the iron nail.
you like?
i made 2 of these, and available at my etsy for $ 28.

have you guys noticed the new feature at etsy called suggested shop on your favorite page?
i checked mine and first shop recommended was my own shop patapri.
i thought that was funny!

busy busy.

2010-05-12T03:27:00.003-05:00

hello,
hows everyone doing?

im working on duvet covers and pillow cases with new fabrics.
im falling love with quadruple gauze fabrics that im using for a bedding.
if you know double gauze fabrics, you know how soft and cozy they are!
if you're not familiar with this fabrics, you can read little bit about it in here.

i use quadruple gauze fabrics on print side and double on back.
they are so airy and soft!
i wish you can feel this fabrics.
quadruple one has crinkle texture which i love! can you see it from pic?

so ive been busy printing and sewing!
im aslo making new tags for my towels, had a hard time choosing colors.
i cant wait to start printing with my new imabari towel with my own tags!

bedding should be up on my etsy soon!

nice to meet you too

2010-04-30T02:37:00.003-05:00

yay!
i just received my copy.
victionary always does an amazing work!
I personally love their book cover design.
they use a special print effectively and very well.
this time they use vinyl sleeves and screenprinted title. cool!

i really like my business cards, so its really cool to see mine with many other amazing designers work.
a very inspirational book!

in japan, we are having a golden week ( we call it a golden week, because there are many holidays around this week, Showa Day, Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, Children's Day... )
so some might get a week off. since i work from home with my own business everyday is work day and holidays haha.

im process of switching towel materials.
so until i get new towels im taking a break of printing towels.
its good time to make something different.
right now, im making a duvet cover, i havnt make duvet covers since chicago, but i have a fabrics that i wanted to use, and always fun to print a big piece.
if it turns out good, i will put it on my etsy shop.
also, having a fun printing on paper for a new product " memo & wood ".

embroidery on the bag.

2010-04-26T23:32:00.003-05:00

i wanted a big messenger bag that i can put all my stuff in it.
and i found a perfect simple bag on j.crew.( i dont see it amy more on their site.)
i like the bag, really big and sturdy, but i thought its little too simple so i embroidery on it. :)

is anyone watch dexter? i know its old news...
i just watch the season 4 finally, in japan, they air months later than USA.
im shock that ??? is gone!!! rita can be annoying but i still liked her.
but i still have deb, she is my favorite in the show and of course dexter. im so glad to know micheal hall recovered from his cancer.

new stuff.

2010-04-25T22:08:00.004-05:00

hello, yesterday, i spend a day at earthen place cafe doing a craft show.
the place is so beautiful and nice!
look at the view!
i forgot to take a pic of my table...
it was a small show that only 6 vendors were there, but lots of fun with many people.
i dont know many people around here, so it was good to meet crafty people in my neighborhood.

i added some new stuff in my etsy shop.
rain man and cafe aprons.

i had a printed fabric that i didnt have any use for, so i made a little rain man.
they are limited of 4.

and more cafe aprons.

only printed 1 each.

result for towels giveaway!

2010-04-22T23:56:00.004-05:00

thank you all for participate!
the threads i used for the mountain piece was 97!
noone didnt get a right number, so 3 lucky person who got a closest numbers are
veronique 126
wvgirl 77
paperlinon 54

please email me with your name and address. i will ship your set of 2 towels!
congratulations!

nice to meet you too

2010-04-20T22:06:00.003-05:00

yay! my work is included in the book " nice to meet you too" from victionary!
i cant wait to receive a copy.
i see my card on front cover, above O of "TO".
i will post my page when i have my copy.

and, my towels are featured in crochet today! magazine.
they are out now.

hayama art festival.

2010-04-19T23:05:00.005-05:00

hayama art festival is starting this weekend.
its an art festival that more than 140 artists and shop who live around hayama, zushi, akiya open up their house/studio to public and show what they make.

hayama is a place known for a resort and many summer houses here. after meiji era, because of location(close to tokyo) and a beautiful ocean and mountains, many artists and writers moved up here.
so hayama and art has very close relationship!
my grand parents had their summer house here for last 50 years and now i get to live here while im in japan! yay!
the house is 50 years old house, old... but i have a good memory of visiting here when i was kid so i feel lucky that i get to live here even for a short time!
besides a car, you gotta take a bus to get here, meaning not many people, meaning not many commercial businesses.
lots of shops and stores are here forever, generation to generation, which is nice!

there are lots of events ( music, a craft fair, talk shows, performances ) happen during the 2 weeks.

i missed the deadline for open house app, but i will be at 海山バザール(umiyama bazaar）at earthen place which is a nice cafe in my neighborhood.

i will be selling my towels!
so today i printed bags.

i wont be participate open house officially, but you are welcome to stop by my studio during the festival. i will make you a tea or two!

秋谷にある、アーセンプレイスというカフェで近隣のクラフト作家展示販売に参加します。採れたて地野菜・海産物の販売もあるそうです。とっても素敵なカフェなので，是非来て下さい！

より大きな地図で第18回葉山芸術祭を表示

happy 3rd birthday PataPri. towels giveaway!

2010-04-16T23:03:00.009-05:00

ive been working on this piece for a while, finally finished!!!
it took me forever,and i like the end result.

while i was working on this piece, i missed the important day for PataPri... it was PataPri's 3rd birthday on April 13th!
even though, i closed PataPri for 8 months last year, im happy that im still doing it!

anyway, to celebrate PataPri's birthday, im doing a giveaway!

guess the number of threads i used for this mountain embroidery piece!

please, enter the number in comment section.

