T-Trove Asian Decor Blog

The purse hangers was ordered for the holiday season last summer.  Although they don’t qualify as completely “Asian style”, but I thought they be useful holiday presents for the ladies who have everything (like my mom).

We display the hangers by the cash register since they needed some show and tell to the customers.  They were popular among ladies, but more men pick them up to play with them.   Surprisingly, male customers also bought more of these purse hangers as gifts then female.  I think it is because the hangers are modern in design with the shinny metal and mechanical features.  They also  solve a problem that many people face when eating out.

I kept one that was scratched when the shipment arrived.  Since the holiday season was busy, we didn’t eat out much.  The purse hanger sat in my bag for good 2 months and  I finally got to use it at Atlanta during the show last week.  After been to several restaurants and tried it out on different tables, I must say that I love it.  My purse was heavy from been stuffed with business cards, catalogs, orders, bottled water and other things.  The hanger not only held up the heavy bag right under the table, it help me keep an eye on valuables in crowded restaurants.   Now my fat purse doesn’t fight with me for seating space and won’t slip to the floor from open chair backs.

Although this was suppose to be the one holiday thing, I think I will order more and have them in the store a bit longer.  After using one, I think the purse hanger would be great birthday, friendship & office gift for everyone who carries a purse around.

Mid-Autumn Festival is one of three major holidays in the Chinese culture.  The other two been Chinese New Year and Duanwu Festival (Dragon Boat Festival).

Mid-Autumn Festival is on 15th of the 8th month in the Lunar calendar.  This means that the moon is always round and full on this holiday.  Therefore, many of the traditional festival celebrations are in the evening and outdoors to enjoy the bright harvest moon.

Although I haven’t been seriously celebrating this holiday since coming to America years ago.  This use to be one of my favorite holidays as a child.  Like everyone else, my parents would set up a charcoal barbecue in the early evening when the moon is just showing up.  After an out door dinner where we snack and play through out, Dad would take us out for a walk with lanterns on a stick in our hands.  The paper lanterns with a small red cake candle inside usually catches on fire and completely burned down half way through the walk.  The poor lanterns just didn’t stand a chance with my brother and I shaking them and trying to out walk each other.  Maybe because my brother’s caught on fire first, I don’t remember been devastated even after the first lantern burned down.  Later, in 3rd or 4th grade, we made lanterns out of tin cans by punching one with lots of nail holes and hang them with wires on a stick.  These ones don’t burn down anymore and the candle light reflections from the metal just makes the lanterns more mesmerizing to stare at in our after dinner walks.  These days, most lanterns are mass produced and battery operated with fancy designs and colors.  Very pretty to look at still, but they were just not as much fun to walk with since you don’t have to worry about the little fire bouncing around inside anymore.

Moon cake and fireworks are the next highlight of the evening.  The small cake filled with red bean past and a yellow yoke inside is the most traditional and still the best with a cup of green or oolong tea.  Since a moon cake is usually rich and sweet, it’s cut up in smaller pieces to savor with cups of tea while enjoying the fireworks and the full moon.

At the New York show a few weeks ago, I met Mrs. Keiko Iida, a Japanese fabric designer, who drawn up beautiful patterns for bags, hair pieces, tassels and home accessories. Her bold colored designs in traditional patterns make everything looked cheerfully luxurious ~ Japanese style.

Our store already carries a small line of her product from the San Francisco show early this year.  At that time, I imagined the designer been a very high styled lady with an “artist look”, like some of the fashion designers seen on TV.  In person, Mrs. Iida is a very sweet mom-like lady who dressed plain except a couple small accessories that she designed. She very kindly greeted me, introduced herself simply as Keiko with the Japanese politeness and accent. Although she spoke little English, I felt her warmth in personality and saw the bright colors of her design in her expressions.

Maybe because I have spent some time in Japan, I liked Keiko’s product at first sight. Now I’ve met her in person, I love her designs even more, especially the new line of chrysanthemum place-mats and runners in orange, purple, or green.  I can just see them on a dark table with crisp white dishes.  It is picture perfect for any holiday or special meal.

Some people think her hair pieces in bold colors are too hard to match clothing. The truth is, I have been using the hair clips and barrettes for more than half a year, and they seem to match most of my outfit because there are many colors working together.

I wished I snapped a picture with her at the show, but I didn’t have my camera.  I did, however, ask for her autograph and she signed in both Japanese Kanji and English.  From now on, I will think of pleasant Keiko San when I see her pieces in my dresser drawer or on our store shelves.

I noticed a fence full of morning glory flowers driving to work on Lincoln a few weeks ago.  They caught my eye because I thought they only come in dark purple, pink and white colors and have never seen them in this light and almost shinny blue. They reminded me of the time spent in Japan, where morning glory is a popular flower.  In the summer, you can see them climbing walls and fences almost everywhere.  They easily take over a whole vacant lot in the city between buildings.  They are also planted in the yards, window planters, and garden pots.   The morning glory is called 朝顏 (asa-ga-o) in Japanese.  The two kanji characters mean “morning” and “face”.  I imagine if I wake up every morning and see the bright blossoms already opened welcoming the day, it would put a big smile on my face also.

