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Day 4 of showing off my collection – Jellycat plushies

I can’t say when I got introduced to the Jellycat plush range but I do need to admit I feel hard for them. The fur is of high quality and the designs are really cute. I am quite critical on plush designs, if they do not have a cute face I won’t buy them. And Jellycat has proven to be almost all hits on the cuteness department. Woe is my poor wallet, I once knew you were thick with banknotes. ꉂ(˵˃ ᗜ ˂˵)

This is only a small portion of Jellycats with the bat being my latest addition to the collection. I love love the Amuseables, based on food, drinks, plants and every day items. Some have a personal connection.

I did mention before that I loved anything with cats. I have stamps, cards, prints, bags but my second love is birds. Especially seagulls and pigeons. Both these species of birds get terrible treatment by humans, dubbed as pests. But I find them fascinating, these two managed to find a way to live with us and prosper. We shouldn’t chase them off, but look at ourselves why they are how they are and be cleaner and more respectfull to the environment. I will never stop loving you pidgies and gullies. (˶˘ ³˘(´͈ ᵕ `͈˶)

Often I select an Amuseable to suit my personality, but at times its just because I think they are cute. For example the table tennis bat and the tropical island one. Tabletennis-tan has the bestest dangly feet of the lot all the way down with his wee cutesy sneakers. I do not like table tennis, it was the sport of my ex and he is trash. ꉂ (´∀｀)ʱªʱªʱª
And how can you not love the way they did the palm leaves of the tropical island. They are so fluffy and well thought of. Must be a dream to be a plush designer, but I think also high pressure because Jellycat keeps pumping design after design especially with the Halloween season coming up.

Speaking of Halloween, the latest addition is Broox the Bat. As alltime admirer of vampires we needed to add a batty bat to add to the collection. And with his big ears and fluffy grey fur I think Jellycat hit his design spot on. Still cute but not deviating from the fact that bats have huge ears to better navigate through the night.
I didn’t think they lived in my local area but did spot them out when the sun went low while walking the dog. Makes me happy to see them back in nature after all the destruction.

The Chili pepper is somewhat of a personality plush. Not that I am fiery or something, though my husband will disagree with me on that. But because the chili pepper is a cultural object for me. What do you make with chili peppers? Sambal. And who uses sambal in their cooking? Indonesians. And my heritage is part Indonesian.
All my life, some people thought is was okay to point out that I do not look like your typical Dutch. Skin is darker than most, my eyes are almost pitch black, my nose too small, etc etc.
To form our identity we took the chili pepper and peanut as our nickname, our battlenaam. But I need to warn you: only other people with Indonesian heritage can call us chili or peanut. For the rest of you it is offensive. ദ്ദി ´⌣` )
I still think back in horror to this dude on national TV calling his assistent little prawn cracker as she was from Indonesian heritage. It is not okay. Don’t do it.
While others might say it is not offensive, I have lived my life seeing Indonesian women being fetishized by men. You are pathetic and creepy, fuck off.

Back to the Jellycats, this is only a small selection of my collection. The biggest plush I own is Sullivan the Sperm Whale who has been retired. Most of them occupy my couch and a chair in the livingroom and the others are on a cabinet in my beddroom.

Before you come at me with collecting plush is childish, no it is not. No hobby is childish and I do not spend my money on alcohol or drugs so keep it to yourself. Besides Jellycats aren’t cheap. The smallest plush I have is an Amuseable Matcha Macaron priced at €25,99. The Sperm Whale was €99,99. A lot of kids collect them but they are on the higher price tier ofcourse.

I try to get them at small toy stores like Gone with the Wind in Amsterdam or Cool Bananas in Tilburg. Big brand store Bijenkorf does carry them but not a very diverse selection, just multiple copies of what they think is popular.

I’ve got my eye on Bizzlestomp Bear, but at the official store he is out of stock. Might not be able to acquire him because he super duper popular. But isn’t he cute and floppy? Maybe one day. ◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜

Love you all, embrace whimsical, stay weird and fuck AI.
(╯’□’)╯︵ ┻━┻

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Why it is good to buy from small businesses – September edition.

Hello my lovelies! It’s been a while. Over 30 days to be exact, sorry about that. I’ve been really busy offline getting things sorted and sleeping in on my days off because work has been packed. Lots of weird cases I needed to resolve and sucked up my energy. But 3,5 more days of work and I’am freeeeeeeee for a couple of weeks.
Praise Sailor Moon! 〜⁠(⁠꒪⁠꒳⁠꒪⁠)⁠〜

Eventhough I was super duper busy, I still manage to support my favourite artists in September and even signed up for a new mail club, which brings my total to three wonderful artists that send me lovely stuff through snail mail. In the age of digital messaging, getting cards or letters is dwindling fast and my side gig as a stamp collector its getting harder to get cool stamps from all over the world. I tried post-crossing but some people on there are very haughty about what you are able to send them, that I quit that platform. (⸝⸝>؂•̀⸝⸝)✧

On Instagam I saw one of the peeps that I follow that she was going to vend at an art market in Tilburg. Sweet, not far from where I live and with the promise of yummy food the husband went with me. It was not raining, yay, but the market was set up under an arch next to the stores which meant they would have been dry even if it rained. And there I found the coolest risographs made by Angelica Illustrations. Made from photos she took in Japan, it made me transport to Japan in an instant. ₍₍⚞(˶>ᗜ<˶)⚟⁾⁾
Now to find the perfect frames and on the wall they go!

Risographs with stacked Daruma dolls and the Shinjuku 3D cat.

September was also the month I scored some more Pokemon artist cards. 6 to be precise.
They were all acquired through Etsy, a platform that I hardly use due to the amount of dropshippers and AI-slop but these artists bravely still try to make a living through Etsy.
First up is Koro Studio based in Barcelona. I had to pick 3 cards but they have many more that are on the list. So talented and I finally have a Mew card. ヾ(˵☆□☆˵)و

Koro Studio Pokemon cards, Sinistea & Polteageist, Mew and Maushold. They are among my fav Pokemon.