3 lucky people who get a right number or closest to right number will receive set of 2 towels from PataPri towel collections.

mountains infos.

size : 23.5in by 20in 60cm by 50cm
embroidery : 3 rounds french knots
threads : DMC threads 8m 8.7yd

please leave a number on my comment section by april 23rd.

Thank you all for guess the number!

bath towels

2010-04-01T22:55:00.003-05:00

i printed on size of bath towels with new design fish.
i wanted to design to look fine from every direction, so i created fish facing each direction.
this towels would be perfect to bring to the beach!
its same materials i use for hand towels, and very light and thin, so it wont take over your bag.
i think it can be use it as a baby blanket too.

i only printed 7 total for this size, and im not planning to print with this size.
take a look at my etsy shop! thank you!

a little shop sign

2010-03-31T22:05:00.003-05:00

hello, i started doing embroidery again!
ive been thinking about how i can use these cute beads into embroidery piece, but the idea doesnt hit me yet, so while i wait for it, i made a little shop sign.

i had bought many threads for the project ( 60% off on yahoo auction japan), i hate not having materials when idea come up and ready to start work on it, so i tend to stock up materials in my hands. ( i think it comes from my mom, she stock up lots of craft materials, like she can open a shop)

i was looking for a case to store these threads, and i found this!
its a perfect size and cute little shelf!
it was a little pricey ($150) but worth it!

hello from imabari-city!

2010-03-26T21:53:00.005-05:00

hello,
i had an amazing time in imabari-city! what's so special about imabari-city?

imabari-city is known for making best towels in japan for last 100 years.
i didn't know about it either. i first read about imabari towels on apartment therapy last year in chicago, and just glad to see beautiful towels coming from my home country!

and now im back in japan, and most of you already know that i switched my material from linen to cotton (gauze towel). the reason is that i wanted to make towels with something unique material and only found in japan , and i found the gauze towel.
i fallin love with them when i used it for the first time.
so soft and light ( i like the fact its thin that dry quickly and light ).

i visited yoshii towel company. here is the pics of what they make and my visit to towel factory. a yoshii towel company makes an amazing towels with eco friendly, toxic free cotton. it cost more and takes time more, but they believe in what they do and continue doing it for last 50 years.

i will tell you more about what i was doing there and perhaps great news to patapri!!

super thanks to mr. president yoshii, mr.kikugawa, mr.mineda, and mr.kimura to show me and welcoming me!

and pics from a towel factory. i was so impressed with these machine and i never knew it takes soooo many steps to make a towel!
look at the huge role of threads.
many machines involved and many peoples hand involved. after all these machine steps, people are sewing the hem, and checking towels one by one! i have more application for towels :).

ive seen these towels and bath mat in tokyo and magazines but never knew they went through so many peoples hand from imabari-city.
pretty sweet!

love etsy!

2010-03-21T02:04:00.005-05:00

i was smiling when i open my mail box today. ( yes, mail man delivers in sunday too in japan )
came from washington and new york by amazing etsy sellers!!

egg shaped containers are from an amazing artist Jennifer Fisher of jfish designs.
these containers cast from an actual egg!!!
i didnt buy these to put beads in it, but they look cute together.

and these beautiful hana(flower) beads are from mika of pinocean.
when i first saw her work on flikr, i just loved it!
and went to her etsy shop and bought myself hana beads, and i wanted more, so i ordered more for them.
ive been thinking about how i will use these. i want to make a wall art with embroidery and these beads. i cant wait to start working on it.

a cute little hi are from oh hi shop.
they are nice addition to my shelf, arent they?

patapri on facebook fan page.

2010-03-12T09:12:00.005-06:00

hello, i finally decided to join facebook.
i havnt figure it out how to use, but im trying! please join my page :)
here is patapri facebook.

a beautiful flower & antique shop here in akiya ( my town ) now carry my towels.
i found this shop while i was taking a walk, and bought flowers.
avanti shop is in 100years old kura which is really cool.
after i came home, i googled the shop, and found out a little history about avanti.
i then became friends with the owner of the 蔵(kura=old storage) who is architect. his house is behind the kura, and anvanti owner loved my towels!

anyway, my readers are faraway, but if you live near akiya, yokosuka, please stop by avanti!
their kura is something to see!

my studio and home is 10 minuits away from here, so if you are in neighborhood, stop by my studio. print together!

View avanti in a larger map

wrapping paper & mizuhiki

2010-03-03T21:18:00.004-06:00

i wanted to make my own wrapping paper when i do gift wrap towels.
and i found beautiful paper that printable with inkjet printer.
the paper feels like washi(japanese paper) and fabric.
print came out perfectly, and nice!

my new craft hobby is called mizuhiki (水引）, it's traditional japanese craft that has been around since 1400 years ago! ( according to mizuhiki site i read.)
im not good at explaination, so please read wiki. :p
there are many kinds of knots and each knot has meaning and when to use...

i found it really beautiful so im enjoying making it and not worry about all the rules of mizuhiki.
those cords are pretty cheap( 100 codes for $4-5) and they have many colors available and you know i love colorful color!
i tried it for the first time, and i gotta say its not easy!
to line up 4 codes nicely is hard.
i hope to make more complicated shape someday!

anyway, im ready to do gift wrap!
these gift wrap is available for $3 at my etsy shop.
sorry i have to charge it since paper is pretty expensive and mizuhiki takes time to make one.
free gift wrapping is available as always. ( glassine paper with cute ribbon!)

so please leave a message " i want a gift wrap! " when you place order my towels :D.
or purchase my new gift wrapping.

