This week I was up and out by 8.15 am – an unusual occurrence! But the Setagaya Boro Ichi market isn’t on every day, every week or even every month. It is only on 4 days of the year: two days in December and two in January.

I arrived at around 9.30am and the crowds hadn’t yet developed so it started off a fairly pleasant experience, despite the bitter cold. Why didn’t I bring gloves? There were hundreds of stalls selling everything from bananas to antiques. I was on the look-out for interesting textiles and anything old and Japanese which caught my eye AND was affordable. Well I managed to find: a couple of lovely kimonos; three Japanese glass fishing floats; an old Japanese book (I shall use the pages in my mixed-media work) and best of all – some very interesting raw silk pieces – made, I think, with the left overs from the silk-making process. These will come in handy when I start experimenting with dyeing and stitching.

Pictures to follow!

I left at midday as I was so cold but I was happy with my booty!