Next up are the art cards made by Ymia. I am a return customer for her, she has a shelf at the Zilveren Vos, go check her out. I adore the Appletun card, he is soooooooo cute. I hope to score a plush of him at the Pokemon Center. A life-size one would be cool but the shipping it will cost. ( ˶o˶˶o˶) !! There was an event on Applin event on Pokemon Go not long ago but I only got 18 of the 20 sweet apples required to evolve into Appletun. .·°՞(っ-ᯅ-ς)՞°·.
I refuse to pay for mobile games, so maybe one day I will get him to evolve.

Art carts by Ymia featuring Cranidos, Lechonk and my boy Appletun.

And then we will move on to the mail club rewards that came in.
Nataly_owl created two awesome prints again. Still have no frames, bad me. And I was going to use the card for a birthday and then I forgot. .·°՞(っ-ᯅ-ς)՞°·. Too busy, too busy and forget about the fun stuff I need to do for others.

The Babushka cat is my favourite of this month. Don’t let the birdos fly off hehehe.

Last but not least the new mail club by Anikeru, that I have joined. She is based in Germany and I loooooooove here cat art. Go check out her Insta! Her style makes me think off the movie, The Cat Returns. I love anthropomorphization of animals and the yakitori stand is such a kewl print. So happy with the reward this month Anika!

Look at the chef in the back of the yakitori stand, calling order up! If only my mail would be delivered by cats.

Another good month for the print collection and you see a reoccuring theme. I LOVE CATS!
Next month will be an interesting one as I will be on a trip and hope to find some local artists there. Have a few spots on my mind but it depends on accessibility and okane (money).

Love you all, embrace whimsical, stay weird and fuck AI.
(╯’□’)╯︵ ┻━┻

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Day 3 of showing off my collection – Dollybird magazines

Dollybird, full coloured pages with info, photos, how-to’s, and patterns

Can’t remember when I came across this magazine, but we go back way in time as a collector. Maybe it was a forum or a site that sold Japanese craft books.
As a collector I am very shy with my online presence. Partly due to drama in the dollcommunity and partly because I feel I have nothing significant to say to other dolly collectors. But I do love hearing other peeps’ stories. ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

Then why collect a Japanese magazine? Because 1. the patterns slap each time, 2. amazing photos and, 3. staying on top of what is hot in Japan. My first ever encounter with Blythe was in 2006 in Japan, and silly me did not buy a doll because my ex wanted a statue of the “Attack of the Colossus” game and that was our carry-on space gone. Relationship is long dead but I still have that cursed statue. ┐(´ー｀)┌

The mag is published twice a year by HobbyJapan and sometimes even offer kewl collabs with various doll companies or artists. We are up to vol.41 and I have all of them from the last couple of years. I even managed to snag up some old copies (vol 1 to 6) from second hand websites. Lucky! ◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜ One day I hope to own them all.

I have gotten so lucky in the past that I was able to purchase the Emile from the Kumukuku collab featured in vol.39

Emilie with his melted cheese hat

And preorder the Ruruko x Candy Stripper collab featured in vol.41. And she will ship in November. ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻) Can’t wait to unbox her.

Ruruko x Candy Stripper

I need to confess that I have never used any of the patterns yet. Naughty me hehe. But the care tips for certain dolls have been very useful to me.

As a still beginner in the Japanese language I am not there yet to read the articles without Papago lens translation but one day I will get there reading this magazine without translation help.

I keep my eye on the Dollybird instagram for the new vol. release. It should be around November/December.
Maybe they will do an article on the BeSummit in October. ( ˶°ㅁ°) !! That would be totally awesome!

Japanese craft books are really good, I enjoy browsing through them and creating from them. I hope it will not suck that much money during my upcoming trip. （´∇｀”）

One a rainy day, I flip through the pages with a hot drink by my side. It makes me feel blessed that in 2026 it is still possible for a company to print a physical copy of that high quality. There have been attempts by international fans to create a magazine of their own but the time, budget and effort going in to such a project can burn people out. Might look into making a small zine of my own with my dolls in it. But do not know if there is any interest in this.

For now I will read and collect my Dollybird magazines. Connect with dolls all over the world.

Love you all, embrace whimsical, stay weird and fuck AI.
(╯’□’)╯︵ ┻━┻

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Day 2 of showing off my collection – Cheburashka

Cheburashka

I bought this little guy years ago from Etsy, after my Russian colleague had told about things in his youth that brought him joy. We helped him get PR in the Netherlands after his mother sent him to Netherlands for university. He did not want to go back, fearing the brutal conditions of military life under the regime. We no longer work together but he still lives here, so that makes me happy. I love youth sentiment, mine are die Sendung mit der Maus, Krteček, Alfred J. Kwak and Moomin. ꉂ(˵˃ ᗜ ˂˵)

Cheburashka has quite an interesting story and diminishing it as Soviet’s Mickey Mouse is a gross dishonor to the character and creator. Eduard Uspensky put a lot of love and thought in Cheburashka and we should honor the man for wanting to create a character that makes children happy.

Cheburashka’s first appearance was in Eduard’s children’s book Gena the Crocodile and His Friends, published in 1965. The consequent stop-motion animated films made sure Cheburashka became a national symbol in the former USSR and Russia, while also famous outside of it. Why was he so popular? Because of this message: ‘One’s origin is not as important as one’s kindness.’ Something a lot of people should live by this day, don’t you think? ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

I still haven’t seen these movies nor the live action Cheburashka and Cheburashka 2 that came out in 2026 but it is high on my watchlist. These being Russian productions and with their invasion of Ukraine, which is absolutely horrible, I doubt I will ever see this. But I haven’t checked YouTube yet. I condemn the attack on Ukraine, I have Ukranian friends that suffer daily attacks and I support all help the EU is sending them. But it is not enough, the conflict must end. Slava Ukriani.

According to Eduard, Cheburashka is an ‘animal of unknown origin’ with big ears and the body looking alike to a bear cub who was living in a tropical forest. One day he finds a crate of oranges, crawls in and eats his belly full. Like me he got into an after dinner dip and falls asleep not knowing the crate is going on a journey. The crate is delivered to a grocery store in an unnamed Russian city and from there his adventures start. Better to find Cheburashka than a tarantula or a batch of coke imo. .·°՞(≧ᗜ≦)՞°·.