Print & pattern book!

2010-02-26T19:52:00.004-06:00

i just received copy of my "print&pattern" book by bowie style!

i couldnt wait till amazon japan stock it, so i ordered it from amazon UK, took only 3 days to get here in japan. thanks UPS!

im just so thrilled to see my work in this beautiful book!
im honored to have my work included along with many other talented designers!!! i remember reading her blog before i even thought about selling my works, and thinking wow i love this blog!
so when i saw my work on her blog for the first time, i was so excited and couldnt believe it. when marie (a.k.a. bowie style) asked me to contribute my work for her new book in 2008, you know how i felt!

i started PataPri in 2007, and im so happy and thankful that im still able to continue what i love to do.
thank you everyone!

people, please get your copy!
amazon usa
amazon uk
amazon japan

i wish i could show this book to my dad, he would be so proud!

PataPri towels will be @ shopcolumbia!

2010-02-25T18:51:00.005-06:00

hello!
my towels will be selling at ShopcColumbia in march!

ShopColumbia is where columbia college students and alumni selling their works.
its located at 623 S. Wabash, 1st Floor, chicago.
if you are in a neighborhood, please stop by!

home.

2010-02-19T23:38:00.005-06:00

ive been living my grandmas house for 4 months now.
since i will be here for a short time, i dont want to do much with this house.
but i wanted to change a bit to reflect my taste and brighten up this house, so i made the curtain for an entrance.
i also display some of my collection.
all my belongings are still in chicago, i landed in japan with 1 suitcase and a bag (only summer clothes) and ended up staying here longer than i thought!
im not complain, i applicable that i have a house to myself and be able to print! :)
but these cute little things cheer me up!

little bowls with birds are from Tasha McKelvey
kitties are from feltmates arent they so cute? when i saw it on her flickr, i had to ask her for custom made them.
fox and cushions are from sara carr she is one of my recent discovery at etsy, i love all of her work.
billy(man wearing rabbit suit) is from blamo toys billy is so cool, emotionless rabbit man but touch my emotion.

i made drawsting bags with scrapped towels. i found the simple drawstring bag tutorial on online ( sorry, in japanese), it was so useful and helpful.

mountain!

2010-02-17T21:28:00.004-06:00

here is a new design from PataPri towel collection!
my recent trip to nikkou (日光）inspired me to design mountain.
mountain i saw there was blueish, but i printed with a season color.
i hope you like it!

i also printed rain for large towel.

available @ etsy & supermarket.

stationary love

2010-02-08T23:47:00.010-06:00

hello
i have things for stationary. when i see beautiful and pretty design stationary, i buy them!
they have to be functional too because they are stationary.
here are my recent purchase.

whale knife
this knife is a very sharp and made of tosa steel.
it fits in your palm perfectly.

MT wrapping paper
you know those colorful masking tape, they recently start selling new wrapping papers.
they use same paper as masking tape. it has adhesive at sides, so you can make a bag and envelope easily.

i like good scissors!
a long one is useful when i need to cut a big paper.
a square handle one designed beautifully, and it works great for lefty.

dot liner glue
this glue works great without mess! and sticky part shapes are star, i have a heart shapes one too.
i use it for my sleeves for my towels.
no one see the stars and hearts shape but its fun to use.

remember i made my business cards with paper called "pachica"?
this paper is very difficult to print to get transparent, need high printing technique.
so not many printing company use this paper , and paper is pretty expensive!
i read that this paper was created for nagano,japan Olympics 1998
anyway, i found the another printing company specializes print pachica(they do all kinds of print too) and they are offering special deal for 200 business cards with pachica paper.
so i ordered tags. they even gave me a plate!
they only charge ¥12.000($110) which is amazing price. i paid waaaaay more for my cards ( well, my cards have 2 more colors)
so if you live in japan, its a great chance to make pachica business cards here!
the offer end march 1st.

my towel is in the storque!

2010-02-06T08:00:00.006-06:00

my sweet home towel is in the storque etsy finds. yay!

it is included in the valentine's gift idea for her vote.
vote for my towel! :)

more stickers from PataPri

2010-01-31T20:08:00.002-06:00

i had so much fun printing stickers, so i printed them again!
its half size smaller with 18 designs.
it was supposed to be 5 colors, but when i finished printing 5th color (purple) i realized i missed 2 place, one of the house, and 2 dots on アリガト（thank you) .
so i added red in last.

printing on fabrics and paper is basically same, but to me i found it little more difficult printing on paper.

they are available @ my etsy and supermarket.

giveaway @ the dear diary stories

2010-01-27T07:50:00.004-06:00

there is a giveaway of my towel @ the dear diary stories.
her blog is so inspirational!

enter to win your choice of PataPri towel.

i did a mini interview @ oktak blog.
oktak makes beautiful bags and pouches, lots of you may already know!
i own one of her cute pouch, use everyday!
it's in japanese only, sorry :p

seeing another japanese living usa doing her things successfully inspired me and motivate me.

new screenprinted stickers!

