19
Oct2009
[Random] Hobonichi Techo & Haramaki
This all started with a tweet from Kenji. He linked this video:
Although Hobonichi Techo is a planner/notebook, it's part of a larger lifestyle company ... sort of in conjunction with game designer and essayist/journalist/blogger Shigesato Itoi. (Best known for the "Mother"/"Earthbound" RPG series.)
For those who know me best, I have a thing for stationary goods like this... but I'm extremely particular about what I'm looking for - especially when it comes to planners. Size, quality, layout of dates, pockets, durability, design... all important. The last time I had one I was happy with was maybe 6 years ago -- when I was living in Japan.
I'm sure you can see where this is going.
I started to check through the website for what other products they had and general pricing and found this:
Haramaki are "belts" of fabric that you wear around the waist to keep the area warm and protected.
OMP. That was it -- I had to make an order. This was a little over a month ago.
And the order finally arrived today. YAY!
The quality of the Hobonichi haramaki is sooo worth the price. Most crafted outside of Japan are made with thin t-shirt fabric, which work okay as undershirts or shirt extenders. These are made of thicker, very stretchy fabric which compresses around the torso, acting like a comfortable corset. They are also reversible.
(I am SO happy they arrived today. Just in time for our trip on Wednesday. o_o!)
As for the planner:
I was surprised that it came with a plastic cover... that had a plastic pocket on the back and year printed on the bottom of the spine. It fit perfectly over the planner cover (which is nylon) and is shaped so that all the inner pockets are accessible.
It comes with a brown barreled "multi-pen", but even that pen's not cheapy - it's ball-pointed, but writes extra-fine.
As an added bonus, there's this little extra:
... and I picked up a calendar as well. Erasable white-board type.
Am I ready for 2010 or what? :D
The thing I miss most from my time in Tokyo is the commercials on tv...
where can I find the 2010 hobonichi sales site? keep coming up with old (but fabulous) ones.....
(I sell the t-shirt material kind of haramaki - would LOVE to make the knitted kind too)
To be honest, the sales come every so often - you have to check the hobonichi haramaki shop page to find out what's available and when -- I think since I purchased mine, there have been 1 or 2 lines that have been released - the most recent one just closing ... today - I think.
If you really want one, contact the staff via e-mail~ I was in contact with one who could write in English and assisted me with the transaction. They even helped me get a couple designs that were out of stock on their website!
Many thanks - I have been in touch and now await the next sale....they are truly fabulous....