But Cheburashka came under fire of censors and conservatives. And when that happens it means you created a damn good thing. Soviet censors tried to get the films of the air because they made fun of nitpicking bureaucrats, factory directors, and the Young Pioneers. Cheburashka and Gena could not join the Young Pioneers as they did not know how to start a Pioneers’ bonfire and could not march. They had to add ‘only the best can be on the Pioneers’ to compromise for the controversy.

Even well in 2026 this loveable guy became a target. Russian conservatives called called Cheburashka a lunar demon that caused the downfall of the Soviet Union. But looking at the real causes of the downfall this is an preposterous take.

The economic failure and stagnation happened due to inefficient central planning, failing oil prices, military spending and the war in Afghanistan. Glasnost introduced by Gorbachev allowed public criticism of the government, which exposed decades of corruption, historical mistakes, and government incompetence. The Perestroika decentralized economic controls but were poorly managed during the transition which disrupted traditional supply chains and inflation to go haywire.
Furthermore, Moscow, was loosing its grip on the long-suppressed ethnic groups all over the union and independence movements surged across the 15 Soviet republics.
Hardline communist leaders thought they could reign everything in but failed in an attempted coup in 1991, which destroyed the remaining authority of the central government. People ended the Soviet union, not a childrens’ cuddly character.
ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ

Returning to why I think Cheburashka is the best we look at his creator Eduard Uspensky. Eduard died in 2018 but this statement made in 2014 makes him one of the greatest men to have ever lived. 1. for creating something that makes children happy and 2. for being a decent human being himself. (Quote directly from his wiki page)

In 2014, in an interview with the television channel Rain, he condemned Russian foreign policy towards Ukraine and anti-Ukrainian propaganda on the central television channels.

Television had been convincing Russians for more than a year that there were fascists operating in Ukraine, that Crimea had long been Russian, and therefore we were taking it back, while the Russian-speaking population in Donbas was being subjected to various kinds of repression, that the Russian language was being banned there, and so on. Television showed footage, and viewers were persuaded of this: if they could not convince the husband, they would convince the wife… And it is difficult for Russian people to be alone in a group where everyone thinks differently.

The country was divided into 10% smart people and 90% idiots. I consider myself to be among the 10% smart people, because this whole story with Crimea is outrageous.

Hope this little piece made you into a Cheburashka fan, the guy deserves our love.
Love you all, embrace whimsical, stay weird and fuck AI.
(╯’□’)╯︵ ┻━┻

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Why it is good to buy from small businesses – August edition.

First I want to congratulate the European Union for hurting their own micro-businesses in order to combat TEMU/SHIEN and ALIEX. Any one who produces stuff got hit with two new laws, you need to have a representative in each of the 27 countries you wanting to distribute to and the cross-border EPR fees (national recycling and registration costs that online sellers and manufacturers must pay in every individual European Union country where their product packaging or goods reach end consumers).

An each country can make up their own fees and I’ve seen Germany and France being absolutely ridiculious with them while voting nazis in power. Looking at you Germany, has not learned shit from what happened 81 years ago, hmmm?! (¬`‸´¬)

The EU implemented the rules while not knowing what the fuck they entail. Nor making a difference between multi-million/billion companies and small creators that do not sell
€ 50.000 in stickers each year. And how they should be implemented?! Because when you contact your local representative they can tell you the clear set of rules. “( – ⌓ – )

Every small creator I purchased from the last 5 years have been very consious about their packaging. It is 100% recycable. And if they want to protect their damn internal market, my make small creators jump through hoops to have a representative in each of the 27 countries and putting them up with exorbitant fees like €500 for a country per year?! Asswhipe companies like Bol.com can easily afford it and not be punished for shipping a stick of deodorant in a 50x50cm box.

When talking to small creators, they express how happy they are to be able to make a living with doing what they love and selling products that they are proud of. When it is drawn or crocheted, knitted, molded, baked a lot of love and care went into it. It is my dream to be able to sustain myself as a creator because working at an office is not for me. So I signed a petition in different languages and we have hit the threshold and some sounds are coming out that they cleary didn’t suspect the impact it has on micro-businesses. Which is a bit off bullshit because they all file for tax. (¬`‸´¬) Let see if they liston to reason.

But this post won’t be a complete economic rant but it was hard for me to purchase stuff this month as some artists that I supported stopped shipping to the Netherlands.
.·°՞(っ-ᯅ-ς)՞°·.
I get it, you don’t want to be hit with fines, but it was a sad month indeed.

Fortunately, the two artists I back monthly still resumed with their mail clubs. YAY!
See the cute stuff I got from Nataly_owl and Paraply. The prints I swap out every two weeks or per season from their frames so that I have a very dynamic art wall. And the cards are often used for birthdays or just sending out cards to people I care about to let them know I am thinking of them. I know there is whatsapp but getting cards is much more fun imo.

Nataly_owl Frog mail. The frog on a bike is so cute haha, look at his wee little hat.
Nataly_owl Cat mail, look at the cute mouse ice cream truck which is going to my cousins 6th birthday.
Paraply. Fun at the pool print with matching sticker. Stuck in my journal.

For the other stuff I went to a physical store called De Zilveren Vos in my hometown. The owners are a cool couple, they host many workshops and card game competitions. I highly recommend you visit them when in town. They are at Sint Jorisstraat 1, ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

One of the cool things they have is custom artist Pokemon cards. I had a hard time not buying them all. And they sit so pretty in my special binder. They are the stars of my collection. *Whisper* one of the artist at Zilveren Vos has printed her art on a binder, go get it!

The Milotic EX and Mimikyu cards are by Marinki and the Stufful and Tyrantrum EX are by PixlPanda. I still need a business card and something to fill up the other slot, maybe another card. (≖⩊≖) Marinki has the custom binders, go support her! PixlPanda I met on a con and they have an awesome product range. Every euro spent with them, is a euro well spent.

PixlPanda custom cards, I was not a fan of Tyrunt until this card.
Claw hand for free, Marinki’s art is really cute and the Milotic card is sooo pretty.