2010-01-26T22:35:00.002-06:00

the new screenprinted stickers!
i like stationary, and i wanted to make something for PataPri.
i have done cards, and posters, so now its a sticker time!
its a limited of 34 box, so get them while it last!

sticker box set @ PataPri etsy shop

happy valentines!

2010-01-18T20:31:00.005-06:00

happy valentines! new design and sweet home towels are available now. for limited time only, you will receive free cotton bag when you order set of 2, set of 3 towels(small size) or order of more than 2 or 3 towels!

new at PataPri,

patterns

2010-01-12T21:48:00.004-06:00

7 of my designs has included in the new book called " patterns " from maomao pumlication. yay!
it's amazing to see my work in the book with many great designers!
im very happy :).
it's a 480 pages full of pattern designs of surface designers from all over the world. you can get your copy here.

i printed towels with a couple of my design from the book.
available at etsy!

happy new year!

2010-01-02T23:44:00.003-06:00

my mom likes to decorate the house on holidays, this is for new year.

wishing you the very best for 2010!

im having great holidays, spending time with my family, doing all my family tradition.
which reminds me of my childhood, remembering how excited i was on christmas and new year...

hope you had great holidays too!

Yuko

happy holidays.

2009-12-19T23:55:00.003-06:00

shadow puppets by Owly Shadow Puppets

hello, it's almost end of the year.
hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season.

lots of things happend for me this year, and glad its over!

im thinking about doing wholesale next year.
it has been 3 years since i started PataPri, and had many offer for wholesale from many great shops all over the world, but i wasnt really sure how to go about it and dealing with etsy shop was hard enough for me, so i haven't done it.
ive been reading craft inc. and started to think about doing wholesale seriously.
lots to think...
i have a big passion for my patapri, and love making things i make, but im not really a business person, so thats what i need to figure it out next year.

one of the reason i want to do wholesale is that when i went to paris in summer, when i was walking around the neighborhood of Marais with my sister, i stooped by a cute little toy store.
i saw a shadow puppet by fellow chicago crafter andrea on their window display!
i was so excited to see her work at different country, far away from chicago.
and i thought, that would be amazing to see my towels in cute shops all over the world, that would be so cool!
that's the reason why i want to do wholesale, good reason right?

anyway, thats my goal for next year to do wholesale.
and go back to chicago and do renegade.

have a happy holidays!
yuko

towels.

2009-12-14T04:02:00.003-06:00

more towels at etsy. im in printing mode.
i can print only 6 towels at times due to my table size ( 12 for a small size towel ), so i print first color , wait to dry, second color, wait to dry and logo.
it takes long hours to just print 6 towels... but oh well.

i have a new package for my hand towels.
im using paper instead of hemp strings which i use for kitchen towel.
paper looks great for small size towel, but for large size towel, paper looked not right, especially side part, so i fold the paper to make it like a box? and i really like the way it look. yay.

more new stuff.

2009-12-08T23:46:00.007-06:00

i've been enjoying printing last few weeks. i just listed many more new stuff. i like these new aprons.

take a look!
PataPri

happy holidays!

PataPri hand towels.

2009-11-28T19:23:00.002-06:00

since i decided to print here (japan), i was looking and researching new fabrics to print on besides linen.

i found the japanese hand towels which has 2 sides, front side is soft gauze fabrics, and back side is short length loop.
i used it and really liked it, so soft , dry quickly, and very light.

so here are my new hand towels.
9 new desing are available at my etsy shop.

i hope you like them as much as i do!

my inks are here!

2009-11-27T03:36:00.005-06:00

finally, my inks arrived this week.
i've been printing ever sine, so much fun!
i realized how much i like doing this.

my new studio is working great, best part is the view.
its nice to be at studio.

new stuff will be on etsy this weekend, hope you check them out :).

orikeshi

2009-11-21T21:21:00.004-06:00

hello,
im still waiting for my inks to arrive.... it has been a month! please, USPS, please!

anyway, i found a craft toy called "orikeshi" it means original eraser in japanese.
it looks fun even though it is a toy for girls, so i bought it.
last night , i was having a fun making erasers!
it comes with small sticks of eraser, and design cards and holding stand to create your own eraser.
i didnt like the designs that came with, so i made a few designs on illustrator.
after you place those sticks of eraser, you microwave them for 60seconds.
and you have a eraser. it erase good too!

new business cards.

2009-11-06T21:33:00.004-06:00

i just received my new business cards in mail!
i've been waiting for it and i'm so happy with the result.
while i was researching and thinking about my new business card, i found the paper called "pachica".
i really liked this paper so i decided to use this one for my cards.
amazing things about this paper is that when it hot pressed it become transparent.
so i designed with my favorite shapes and blue and orange parts are foil stamped.
cant wait to give out to people. :)

@ grandma's

2009-10-29T07:28:00.003-05:00

hi,
it's been a month, since i moved to my grandma's house.
i was supposed to be in chicago, so i was kind of bummed to still be in japan, but now im kind of glad that i can spend time here. so relaxing!
i have a many wonderful memory here as i visited every summer and winter when i was a kid.
i will be here until next spring, so i want to enjoy as much i can before i move to chicago for good.
here are snaps of the house. toys my brothers, sister, and i used, old furniture, my grandmas handmade japanese dolls, view from the house, etc...

my project of making a little printing studio is going well.
i set up the dark room at closet!
things i need is almost all delivered. i order inks from usa, but delivery cost me same as inks.... but i wanted to use inks that im used to. ( pro chemical )
i was away from japan such a long time, so i dont really know where to get screen print products here, i googled but dont know which one is good!
im waiting my printing table (dining table) now.
i will put some pictures when i finish set up my new studio and tell you my new portable screen making machine.
lots of new stuff & design will be available soon!

and, thank you for your kind words for patapri's re-opening. :)
it really means a lot to me.

