Category: Sakai Mika

New Ceramics by Sakai Mika and Mara Des Bois Strawberries from Chino Farm

By:
Ceramics Food and Craft Sakai Mika

Today, I finally finished adding many new colorful nerikomi pots by Sakai Mika in my shop that you can browse from the link here->.

Nerikomi Ceramics by Sakai Mika and Mara Des Bois Strawberries from Chino Farm

Mika’s cheerful ceramics are a perfect antidote to the gloomy weather that we have recently been experiencing here in San Diego. The locals call these spring months “May gray” and “June gloom”, and this time of the year can be quite cloudy and cool in coastal Southern California. This spring has felt especially cold to me, and I’ve been longing for the arrival of a sunny summer after having experienced an exceptionally wet winter.

But today, the sun finally made a rare appearance, so I got motivated to head out to Chino Farm, the famed local farm in Rancho Santa Fe, which is about a 20 minute drive from my house. Chino Farm was started in 1969 by Junzo Chino, who came to the U.S. from Hashigui in Wakayama prefecture, Japan, in the early 1920s. The farm was made world-famous by chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in Berkeley for the exceptional quality and freshness of its fruit and vegetables.

Chino Nojo Farm Stand in Rancho Santa Fe, CA

Every time I go to the Chino Nojo (which is their official name meaning farm) stand, I tell myself that I should come here more often because they grow so many varieties and make them available for us. I often discover new types of vegetables and fruits, and learn what is truly in season here in Southern California.

t Lettuces at Chino Farm

Today at the farm stand, there were many different kinds of lettuces. I bought a head of frisée, and, of course, it’s strawberry season so I got some pearly little Mara Des Bois strawberries. These fragrantly soft and delicious harbingers of summer are probably only grown by the Chinos around here. I find that their distinct aroma reminds me a little of… Japanese ramune soda.

If you are ever in San Diego, I urge you to make time to visit the legendary Chino Farm Stand in Rancho Santa Fe. Make sure to bring cash or a check, and now they also even accept Venmo!

Chino Farm Stand
6123 Calzada Del Bosque, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92091 (Click for Google Maps)

Mara Des Bois Strawberries at Chino Farm

Pop Up Craft, Stationery, and Clothing Show at The Den on Laurel Street Apr. 15th & 16th

By:
Events, Workshops and Webinars Ceramics Sakai Mika

Our Spring 2023 pop-up event will take place at:

The Den on Laurel Street
April 15th & 16th from 11am – 5pm.
205 Laurel St. #104 San Diego 92101 (Click for Google Maps)

The pop-up will feature over 100 pieces of colorful ceramics by Sakai Mika, a Japanese Nerikomi ceramic artist based in Shizuoka prefecture. Nerikomi ceramics are made using colored clay that are stacked and cut to create slabs of different patterns.

Nerikomi Ceramics by Sakai Mika

Also for this event, Entoten has invited Hightide Store DTLA, a boutique stationery store that opened in Downtown LA in 2018. Hightide is headquartered in Fukuoka, Japan, and they are known for functional and high-quality original stationery lines.

Hightide Store DTLA

We are also happy to announce that there will be another special guest joining us for the event!

YAMMA Sangyo is a clothing brand established by designer Yamasaki Nana in 2008. By employing women -especially mothers and grandmothers- who are skilled and experienced in sewing clothing, Yamasaki sought to radically change the fashion industry standard of mass production that leads to enormous waste. The clothing by YAMMA Sangyo have long lasting designs and are made using natural fibers, mainly Aizu cotton, a traditionally woven cotton from Fukushima region that dates back over 400 years. 

Clothing by YAMMA Sangyo

Please join us for craft, stationery, clothing, Japanese tea, and conversation.
We look forward to seeing you there!

Brighter Days: A Pop-up Event at The Den on Laurel Street, May 29-30, 2021

By:
Events, Workshops and Webinars Sakai Mika

Summer is almost here and having now joined the vaccinated herd, I am happy to announce that I will be organizing an outdoor pop-up craft show over Memorial Day Weekend at a brand-new Japanese cultural space called “The Den on Laurel Street” that will be opening in Banker’s Hill, San Diego. The space is operated by the Takachiho Foundation to promote cultural understanding and exchange between the US and Japan.

Saturday & Sunday, May 29-30, 2021
11am-5pm
at The Den on Laurel Street
(Click to launch Google Maps)
205 Laurel St. #104
San Diego CA 92101

For the pop-up, I will have the work of many makers. This includes a large group of new nerikomi ceramics by Sakai Mika, a talented Japanese ceramic artist based in Shizuoka, Japan who creates patterned ceramics out of colored clay slabs. Colored clay is combined to create a pattern, and cut cross-wise to reveal the design, just like in the making of icebox cookies. The idea is simple but it takes a great amount of care and attention to detail to create these intricate patterns.

Building of a checkerboard pattern in nerikomi ceramics by Sakai Mika
Photos courtesy of Sakai Mika
Nerikomi Ceramics by Sakai Mika

Mika’s cheerful works are among the most sought after items that I’ve carried in my shop over the last 9 years and they are also perfect for the brighter days ahead. Please join me if you can at the Den!