During my splurge I bought several sticker sheets and decal stickers from PixlPanda, Catzero, DreamChase, Marinki and Ymia. The Mariko Fukuoka note pad was bought from a different store that is close to the Zilveren Vos, called De Familie Fabriek. There you can find sustainable gifts, postcards, childrens books, toys and stationary. One of the girls working there is a graphic designer and every staff member is passionate about their products. Please visit them at Vughterstraat 43, ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

DreamGallery stickersheet, I love them birds. And a Tea Time note pad by Mariko Fukuoka.
I am a big fan of the Bubbly Bason expansion for Pokopia and those stickers are amazing.

It was a good haul but a bit bitter sweet as the European Union is being an ass. Please sign the petitions and feedback letters. Let’s hope we talk some sense in the aparatus and protect micro-businesses and kick mega corporate butt.

Love you all, embrace whimsical, stay weird and fuck AI.
(╯’□’)╯︵ ┻━┻

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Pokemon Cafe secured, but it was quite a ride to get a slot.

I lucked out on getting a ticket for Pokemon Kanto Park and didn’t know if I could win a click-war to get a reservation for the Pokemon Cafe in Tokyo. TDR Explorer’s vid kinda really made me want to go and you can’t win if you don’t even try going for it right?
You can do it Maankatje! ( ◡̀_◡́)ᕤ

The slots become active at 6PM JST which would be 11 AM my time. Not waking up at the ungodly hour is nice for a change. And when the clock struck 11, the website was congested like heck. I had managed to get a partial confirmation but you had to go through the process within 15 minutes with your temp code and I couldn’t get in. ; (◞‸◟) The process was getting a bit too stressful and I decided to cut my losses. There is always Pikachu Sweets at Sunshine City.

A tad bit dissapointed I pinged my husband I didn’t get a slot but he was out with the dog, which gave me a bit of courage to try it again. Maybe some held spaces would have opened up and I would get a second shot at it.
And a second shot it was. Free slots and I panick clicked on one! ( ˶°ㅁ°) !! And when the merchandise preorder page opened up I knew I was in! Filled in my info, skipped the merchandise as I didn’t want the limited coasters and I got my confirmation e-mail.
WOOHOO! Except it was on the exact same time and same day as my Snoopy Museum ticket. (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞

Now what!? FFFFFFFFFFFFFF. I checked the conditions for my Snoopy ticket, and I couldn’t change the date. FFFFFFFFFFF. Well, it was only ¥ 2200 so forfeiting this ticket would not result in a big loss. Unless I try getting a different day for the Pokemon Cafe. And on the website I went again. ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ

And guess what!!! I managed to book a different day, right around lunch time. PERFECTO!
There was much rejoicing. And because I am not a mean person, I cancelled my first reservation so some other lucky people could also go. So I was able to get my spot well over an hour since the click-war started.
And just like the Pointer Sisters, I am so excited!!! And I just can’t hide it!!!
Had to call my hubster on Teams, to squeal and unload my energy. He loves it in the morning, not! hehehe (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)

And now the other thing that I dread for this planned luncheon. What should I order!?
I know, I know it is still weeks away but I always have this dillema whenever I go out to eat.
I want to try everything but my stomach can only handle that much. (≖⩊≖)

The menu

I am heavily leaning towards the Friendship Curry, because I love curry and Pikachu is so cute I could die! But the Mimikyu’s Disguise Omelet looks nice too. Oh no I have keuze stress (choice stress in Dutch). Can’t have order envy, as I am flying solo this trip.
The Sparkling Parfait is a no brainer, deffo going to get that.

The drinks are another level of I want to try them all. (๑>؂•̀๑) Look at how cute these tea and matcha sets are. This will also be a tough choice but I have a enough nights to sleep on it.

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Day 1 of showing off my collection – Monchhichi

All sorts of Monchhichi, in various colours and versions. So cute.

Monchhici has been around for a long time, created by Sekiguchi in 1974 and conquered the world in mere years. ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

I remember owning a few when I was kid, but alas with all stuff you release too late you never wanted to get rid of them when you grew older. Atleast I have all my Playmobil stored. But thinking about my old Monchhichi it makes me a little sad, because I see a lot of preloved ones pop up with a hefty vintage price. ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!

But I now have small collection of these little monkey cuties again with Monchhichi-chan being my favourite.

They were born from the mind of Mr Sekiguchi, president and owner of Sekiguchi Co. They already had several toys on the market but when he introduced the Monchhichi twins they became an instant hit in Japan. ✧｡◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜✧*｡

What was so cool about Monchhichi is that you could dress them up with all kinds of apparel. They even designed playsets for them, but I have never seen those.

In 1978 Monchhici was introduced overseas. Before I was born. Σ(°ロ°) They were mainly introduced in Germany, France and the US. Eventually becoming the cute global icon. Because of the spelling, Monchhichi was renamed in some countries. Kiki in France, Moncicchi in Italy and Chic-a-Boo in the UK.

In 2014, for its 40th anniversary, Monchhichi original name became the global name replacing the local exceptions.

You can even join the fan day in Köln, unfortunately I this year I can’t go. ; (◞‸◟)

I was very fortunate to find the reissue of the original design today at Hoog Catherijne in Utrecht. And it was on sale too. (੭˃ᴗ˂)੭

Which is your favourite Monchhici version?

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Lazy Saturday in Amsterdam

I wanted to buy an Apple Watch and while we have an AMAC in my town, I wanted to go to an Apple Store directly. Which meant that we were taking a day trip to Amsterdam, me and the hubster. ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

While it is easy to from our place to Amsterdam with the train, I often feel too overwhelmed in the weekend taking that route. It is hella busy line, and with NS using shorter trains each time I would not feel well on that one hour ride. So by car we went, and we parked at P+R Johan Cruijf ArenA. If you have an OV-chipcard, it only costs you €6 for a full day. In 2027 the OV-chipcard is being replaced with the OVPay card but none of these devices are compatible yet. Luckily I still have my NS-chip otherwise it would have costed us €36 in parking fees. (╥ ᴗ ╥)

We took the metro and tram to Leidseplein, where the Apple Store was located. I was swiftly helped by a very nice gentleman called Steven and he explained to me the options and helped me with the fit. It was a bit crowded so I was feeling a bit anxious but Steven made some jokes that helped me relax. I was outside with my purchase within 30 minutes.
So happy with this watch, gives me warnings when my heart rate is irregular. ‪‪❤︎‬

We were feeling a bit peckish and my husband suggested we go check if there was a table free at our favourite sandwich joint Raam. It is a short stroll away from the hustle and bustle of the Leidseplein, right across the Melkweg. All the outdoor seating was empty and because it was a sunny day we enjoy a lovely lunch outside. My husband had a pastrami sandwich, while I ordered a carpaccio truffelmayo baguette. So freaking good, I highly recommend to go eat here if you want a quieter location.

