We're thrilled to be able to introduce you to our new Zusetsu Furoshiki Handbook! It includes 16 different styles of furoshiki wrap, so you can create stunning furoshiki gift-wraps for your friends and family, and furoshiki bags too!
Cathy, as you know, is a professional children's book illustrator with many years experience of working for the UK's top publishers. You will see her artwork running through all of Zusetsu's packaging material, and on her popular Instagram Story stickers too.
Zusetsu Furoshiki Snowflower
It's a natural development of Zusetsu for us to pool our skills to create our own range of Zusetsu products. We were thrilled to release our first Zusetsu Furoshiki named Snowflower, which has been screen-printed traditionally in Kyoto using Cathy's elegant design. You can read more about Snowflower here!
Zusetsu's 50cm Snowflower Furoshiki
Zusetsu Postcards
We have created a range of Zusetsu Postcards which you can see here! Each postcard is inspired by our love for the beautiful city of Kyoto.
The Plum Blossom design was inspired by the illustrations made with calligraphy-style brushes on traditional sensu fans. There are several traditional fan shops in the city, and plum blossom often features as it's a beloved flower that signals the end of winter and the beginning of spring. The scent is really lovely!
The illustration with the little girl standing in front of the Golden Pavilion was inspired by the many people who wear beautiful kimono to visit these special sites. She's holding furoshiki: a bag and a gift-wrap, and her furoshiki and her kimono are representative of the beauty of Japanese wrapping culture, which you can read more about here!
Our third postcard features Cathy's redrawing of a stunning illustration by 17th century illustrator Isome Tsuna. The artwork illustrates Murasaki Shikibu's dazzling early 11th century novel The Tale of Genji, which is a pillar of Japanese classical literature. We can see the Shining Prince Genji with his beloved Lady Murasaki.
This novel was a fictionalised recreation of the Kyoto Heian court where Murasaki Shikibu served the Empress Shoushi. Cathy has added a homage to the little squares of gold leaf that decorate the original - they're called kirihaku.
Zusetsu Postcards are inspired by our love for Kyoto!
Zusetsu Furoshiki Handbook
Now, we are delighted to have published our new Zusetsu Furoshiki Handbook.
In our Furoshiki Handbook you will not only find Cathy's artwork and easy-to-follow diagrams to get you started (and sometimes challenged!) in furoshiki wrapping, but you will also see Yukki's fantastic photos taken while she was living with us here in the Cotswolds.
Our new Zusetsu Furoshiki Handbook
The furoshiki wraps in the handbook have been carefully thought out using the experience that we have from running our online and in-person workshops.
The stand-out thing that we have learned is that all newcomers to furoshiki who take a little while to become confident are creating fairly complex furoshiki bags by the end of a two-hour workshop with us!
The key to elegant furoshiki wrapping is practice. Perhaps take an old square cloth and practice with it over and over, and you will come to understand how a knot can be tied to look more elegant. You'll see how often the steps are repeated, and so it is important to be mindful of neat symmetry in your furoshiki folding and tying.
Wrapping with furoshiki is an expression of your love and care for someone. You are aiming to make the wrapping as a big a part of the present as what is inside it.
Furoshiki-wrapped Christmas gifts look perfect under the Christmas tree!
You will find tremendous pleasure in your loved one unwrapping their gift. Receiving a furoshiki-wrapped gift is a wonderful experience. And what makes the furoshiki so special is how it is a memento to be kept which will remind you of that moment. Or you may decide to pass it on again and create a circle of giving. How many memories of happiness will that furoshiki store!
So do enjoy our Furoshiki Handbook. It is the perfect accompaniment to your furoshiki gift, enabling the recipient to have many hours of fun furoshiki wrapping!
We hope you have enjoyed our blog and thank you for reading!
See you again soon,
Cathy and Yukki
xx
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