Day 18: Off to both Japan and Thailand. Around the World in 80 Days.

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"Where the creativity of human mind, spirit and experience is celebrated everyday."

Stories from the global community

Come along on the journey!

Day 18: Off to both Japan and Thailand

The beautiful kimono hair clips from Annie Loto Studios are a global project. Designed in Locust Valley New York, the fabrics are hand printed in Japan . . .

and then the cloth is sent to Thailand where the hair clips are made by women working in their own homes, allowing them to care for their children and make a fair wage.

Each step along the way is a mutual collaboration between cultures and people that promote appreciation for each other and support for successful independent lives.

Destination: Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto, Japan is the historical, spiritual and cultural heart of Japan. It has over 2000 temples or shrines and many traditional arts and crafts are kept alive by artisans from generation to generation. Kyoto is located 284 miles south and west of Tokyo.

Destination: Thailand

In this Buddhist nation, religious devotion is colorful and ubiquitous. Thai culture is like its cuisine; complex, generous, warm and refreshing. This culture is evident in virtually all facets of everyday life, and most enjoyably through its residents' sense of fun (known in Thai as sà·nùk ). Anything worth doing should have an element of sà·nùk .

Art Form: Hair Clips Covered with Traditional Silk Screened Japanese Textiles

Annie Loto Kimono Clips was started in 2011 with a love for Japanese textiles. They discovered that beautiful and effective hair accessories are hard to find. Kimono Clips combine the ancient tradition of Kimono with innovative and contemporary hair accessories.

The beautiful Japanese

fabrics they use are still hand crafted by traditional silk screen methods. Each kimono print is a composite of up to 14 layers of colors. These small family owned factories use antique silk screens that are very fragile. Once a silk screen breaks, these designs are gone forever.

The process for screen printing the fabric is fascinating. Watch how this 5th generation family business is using antique textile screens to print these traditional fabrics.

chirimen kyoto workshop

Each Annie Loto kimono hair clip is fashioned by hand using silk screened kimono fabric. They are all one of a kind. These Kimono textiles add flair to everyday hair accessories. Styles from delicate to bold make colorful statements in any hair length, texture, and shade. No two pieces are identical and each eloquently combines the beauty of the past and the present.

Images courtesy of Annie Loto Studios

Shopping . . .

Are you ready to explore

what we have in our store?

Since every hair clip is one-of-a-kind, take your time exploring all the beautiful shapes and patterns.

www.worldswindowkc.store

Don't forget to get your Passport Stamped!

Click on the

"stamp" to add to your "passport."

"Collect" at least 12 different "country" stamps during the first 20 days of our around-the-world trip to be entered into the drawing for a $25 gift card.

At the end of our 80-day Around the World

excursion, all eligible travelers (minimum of 48 country stamps)

will be entered into a drawing for

a Grand Prize $100 shopping spree gift card!

Thanks for traveling with us today.

Where to next? Stay tuned!

As the sunshine started fading behind clouds yesterday, I hurried outside to tuck my newest baby plants into pots and

into little yet-to-be-filled spots in my garden. It seemed so important to get them tucked in before the rain so they can start thriving and growing. Indeed, the little plants are standing tall this morning stretching toward the sky. They look fresh and renewed. Part of the rest of my day was spent defining how we are going to safely re-open our Brookside store to our customers so that it can continue thriving and growing. I must confess, I am not always stretching towards the sky. Time to walk outside and look up! Happy Friday, all!

We are continuing to plan how we at World's Window will re-open our store in Brookside and welcome you in. Right now we plan to open Friday, May 15th with limited hours. Our goal, of course, is to re-open World's Window in a welcoming and safe manner for all.

We still have great

selections on our Mother's Day Gift Assortments. We're glad to make arrangements for limited pick-ups or delivery of these easy gift packages before Sunday celebrations of Mother's Day. Please "note" that on your order and we will contact you to arrange the details and then refund shipping costs.

We are glad to be on this around-the-world virtual journey with you and delighted that you are traveling with us. We hope you are learning some new information as we travel along. If you haven't already done so, invite some friends to come along! There's still room on this journey!

We're keeping our trip "log" up to date. If you think you've missed a day or are new to our journey, click here to review where we've visited the last 17 days. By the way, Day 18 (today) means that our first drawing is just several days away. Have you been clicking your passport stamps?

We THANK YOU for your continued online shopping support. YOU are an important part of what makes World's Window so special!