Afterwards I wanted to check if Gone with the Wind toystore had the new Halloween line of Jellycat in stock, which they did. ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻) They were also selling Korean Pokemon cards so I bought two packs to satiate my pack pull craving. I had some nice pulls including Team Rocket’s Wobbuffet (not the promo). In the Kalverstraat a branch of HMV opened and I was able to snag up the first season bluray of My Dress Up Darling. I love this anime to death.
Then I made the mistake to enter the Bijenkorf. Why the heck is this store so busy on a Saturday and I started to feel sick to my stomach. The restaurant was insanely busy and we fled the scene. While walking towards Fo Guang Shan temple I was still unable to shake the feeling of unrest. Nishi Market couldn’t cheer me up nor was I in the mood for a bubble tea.

I just wanted to sit down and unwind, but everywhere was really noise and dirty. People forget that while you can buy weed here legally, you shouldn’t smoke it in public. Nobody seems to care and I asked my hubster to find us a place to sit. Right across Nieuwmarkt he spotted some tables free at Villa Nieuwmarkt where we spent quite some time there, sipping lemonade and beer while snacking on mini kaassoufflés. The market was still up so we spent time talking and watching people. Mostly how crazy traffic was on that crossroad.
You need a big pair of balls to cycle in Amsterdam, I guess ‘a don’t give a damn attitude’.

There we decided what we should have for dinner, and last time I was in Amsterdam I found a branch of Spaghetteria located in Oud-Zuid near the Albert Cuyp Market. Checked online if you needed reservations, which they stated on their website they didn’t. And when it was close to 5PM we took the tram towards Oud-Zuid. We were both very original and ordered what we had last time, because it was sooooo yummy. Fresh made pasta is tha bomb. Ravioli with Ricotta and Pesta in a butter sage sauce. FANTASTIQUE! (˶˃⤙˂˶)

It was a long day but very satisfying in the end. We ended up walking 17.000 steps and quite a large amount of Vitamine-Z, as in Z voor zonneschijn (sunshine). I slept like a log that night. ‎꜀( ꜆-ࡇ-)꜆ zzz

Nice pulls from Korean Team Rocket.

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Another ticket booked – teamLab Planets

I wasn’t entirely sure that I should go to this art experience in Tokyo, until someone on YouTube changed my mind. She gave more information about one of the founders, Toshiyuki Inoko, and why his view on art inspired her. That had my interest peaked. (ദ്ദി˙ᗜ˙)
The website of the venue has just a small summary, which does not give the full insight to the team behind teamLab.

The following is taken from their wikipedia page.

TeamLab (stylized as teamLab) is an international artist collective created by an interdisciplinary group of artists formed in 2001 in Tokyo, Japan. The group consists of artists, programmers, engineers, CG animators, mathematicians and architects who refer to themselves as “ultra-technologists”. TeamLab creates artworks using digital technology.

History
TeamLab was founded in 1998 by Toshiyuki Inoko and Shunsuke Aoki while they were studying at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Tokyo. They did so in collaboration with three other friends with engineering backgrounds: Sakai Daisuke, Tamura Tetsuya, and Yoshimura Joe. The interdisciplinary group was officially incorporated when Inoko graduated from the university in March 2001.

TeamLab initially made little profit, but began to grow its reach through the creation of websites and smartphone applications, as well as office and store designs for outside corporations. In 2011, artist Takashi Murakami invited the collective to make its debut at the Singapore Biennale. When they received some success he invited them a second time to his gallery Kaikai Kiki in Taipei later that year, which ended up being their first big break in the artworld. The exhibit was titled “We are The Future” and was featured around artists who focused on art-technology integrations.

In 2014, the New York PACE Gallery began to help promote TeamLab’s work. TeamLab organized its own exhibition in Tokyo in 2015. Since then a variety of other museums have gotten involved with TeamLab in both positive and negative ways. In 2020, TeamLab has sued MODS (Museum of Dream Space) for allegedly imitating its artwork and violating its copyrights. They have been fighting a legal battle for two years.

Technological Art: TeamLab’s Impact
The idea of interactive art has existed as far back as the 1960s, relatively old when discussing modern art. It has recently been rediscovered and explored by technologically based artists[18], sometimes labeled as the Ultratechnologist Group. Some immediate related examples in terms of interactive installations as well as techno-art integration work includes Omega Mart, Other World, Transmediale, and FILE, all of which strive to bring the audience into the art and challenge the traditional gallery space.

TeamLab exhibitions specifically use EPSON digital technology. EPSON works through a series of touch reactive areas, projected images, and pre-coded/animated reactions. In this way, the gallery space’s behavior is dependent on the viewers inside it to function and create cohesive interactive moments.

The popular interpretation of TeamLabs work is that it is intended to show the relationship between nature and artificial creations, immersing the recipient’s body in an interactive world.

As there are two exhibitions in Tokyo, I have deviced to visit the Planets one as it conclude in 2027. If I find time in my itinerary, I might go to Borderless too.
teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM.com in Shin-Toyosu, Tokyo, was opened to the public on the 7th July, 2018 and has an exhibition period until the end of 2027. It comprises four large-scale artwork spaces and two gardens. People go barefoot, both as a means to allow the viewer to ‘immerse their entire bodies in the vast artworks’ and because there are artworks in which the viewer enters the water.

Because the water can go up to the knees, I will be bringing some shorts while the venue does provide free rental for shorts up to size 6L. ✧｡٩(ˊᗜˋ )و✧*｡
This is going to be an exciting art experience.

Fair warning: please buy the tickets through their own website. I see tickets being offered through third party but they are not accepted by the venue as they are reserved on name.
I’ve seen people say they have been refused entry with third party tickets. The official website is not complex at all.