PataPri is back.

2009-10-21T22:11:00.004-05:00

hello, i just re-open PataPri shop on etsy.
new design house i printed in summer is available now.
please take a look!
i changed the package. what do you think?
i will soon start printing in new studio in japan, and im thinking about printing on new material besides linen.
im also working on my new bushiness card. i found the really cool paper, so im having a fun time designing using that special paper. i will talk about it more later.

thank you for all the kind email and messages while im gone.
im so happy to finally re-open patapri.

hello

2009-10-16T02:56:00.003-05:00

my recent purchase hedgehog moss bonsai @ j.period

hello,
i can't believe its already october...
i'm back in japan, and i will be here next few months.
i had a most amazing time in europe and now i'm setting up temporary studio at my grandma's house. since my grandma passed, nobody lives here, so while i'm in japan, i decided to live here which i have many wonderful memory of my childhood.
it's a pretty big house for one person, but since it has lots of space, i can print! so now i'm getting a new screen making machine and stuff.
while i make a new stuff, i will re-open PataPri shop on etsy to start sell towels i printed in summer in chicago.
hope to see you at my etsy shop next week!

Bonjour!

2009-07-12T10:20:00.004-05:00

this is my sister's apartment, she lives on tiny apt on top floor.

since i cant bring my cat niko, i made a niko embroidery to travel with me.

new design "house"
my towel looking good by the window of where im staying.

hello!
ive safely arrived at paris last night.
weather is great and im enjoying to see my sister and paris.

summer!

2009-07-09T18:13:00.004-05:00

i bought a catcam.
my cat niko goes outside, and i was curious where she goes.
she took some nice pics.

hello!
hows your summer going?
i spend time at studio last week and print some towels finally. i had a great time back in studio.
i printed a new design call "houses" too. i will show you soon.

another thing is im going to europe!! i will spend 5 weeks in paris and another country.
im so excited, even though my sister lives in paris for last 10 years, ive never visited her. so this is my first time to go to europe and i just can't wait. there are many places i want to visit!
im renting an apartment. yay!
i will blog while im there.
see you soon!

japanese masking tapes.

2009-05-05T17:48:00.005-05:00

while i was in japan, i saw these colorful masking tapes, and i loved them.
so i had to get them all color! so pretty!
they are made with washi(japanese paper), very thin paper tape.
i found out that you can get these tapes in here and some of etsy shop. ( here and here )

and i wanted have tape dispenser just for these tapes.
where to look? etsy! i found a great wood shop "Banished wood working" , scott who makes cool wood toys custom made these tape dispensers for me!
i just received these tape dispensers yesterday and i'm very happy with it.
if you need one of these you should convo him! i asked him longer length but he will custom make any size for very reasonable price.
this is what i like about etsy, all the talented people from all over the world.

anyway, i just wanted to show off my new tape dispenser and tapes. haha

the visitor.

2009-05-04T21:19:00.005-05:00

"thanks for the food!"

"yum yum"

"this is my home!"

hello,
it has been great weather in chicago.
the other day i was open my window and doors to get fresh air. while my cat niko was out enjoying outside, other cat visit my place and ate niko's food!
she was walking around my apt, checking bathroom and everything.
there are 4-5 cats living backyard of my apt, but niko doesnt really like to socialize them so it was good niko wasnt home.

hello from tokyo!

2009-04-14T09:19:00.006-05:00

chidorigafuchi by emperor's house

kamakura (鎌倉）

view from my grandma's at hayama

tokyo tower

hello,
im back in tokyo again. im so happy to be here this time of the year. it's a cherry blossom season in japan. they are so beautiful and only last for a week or 2, so i feel lucky!
i went to a few famous cherry blossom places, meguro-kawa（目黒川）, kamakura（鎌倉）, and chidoriga fuchi（千鳥ヶ淵）. weather was perfect and it was amazing view.
i dont usually go back to japan so often, and since im away from japan for 15 years, i appreciate many little things about japan which i didnt even notice when i used to live here.
things i love about japan.
1. people are so polite and i believe japanese customer service is the best in the world! at bank, grocery store, post office, everywhere i go, they treat you like you're the queen.
2. trains and buses are so clean and don't smell like cta. drivers are also very polite and nice.
3. convenience store. i will miss japanese seven eleven, ampm, and ローソン。they carry many teas which i love.
i appreciate these little things.

im going back to chicago next week. i cant wait to finally get back to print!

im back!

2009-03-13T13:33:00.005-05:00

set of soy sauce bottle, tooth picks and spice container from J-period.

konpeitou (金平糖 suger）from QUOLOFUNE (黒船）. their dorayaki is pretty good.

pear shaped lip balm and hand cream. i had to get these! i got them from drug store.

a little linen tray from cibone. i bought this to put set of 3 containers. i like this store. they have many things that i want! from furniture to note book.

a fish shaped big spoon for rice. i can scoop many rice at once haha. from outlet.

cute birds cloth pins from j.[posh].

a big chopstick for cooking from outlet.

hello,
im back in chicago!
it is good to be back and im taking a much needed break.
here are some stuff i bought from japan.
i didnt have much time to shopping while i was there, but my hometown jiyuugaoka(自由が丘） is known to have many zakkaya san (雑貨) so one afternoon i walked around neighborhood and got some little cute stuff.

im going back to studio this weekend.
i havnt print for a while so im excited to go back to print. im making little bags and stuff for my nephews.
i will post again when i finish making them. :)

thank you...

