Today we would like to introduce one of our happy customers who posted some lovely entries for the ongoing Happy Customer Contest on Instagram!
Therese san turned 70 this year, and she and her family celebrated her birthday together at her house in Dunsborough, Western Australia. Since she has long been interested in Japan and its culture, she and her two sons were looking for something unique to Japan for her birthday, and found our online store which she learned about on the NHK world program on TV. She and her sons purchased two items from our online store: a lacquerware music box and a lacquerware vase, and together, including her grandson, they opened the gifts and enjoyed them at her birthday party!
Now she uses the music box to store her jewelry and the vase to display a beautiful poppy from her garden.
“The two products bought for me from your site by my sons are already great favourites. The small music box is exquisitely made and its music a wonderful reminder of Japan. The vase is excellent for single stem flowers from my garden and has pride of place on my West Australian hand made jarrah dining table.”
She also told us about the story behind the Broome pearl jewelry she keeps in the lacquerware music box.
“Broome, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, was once the biggest pearling centre in the world. And in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s the main pearl divers came from Japan… I think it’s very appropriate to keep my Broome pearl jewellery in this beautiful box because of the association of Broome pearls with Japan.”
We never expected to see such a glimpse into the history of Japanese immigration to Australia in the pearl she is storing in our lacquerware music box. We were deeply moved to learn that she was paying tribute to the Japanese people and Japanese culture in this way. We hope she will not only cherish the items she bought from our store, but also keep on having interest in Japan. Thank you very much, Therese san!
UPDATE: After her first purchase of lacquerware vase and lacquerware music box, she purchased another item from our online store: a Kokeshi doll with a parasol! She told us it’s a wedding anniversary gift from her husband. We are delighted to hear she and her husband shopped with us for their marriage milestone. Happy anniversary from Kyoto Handicraft Center!
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About Therese san
Therese san is a journalist and blogger living in Australia. (Her blog page “Traveling Therese” can be found here; she writes journals exclusively on Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.) She has a long-standing interest in Japanese culture and has visited Japan several times, while exploring, photographing, and journaling about the hidden gems of Japan. She was planning to visit again in 2020, which unfortunately was cancelled due to the pandemic, but is now waiting for the borders to be open again for international travelers. Next time, she is looking forward to visiting Kyoto for the fourth time and coming to visit us at Kyoto Handicraft Center.