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Bubbly Basin update – Pokopia

Me too.

The Bubbly Basin expansion for Pokopia is out a few weeks now and I am having much more fun in the game. I find the Magnemite form hard to use. I instinctly know how to go up, but moving Ditto down is much more counter intuitive. (ᵕ—ᴗ—)

The Bubbly Basin is underwater and you blow a small bubble to use as an air-helmet in your Squirtle form to be able to stay under water for long periods of time. Very handy.

And I love the water type Pokemon, Totodile and co are just the cutest! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡
There is more room for me to build. I feared in the land area, that breaking down the default mountain, I would mess up the area. In Bubbly Basin, there is more flat space to create.

Don’t eat me!

When scrolling throuhg Insta I see people’s amazing builds just like the ones that blew me away in Animal Crossing. I don’t think I have enough skill to build something nice but I will try in Pokopia.

Like a Youtuber said, Pokopia has everything that Animal Crossing is missing and I seem to spend more time on Pokopia now than on Animal Crossing. And this cozy game is fun to play for a few hours a day, and you can even sink more time into it if you want. But for me it is ideal as its a handheld, I can spend time in bed when my legs are restless again. Or play on the couch after work to wind down and relax. (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝)

Mew appears!

I am glad I got the Switch 2 for this game, I am having fun with Pokemon again. I feel connected with the younger me and welcome the return of playful excitement.

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Master Setting Pokemon

I started this year with collecting Pokemon cards again, I had given away my collection from when I collected in 1998. I think I quit after Team Rocket came out. After that my relationship crashed, stuffing me with a huge debt and I lost interest in collecting as I had to pay shit off.

At the beginning of this year I came across some streamers and fell in love with the illustration cards and started to look in to how much it would cost me to collect the cards with art I love. Welp, I knew scalpers were crazy when the news hit about the rampant storming of the Pokemon merchandise at the Van Gogh Museum. I was looking in total disgust how grown people, started foaming at the mouth to get their hands on Pokemon items to flip for triple or quadruple the price online. Also the gifted Pikachu card is sold online for insane prices.

I had to displeasure to deal with scalpers when it came to releases from Volks in the doll community. Some lowlife paid people to stand in line to get limited release dolls to later flip online to people who weren’t able to get any because of these rotten scalpers.
I have no love or scalpers, Reddit has no love for scalpers and because some Pokemon cards go for insane prices, criminals target them. Looking at you, Logan Paul, you larper-trash.

My own collections are steadily growing with me going through big bulk from online sellers or physical store. If it is too expensive, they can keep it. ٩(ˋᗣˊ*)و

My favourite artists I am trying to master set are: Yuka Morii 56/273, Asako Ito 21/36 and Tomokazu Komiya 25/278. I don’t know if I every will complete the Yuka Morii and Tomokazu Komiya sets as there are many rare and expensive cards in it. The various Ditto cards are super rare of the Morii set.
But it is fun when you find a card that you do not have in your set yet. Exhilarating even.

Because the Japanese, Korean and English version of the Snivy & Venusaur GX is too expensive I opted for the Italian one. Found a lightly played version of the promo and I am so happy to have this full art in my binder. The same seller had quite a few old cards that I still didn’t have in the Yuka Morii set, some having a poor quality but a steal for €0,50. ( ˶°ㅁ°) !! Making my set now 56 cards obtained of the 273 out there.

My poor hubby knows nothing of Pokemon and I am slowly filling him in to the wonderous world of Pokemon, he has watched me play Pokopia and starts to recognise some characters like Pikachu, Bulbasaur and Ditto. Even when I was flipping to my binders, he remarked I know that trashbag, pointing to Trubbish.

I doubt I will get him crazy for Pokemon, but he is sweet enough to join me on my quest for cards or plushies.

Again, I am hooked. 〜⁠(⁠꒪⁠꒳⁠꒪⁠)⁠〜

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Rainbowholic physical shop is back!

In July, Rainbowholic announced they were closing their physical cafe/shop in Tokyo and I was feeling a bit sad. I had put a visit on my Tokyo itinerary because their stationery is top-notch. And now I find out they have re-opened a much bigger store called Rainbowholic Stationery Land. ✺◟(＾∇＾)◞✺

You get of at Komagome station, on the Yamanote Line. Which means I am lucky cuz Ikebukuro is also on the Yamanote line. 🚃 And a short walk away from the station.
I already checked the neighbourhood and there is enough shrines to explore and cafes to relax at.

When I am in Japan it is nearing Halloween, and I don’t think they do anything for Halloween because that is a Western thing, they do have some cool stuff to do with Yokai. 👺

Yōkai (妖怪; Japanese pronunciation: [joː.kai][1]) are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore. Yōkai are a vast range of beings, including shapeshifters, ghosts, demons, and tricksters. They can be mischievous, helpful, or malevolent, often appearing as animal-like figures, possessed objects, or humanoids. They embody the mysterious and uncanny aspects of nature and human emotions

And I saw that Rainbowholic has Yokai for their September pledge. I hope I can get a sticker sheet when I visit.

I am just so excited for them that they have a physical location again. I wished I could run my own stationery store here in the Netherlands but alas rent is too steep for stickers and titbits. (╥‸╥)

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Pokemon Kanto Park

I was a bit on the fence if I should get tickets only to find out I should have entered the lottery in July. .·°՞(っ-ᯅ-ς)՞°·. BUT, I am staying until November so I signed up on the only full day I had for the lottery. I checked how many people signed in and it was busy as fuck so there is a big chance I won’t make it. (╥﹏╥)

This is one of the few lottery visits I have squeezed in my itinerary. I might try to get a slot for the Pokemon Café but those won’t open until the 1st of September.

When I got Pokemon Blue in 1998, I was smitten with Bulbasaur. He has been my favourite ever since. While some other Pokemon are starting to grow on me like Ditto and Trubbish. ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ His is called Fushigidane in Japan and with his little vines he is the cutest. No one can beat my bubbisaur. My hubby was sooo sweet to bring me this plush from the Nintendo Store NYC during his trip. This is the soda pop line and it is freaking cute. (˶>⩊<˶)

If I manage to get tickets, it will be a bit of a journey with switching two trains and the last leg with the bus or gondola. Greater Tokyo is huge, you should keep that in mind.