2009-02-15T18:19:00.006-06:00

Hello
thank you for all your kind words for my visit to my dad in japan.
i came back to japan feb 1, and i was spending everyday with my dad at hospital.
my plan was to stay with him in japan for a few months until he gets better.
he passed away last week.
it was so sudden, and my family and i are having saddest time in our life.

we had his wake and funeral at the small church at takanawa, tokyo.
600 people came for his wake and funeral and i think my dad was happy to see all his family and friends.

i miss him so much.

leaving...

2009-01-20T03:23:00.003-06:00

hi everyone!

i am leaving chicago in a few weeks to go back to japan.
my father is not doing well and i need to be there.
things has been crazy and I honestly don't know what to do!

PataPri will be close for a while, I'm hoping to re-open as soon as possible but i dont know when it will be.
im having a big sale at my etsy shop, so take a look.

niko will be fine with my bf while im gone. he spoiled her little too much though.

i will write this blog while im gone from japan.

anyway i just want to let you know what's going on.
yuko

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T18:26:00.003-06:00

Hello!
I just wanted to say Thank you so much for your support over this last year and for being a wonderful friend of PataPri. I appreciate having you as part of my PataPri world and hope you'll continue enjoy my creation.

have a happy new year and hope you have a wonderful year 2009!!

Yuko Uemura

mr. red and his friends

2008-12-09T14:15:00.002-06:00

hello,
ohh im so excited about this towels!
it's a 10 colors design of mr. red and his friends.
if you know screen print, you know how time consuming it is to print something like this. you have to make 10 screens, and you have to wait to get dry between each print. registration is a key too. i don't use hinges to hold a screen, so they are all registered by sight! they are not 100% perfect registration, but i like it a lot! some of the color fade out a little but i love the looks of it.
these are limited of 27. it will be in my shop later today.

i hope you like as much as i do.

niko's favorite place, but she can't get down.

2008-12-04T14:40:00.003-06:00

hello,
i'm enjoying living with niko so much!
she is exploring my apartment, and that's her new favorite spot.
I don't know how she got up there coz it's pretty high.
but she can't get down.

anyway, i'm working on a new design of kitchen towel. I'm pretty excited about it. the design isn't pattern design but mr.red will be in it, and it will be more than 10 colors!! should be in my shop soon.
i've been doing silkscreen print for a few years, but i still get so excited about printing. i love the whole process of screen printing! i love seeing my design on fabrics. it's super fun.
i'll post about my new design towel when i finish.

Happy Thanksgiving! Black Friday Sale!

2008-11-26T15:29:00.003-06:00

hello,
i have been printing many new and old designs kitchen towels for Black Friday Sale this weekend.
Stop by my etsy shop!

niko

2008-11-24T15:51:00.002-06:00

she is my new friend niko.
there is a big garden back of my apartment, and there are many ally cats live there. one day i notice a new cat. few days later, one rainy day she was by my window meowing, so i opened the window. she came in, and went to my bed and start sleeping. she is so cute! i wasnt sure if i would keep her since it's a big commitment! but i let her stay that night since it was raining.
after that, she is always waiting every time i come home. she wasn't hungry since alot of other people who live around the garden are feeding to the cats lives there. but chicago winter is coming, and she is just so sweet. now she is my new friend.

hello!

2008-11-20T02:44:00.003-06:00

hello people!
sorry about not writing anything here last 2 months.
there is no big reason i've been gone for while, time just past so quickly!
i'm doing good.
i'm working towards the holiday season, printing new and old designs kitchen towels.
pictures is embroidery i made for my new niece yukako. each tear drops took 1-3 hours! phew!
oh i adapt a cat! her name is niko, and she is so sweet! but i witnessed that she killed cute squirrel and eating it. i was shock!!! now i won't let her out, i refuse to raise a killer cat!
i will take a pic of her soon and post it here.
good night!

my first experience of pilsen open house.

2008-09-29T15:03:00.005-05:00

hello,
Im relaxing at quiet home now after 3 days of open house.
i want to say thank you so much for people who stopped by!
it was a wonderful experience. i didn't know what to expect since ive never done anything like that but im so glad i did, and glad i did it with camille. she is a one of hardest working girl i know, and her young and sweet energy made this show to success! along with her beautiful embroidery art.
most exciting part was to meet people, lots of cool people stopped by our place.
i met many neighbors who ive never met before even we live close by, so that was fun.
thanks again everyone!

another good news i received today was super heather from skinnylaminx conved me and she mentioned my towels on the Elle Decoration SA blog, yay! thank you heather.

*pics are our works desplay in my apartment.
notice my couch color changed? I upholstered it, it was a one of my summer project.
better than black leather dont you think?