Morning glory, gold fish, dragonfly, and fireworks are some of the popular symbols of summer in Japan. They are often printed on summer postcards, posters, fans and textiles.  I bought a yukata (traditional Japanese summer dress) in the asagao print when I was there years ago and wore it to several festivals (matsuri) where almost every girl had on a yukata enjoying a summer night out.  Besides the great food, colorful yukata and beautiful fireworks make every festival a awesome feast for the eyes also.

Maybe it is all the great memories that these flowers brought back that make them stand out even it only took the car a second to pass them.  I had to take Elliot for a long walk back to that house and snapped a picture to share.

I say that I have been drinking tea since three years old.  The truth is, I don’t remember the first time I had tea, but 3 should be pretty close.  As long as I can remember, mom always makes a pot of Green or Oolong tea after lunch and dinner.  Tea and sweet seasonal tropical fruit seems to be the most usual “dessert” growing up in Taiwan.

I just realized recently that I choose teas to drink like many people pair wines to dinner dishes.  Green tea, especially Chinese Dragon Well, goes with light food like fish or salad.  Oolong is the tea of choice with meaty, greasy, or fried dishes.  Refreshing Japanese Sencha or Matcha (powder green tea) is the best for breakfast.  Chilled genmaicha (brown rice tea) and mint tea is my summer favorite drink from the refrigerator. Afternoon or late night teas are often chosen depending on the mood of the time.

I do sometimes drink black tea or herbal tea in a bag out of convenience. Loose leave teas are definitely a whole lot better in tastes and for health.  Most teabag teas are chopped from lower grade teas.  Loose teas are mostly made from whole leaves and often rolled to release more essential oils.  When the tea leaves dance and open up in a cup/ pot of hot water, you can see, smell, and taste a bit of nature’s goodness that traveled from a field of tea trees.  For me, that’s worth stopping and taking a moment to enjoy and relax even in the middle of a busy afternoon at work.

I don’t remember purchasing a matching tea set for myself.  Having a choice from different ceramic cups to match the tea and the feeling of the moment is more interesting than always using the same set of cups.  Although it is not very popular in our store, I found teapots with a side handle are easier to use than the bamboo handle on top because you can easily pour with one hand.

This blog was inspired by my late night craving for a cup of tea after having pizza and coffee cake for dinner.  Sipping my cup of Alishan high mountain tea, I think there will be more to say about tea and me.

Lotus Pond

We were at Atlanta attending the Gift and Furnishing show last week.  Thanks to the sometimes mysterious directions given by the GPS, we missed a few turns driving through residential roads and made a unexpected discovery … a lotus pond in the front yard of an older ranch style house.

The owner charges $3 to fish in the pond.  Lucky for us,  it is free to enjoy the scenery. Although the blooming season has passed, and there were more seed pods drying out than the actual lotus flowers, I was delighted to see them all the same. We got out of the car and took some pictures.

I have not seen a real lotus pond since grade school.  I remembered standing in front of a large pond full of white and light pink lotus flowers in Taiwan years ago. The light breeze swung the blossoms making them dance in a sea of green round leaves under the warm spring sun. I don’t remember what else we did that day, but mom probably bought a bag of fresh seeds to make some chilled sweet soup for the hot days ahead.  In Chinese medicine, the lotus seeds help cool down the body.  They are part of nature’s gift to help us cope with the hot tropical summer.

I was asked once, “What’s the difference between Lotus & Water Lily?”
Lotus flowers “stand” above the water, and water lily blossoms “float”.  I think that is the easiest way to tell.  Also, each lotus flower has a seed pod in the center but a water lily blossom does not.  I guess that explains why I don’t remember having sweet soup from water lily seeds. Now I think of it, I haven’t had a bowl of the lotus seed soup in a long time either.

Lotus Flowers & Young Seed Pods

Lily Arrangement

We have been doing ikebana flower arrangements to show off the use of kenzen (Japanese floral frogs) in the store. After completing the arrangement last week, I have one Lily blossom left.

One flower can be just as pretty, I thought to myself.

Out of all the vases in the store, I chose a large double wall glass espresso/ tea cup for the newly blossomed pink & white lily and placed it on a small side table close to the window.

I love the sun light sparkles through the ice-like pebbles and double glass show casing the Lily floating in it.

I imagined this little arrangement be on a desk corner by the window bringing nature inside a peaceful room. I can also see it sitting joyfully on a charger for each guest at a bright dinner party.

I like this little 1 cup + 1 flower arrangement so much better than the showcasing ikebana this week. Something simple can also be wonderful!

I am so excited that T-Trove got its own blog!

Dancing Cat

I feel there is almost always something to say about everything in the store, and just not really sure where to start or if people are interested to listen while they are focused on shopping.

There is a lot to say about the Asian culture & history that comes in the product collection and shopping experiences in our store. I really hope this space would become a bridge for sharing thoughts and stories among our customers, vendors, and friends. Not just about things, but also people and connections of experiences.

This is where we start ~ the stories of T-Trove.
Welcome to our Blog.