Fingers crossed I get a ticket, the results will happen by the end of this month.

And remember stay whimsical, embrace cringe. Fuck GenAI and flip a table.
(╯˙ᵕ˙ )╯︵ ┻━┻

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Fixed my Swatch but is it better?

Was doing a little bit of summer cleaning because I never do it in the spring when the weather is okayish, always wait for a heathwave (ᵕ—ᴗ—) and found my old Swatch. I could have easily brought this to charity but it had a bit of sentimental value. I had left the Netherlands to start a new life in the North of Ireland but Brexit cut that life short. Rampant racism, unjustified fees for being allowed to stay while I had been paying my taxes from day 1. In 2016 on the way back at Dublin airport I bought this cool watch.

Years later I pulled it from the box, bought some batteries and was happy it still worked. Just the wristband had a sticky feel. I scoured the interwebs for a solution, luke warm water and dish soap but the material that keeps plastic flexible had given out. So I turned towards the Swatch website to get an alternative.

There were many different types of bands and I had no clue if they would fit this old model. It had been discontinued for years. What else to do, then to ask customer service what type I needed to order. And I get an AI-response back just giving me the link to the wristband section of the website completely ignoring my question what type I needed.
┻┻ ︵㇏(òДó㇏)
Lucky for me the people in the Swatch forum were helpful, but jeeze companies if you want to replace your customer service reps, do it with a well trained AI… “( – ⌓ – )

The shipment was a nightmare too because it came from Switzerland. Next time I just go to a Swatch store in my country to avoid the hassle.

The available colours were off so I went for a clear type band and while it works I am not quite happy with the result. The plastic is so stiff, wearing the watch is a bit annoying. Let’s hope it will wear in with use.

You might think that why on earth do people wear watches these days because we have phone to check for the time. Well, I do not want to grab my phone each time. There is no clock in my home office so I rather have this option. And mister posh doggo is cool.

Will keep using it until I get my smart watch, that is more connected to my health and will help me with pacing to make sure I do not crash again with PEM.

As always, stay whimsical, Fuck GenAI and flip a table! (╯˙ᵕ˙ )╯︵ ┻━┻

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Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon

With my Tokyo trip coming closer every day, less than three months! ✧｡٩(ˊᗜˋ )و✧*｡ I needed to plan what I want to see or do. Sadly, a lot of things that are popular in Japan, needs reservations months in advance.
I am not in the mood to fight over tickets for Pokemon Kanto, the Disneys or the Gibli Museum. I went to Tokyo Disney Sea in 2006 when it wasn’t that popular yet and I feel fine not going this time. When my hubby will come with me to Japan, he will be my support for these crowded spaces. I don’t want to freak out in a park, all by myself.

But I did not want to go to Tokyo and have no special things reserved and after seeing almost all Japanse Insta posters go to the new Sailor Moon show, I needed to buy my own ticket.

I got a S seat which mean I will have the high-five send off with the Silver Sailor Moon team actors on a Tuesday evening. I am soooo looking forward to this as I saw Sailor Moon at a young age when it was broadcasted on German and Turkish television. The Netherlands sucks as an anime fan, and the Dutch dubs are horrible. (¬`‸´¬)

My drink will be Sailor Uranus, I am such a big fan of her. She is my spirit animal.

Roll on October, I want to pack my bags and leave! It has been 20 years since I was in Japan.

And remember: embrace whismy, stay cringe. Fuck AI and flip a table.
(╯˙ᵕ˙ )╯︵ ┻━┻

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Rainbowholic haul 1

I’ve been following Rainbowholic on Insta for ages now. I love stationary, I love stickers and journaling. And they have made various reels and tips on how to be a happy stationary fan.

I had planned to visit their physical store in Tokyo coming October but they closed down half way of July ( ꩜ ᯅ ꩜;)  to focus on a new project. Noooooo!!! I was looking forward to it, but I do wish them well and there is still the online shop you can get their goodies from.

Rainbowholic goodies

They have a huge selection of goods: from flake stickers, to collab sticker sheets, retro gatchapon trinkets, a collector stamp book, stamps and many more. And when you purchase ¥ 20.000 you get free shipping and to the Netherlands that was via FEDEX. I do not dislike FEDEX, they are fast and customs payments are easy peasy.

The reason why I started with this purchase was because of the Licca-chan sticker pack. Licca is my all time fav, I rarely see any stationary of her online so I had to scoop some up for my journaling. ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ After that I kept adding tidbits to my shopping cart and hit free shipping. Woosh €100+ gone hehehe. But as you can see totally worth it.
Especially the capsule toy stamp will be fun to create with. Flake stickers + stamp = a lot of funga.

The collectors passport will be going with me on the trip to Tokyo, I hope to fill it with many, many stamps.◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜

And remember my cuties. It is not wrong to enjoy whimsical and be cringe. Fuck AI. Flip a table! (╯’□’)╯︵ ┻━┻

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Why it is good to buy from small businesses – July edition.

For July I did not get order that many things from small creators as I put in a large order from Rainbowholic. They are an independent stationary store in Japan and buying one sticker sheet and paying €30 in shipping would be insane and unsustainable. (,,>﹏<,,)👉👈

Allisart, SuzesMore and ShiyiStudio

As you can see I am on the Pokemon tour again, I think the last Pokemon game I played was Violet and Let’s Go Evee but dropped off because Final Fantasy XIV kept sucking up my time. Even if you play casual, you need some significant hours in the game in able to progress. This year I decided not to play FFXIV any longer, but did enjoy the new trailer of the announced expansion. Hope others will have fun.

How did I get back into collecting Pokemon? Pokopia for the Switch 2. I wasn’t even looking to buy the Switch 2 until I saw people online having fun in the game. While I haven’t played that much, and redecorated as beautifully as all the other people out theres, I still have 90+ hours in the game. Ditto is so cute!! ◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜

Earlier in July I dropped by De Zilveren Vos again. It wasn’t that busy for the weekend, must be the heatwave the Netherlands is not equipped for or people gone on holiday. Had a little chat about with the proprietress about how aggrivating AI is becoming while I made a small purchase from Allisart and SuzeMore.