38th Artist's Open House

2008-09-18T18:38:00.005-05:00

Hello!
My neighborhood ( pilsen ) is having a 38th Artist's Open House on next weekend September 26-28. I am participating it with Camille Canales !!
I will open up my studio (? )/apartment to public. really??
It's kind a weird to open up my living space to the public, but Camille and I are excited about this event!
We will showcase our works and sell at this event, so please stop by and take a look at our works.
Camille ( who inspired me to try out embroidery ) does amazing embroidery works, she also does silkscreen.
now, Im cleaning up my apartment like crazy.
hope to see you guys!
38th Artist's Open House September 26th, 2008 - September 28th, 2008
Friday 6-10pm Sat and Sun 12-7pm

around 18th and Halsted st.
My place is next to church ( my door facing Jesus ).
*You can get all the information at information booth at 18th and halsted.
look for a orange flag(made by camille) and my orange bike!

renegade craft fair.

2008-09-15T14:24:00.004-05:00

who went to renegade? I did!!
weather was horrible, rained all weekend, but all the crafters and artists spirits were sun shining!
i was impress about their booths presentation. They carefully thought about how they present their beautiful works. i saw some really cool booths. and i liked the guy who were selling chalkboard t-shirts by class.
i said hi to few friends who were vendors at renegade, weather didn't beat them, they are smiling and having a great time ( sort of ) doing what they love and made me feel yay!
i stopped by at etsy booth and met etsy people too.
i bought a couple of thing with my limited budget, and i love them. ( bowl and notebook pics come later )
i hope i can do renegade maybe in christmas or next year.

* pics are new towels in my shop.
im a serious sushi eater, i love fish. so i made fish towels :)

open house at lillstreet!

2008-08-30T00:16:00.002-05:00

there is a open house tomorrow at lillstreet.
textile department will have a printing workshop by allison rose who teaches there and also has shop at etsy for free!
every other department will doing work shop so stop by!

pic on the card who is printing is me :).

my first embroidery.

2008-08-24T21:20:00.002-05:00

hello,
i finished 2 of my first embroidery, and i enjoyed making them.
i always thought embroidery is so beautiful, but i've never thought trying myself.
but my friend at lillstreet, resident textile artist camille canales inspires me so much.
i saw her working on her peices all summer for her show currently going on at lillstreet, and made me want to try it.
if you are living around montrose neighborhood, you can see her flags on lillstreet building.

* updates about my electronics.
tv is back on, printer came back from shop, but computer is still half dead. but im fine :).

Summer sale!

2008-08-15T19:16:00.002-05:00

PataPri is having a big summer sale.
everything is 20-30%off.

stop by and shop!
Thanks,
Yuko

no no no no noooo!

2008-08-12T11:50:00.004-05:00

hello,
it has been a bad and crazy week in my world.
first, my place was flooded from huge storm we had in chicago last week.
it wasn't much damage i thought, just little stuff like rugs and fabrics. all my furniture were safe.
and it went back in normal next day after i mopped like crazy.
and then yesterday, all my electronics started acting crazy. ( from thunderstorm according to my friend) but why after a week???
now, my printer, computer, and tv are not working!!!!
i might have to close my etsy shop for the moment...
im living i fear of losing all my design and pictures....

since no computer and tv, my place is quiet, usually some music or tv are always on.
no project runway? no movies? nooooooooooooo!

ok, enough about it.
let me think about positive things happen to me past week..
hmmm..........
oh i had my fabrics delivered, 50 yards of white pure linen, my usual fabrics for towels.
now i can print! ( no image without computer though )
i made pillow cases for my self.
i started embroidery and its fun.
i will post pics when my computer get fixed, or maybe i have to get a new one...

paper goods!

2008-07-23T05:05:00.003-05:00

I just finished listing my new paper stuff on my etsy shop!
Please take a look!

PataPri Paper!

2008-07-18T13:30:00.004-05:00

I have been thinking about doing paper products since last year, and I finally did it! ( I could be slow sometime... )
Last few weeks, I have been printing posters ( silkscreen ) and cards ( gocco silkscreen ), and I'm happy how they came out.
My first passion was for papers. I get excited when I go to paper source or cards shop, or just checking online paper shop, like french paper.
When I was in Tokyo, there was my favorite paper shop called " Winged wheel " in Omote sando. I used to go there every time I get a chance and got inspired. Their paper products are amazing!
So, now I'm excited to finally able to show my paper stuff!
They will be in my shop soon!

bedding set.

2008-07-03T13:30:00.004-05:00

i printed another duvet cover and pillow set. i printed with dot tree design with light grey and sky blue inks. it looks so nice. i'm very tempted to use it for my self!
i ordered papers for my new patapri paper collections, i'll be busy printing posters and cards next week, but this week i'll be bbqing!
have a great holiday!!

look! Kristen made this beautiful quilt!

2008-06-25T18:22:00.002-05:00

i got email from patapri customer kristen a couple of weeks ago.
look what she made with patapri fabrics!
they are amazing!! so colorful, modern quilt design, and my fabrics looks so good! you can read details of this quilt at her fun blog called UNRAVELED.
she made this for her baby, what a lucky baby!
thank you kristen for share this with me ( & you ).

duvet cover + pillow cases!

2008-06-23T16:24:00.002-05:00

over the weekend i printed duvet covers, and i love it! i think this is my favorite. since i use about 24inch × 19inch screen, it's really hard when i print big piece like this. you have to worry about registration and space between each image. and once i mess up whole sheet will be waste, so im really careful when i print duvet, but it turned out nice!

linzie hunter towels and other towels are available now at my etsy shop!
i listed this morning, but Linzie towels are almost gone, so hurry!

Linzie Hunter's ABC towels, new paper towels & more!

2008-06-20T14:08:00.004-05:00

I finally got some white linen fabrics and last couple of weeks, I've been busy printing, sewing, and ironing!
Linzie and I decided to to another edition of ABC towels! It was such a hit last time we did, (sold out in a few hours.) and Linzie and I received many email asking for more. I picked 4 colors combo this time, some similar from last time, but they are all different colors. I hope you like them!

I also printed my new design "Paper towel Kitchen towel". Let's try not use paper towel as much as we ( I ) do, and save some trees. If you miss using paper towel, don't worry now you have this paper towel kitchen towels!! It's even Eco price of $12! because I really want you to use this towel instead of paper towel!

and few of my other favorite designs also will be available in my etsy shop next week!

how to card by gocco.

2008-06-05T14:51:00.002-05:00

last night, i printed how to cards with gocco. it came out really nice.
a size 6 font even looks nice and sharp! gocco is so much fun!
i really like printing on paper as much as printing on fabrics.
so, im planning to launch PataPri Paper!
thinking about making posters and cards. i will let you know the details when im ready.
ok, im off to post office.
see you. :)

sewing zipper is hard!

2008-05-27T23:06:00.003-05:00

yesterday, it was 80 degree, beautiful weather, and today was 50 and cold!
so I stayed in and making a little pencil case and pouches using my scrap fabrics. I was having hard time sewing zippers, i need upgrade my sewing machine and upgrade my sewing skill too! but i like my little pencil cases!

awawawawa-!

2008-05-22T11:50:00.004-05:00

awawawaa is a japanese word (?)or sound word that you use(not really) when you are in panic or scare or surprised.
and i was awawawaa this week, when I did a tv interview!
I never thought or wanted to be on tv even though i LOVE watching tv, but for love of PataPri i did it! whew!
I couldn't say 5% of what i wanted say about PataPri but it's done, so move on!
They came to my studio/apartment and shot some of my stuff, and did little interview.
producer, and camera people were super nice, so that helped. thank you sam!
I spend all weekend clean up my place! so it's clean now if you want to visit me, now is the time!
anyway, so that's how my week going so far. I will let you know when the show air.

pic is a new color fabric kirin kitchen towel taken at my apartment garden, love this garden! i usually don't do pink but when i saw this fabric at store, i bought it because its sooo soft and medium weight but so light and i just liked it.

silkscreen poster.

2008-04-30T12:07:00.003-05:00

I had a extra time at studio last week, ( no fabrics to print! ) and I had to make prints for the printstitute. so I printed silkscreen poster using one of my favorite design doors.
I used 19 × 25inch off white paper from french paper. I think it would be nice to hung it up at my entrance or somewhere in the apt.
printing on paper and fabrics are different. it's basically same, but to me printing on paper is harder. You have to get it right at one time. I started with 10 prints, but after 5 layers of colors, it ended up with only 3 edition with BAT. that's bad...

a gift and beads.

2008-04-29T22:30:00.006-05:00

I am a big fan of Amy Lemaire's work who had a studio at lillstreet. so when she was having a beads sale last weekend, I went and got me some beautiful beads! They are so pretty. I'm very happy. I won't use them as beads but place on my desk as an art objects.
Friend of mine gave me this amazing book of Charley Harper .
I am big fan of his illustration, so I was sooo excited! It was a artist proof edition, so it came with a silkscreen poster called "mountain bluebird".
Isn't it beautiful? I can't wait to frame it. I can spend hours just looking at these beautiful illustration. very inspiring!

silkscreen cards.

2008-04-22T12:00:00.003-05:00

Last week, I was taking break from printing on fabrics, and I made cards for PataPri. They are silkscreen process print which I've never done.
It was so fun, as I printing yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, pictures full color showing up. I also used varnish on towels part, so it shining little bit on towels and i love it. I printed text and logo with gocco.

PataPri Happy 1st Birthday!

2008-04-14T11:32:00.005-05:00

PataPri's Happy 1st Birthday!
Thank you so much for your support and love!
Past year has been wonderful.
I wanted to do something to show my appreciation, and I made special edition towels ( not for sale ) for first 20 customer with any purchase from my shop. These towels are show casing designs I have done past year.

Collaboration towels with Linzie Hunter and fabrics will be available April 16th Wednesday!

Linzie Hunter

2008-04-09T14:46:00.007-05:00

Last year I did collaboration work with wing aka inkdesigner, and I had such a fun experience, so when I was contacted by Linzie Hunter, I was like Yes!.
I am a big fun of her lovely illustration, so it was such a excitement to work with her ( through emails).
Here is her fun alphabet design. I picked the colors.
They will be available in my etsy shop next week!
They are limited of 50 towels ( available only 25 towels at my etsy shop for sale ). so, if you are her fan like i am, please take a look next week...

fabrics!

2008-04-08T18:46:00.004-05:00

One of the projects I'm working on for PataPri 1 year anniversary is to sell my designs as fabrics. I wanted to make something that you requested most for this special occasion.
It will be a pack of 3 designs piece of fabrics, small size and big size. Since making yard age fabrics are very labor intensive and takes long time, it will be very limited and also only this time. I hope you will enjoy them.
They will be available on April 16th Wednesday at my etsy shop!
I'm super busy packing right now!
I made little cards to go with my fabrics.
and waiting for sunshine to take pictures.