The full illustration fanart Mimikyu card is the best! I need more. This is my third art card. I bought two from AmyArtful which can be seen here on my Insta.

Then I stumbled across a fucking awesome bag charm of a Mola Mola. I love them, they are so weird and intriguing. Go check out their wiki page. Unfortunately I had missed the Kickstarter but ShiyiStudio had extras up on her Etsy page. Isn’t it adorbs? She has some lovely art up of Animal Crossing and Ditto so it ended up being a bigger order than expected hehehe (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)

Spreading the message again, support small creators. Fuck AI. And flip a table!
(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

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Finally upgraded my camera

D3400 Nikon Body with 55-200mm objective

For my upcoming trip, I felt I needed to upgrade my old Nikon D3000 to a model with more megapixels. 10 wasn’t cutting it anymore. But new cameras come at an hefty price, even the budget models like the D3000 back in the day.

I am not a skilled photographer. I did make some good shots at the Berlin Zoo decades ago but I never got round to spending more time with my camera and propely use it. I enjoy taking photos. Some familymember took one of my nicer photos that I took of my family from Facebook and printed it out when my dad passed away. I wished they asked me for the original image because the resolution from Facebook pic was shit. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Between my D3000 and my current camera I had a LUMIX vlog set, kinda swayed by all those YTubers that one day I would vlog too. But I dislike the sound of my own voice and I have nothing interesting to tell. (˶>⩊<˶) Maybe I will get an OSMO one day and vlog with voice over about the Netherlands. About the LUMIX, I do not like that camera, the flip screen died twice on me and fed up with the constant repairs. So it is collecting dust in my closet.

Finding a new D3400 was not possible as this camera was launced in 2016. I was looking at a 24 megapixel range and with an F-mount. My objectives are still in great shape and buying a different mount camera would seem like a waste as I would have to buy new objectives.
I’ve been on the refurbished tour lately, my Iphone 13 is a preowned device and I wanted to be more sustainable with my purchases so off to the second hand camera market I went. There are several websites out there but I chose to get my camera via MPB.

Initially I was looking at the D3500, the replacement for the D3400 but the megapixels were at the same level. If it had a significant change it would have been interesting to add the extra €80 for the upgrade. The camera I eventually got costed me €230 and had only 5000 clicks on it. Very nice deal. And came with 12 months warranty. ദ്ദി( • ᴗ – ) ✧

Shipping was superfast from Germany, I got the original box and charger. And what I love about this camera is that I left the battery in for a little under two weeks and it did not drain at all. My Lumix drained the flipping battery in a day and I had to remove it each time I did not use it during the day to make sure I did not run out. WTF is up with that battery life?

My old 8GB SanDisk UltraII card worked on it but 8GB will not be enough when I go to Japan. The best suggested card for this model would be the SanDisk Ultra SDXC UHS-I cards and I was in luck that they were being sold online for 52% off. So I got two of those, 128GB each. If I run out of memory card space, I can always buy extra at Yodabashi (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

Only flaw the camera had some adhesive at the bottom but I managed to scrape that off.

The website experience was great, the fast shipping was great and the condition was just as advertised. I will be using MPB a lot more in the future. I need a macro lens for my miniature photograpy but first this trip lies ahead of us.

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Why it is good to buy from small businesses – June edition.

Another month has passed and we have supported 4 different artists. (˶ᵔᗜᵔ˶)ﾉﾞ

These two cuties were bought through Minne via the Doorzo proxy. Technically they were bought in May but due to long shipping times from Japan, they did not arrive until June. ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

I had been eyeing the black cat for a while and when I finally got the budget for a more expensive doll, he was still up for grabs. There was much rejoicing. ◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜ The little crocheted elephant is a keychain that is hanging off my handbag as a new bag charm. Maybe I should alternate between bagcharms but for now its 4 buddies attached.

Paraply

Next up is the cute art of Paraply from Germany! I really love her soft and cutesy style. She has a lot of fun things on her online shop, from socks to notepads, to sticker sheets, die cut stickers, charms and art prints. I have framed all of the 4 prints to put in our relax room when it is finished. To further support her, I’ve signed up for her monthly mail club which for me is € 8,50 + tax. Can’t wait to see what she sends me for July (˶>⩊<˶)

Niniwanted

Last up for June is Niniwanted and her kawaii style is just my cup of tea. I even bought a how to draw book so I can decorate my Japan journal pages, buuut I might get lazy and just use stickers instead haha. Her Japan-themed die cut stickers are what drew me into her website when I came across her art on Instagram. Some have already been stuck on my journals. (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

July independent artists have already been ordered and will be show off next month!

Mata ne! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

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Why it is good to buy from small businesses – May edition.

For May I will be featuring two artists, from whom I have bought from before. Their drawings, stickers and trinkets can be found at a local shop called de Zilveren Vos. If you wanna do fun workshops like magic potion making, figurine painting, they are the place to be.

Cloverpunch – Artprint and stickers

I love Cloverpunch’s style. Last year I got prints featuring the white cat when I visited de Zilveren Vos. Still not framed, bad person I am. My dream is a wall with art prints.
When I am going to Japan, I want to buy an Inu Hariko (one of the stickers) and I keep forgetting the name. So I ordered it, to be stuck on my travel diary as a reminder. The art print looks like it was coloured in markers and I just love bright colours, it is a demon television haha. The Katamari Damashi sticker on the bottom left was a gift but as a Katamari fan, this was a most welcome and fitting gift.

Catzero – stickers!

You can see that Catzero is massive dungeons & dragons fan and incorporates it in her stickers. I love her style and her humor. And these statement stickers are the bomb. Afcourse we goblins are against bigots and I need to show this off :D. The Brushbuddies are from the Witch Hat Atelier manga/anime. I haven’t watched it yet, but I have been hearing good things about it.
On one of my previous shopping trips to de Zilveren Vos, I had bought a D20 two-sided key chain from her. As a D&D-player myself, and frequent thrower of 1’s on a D20 it was a little reminder that games should always be fun.

Happy to give my support to Dutch based artists. Keep on creating!