I stumbled across this little shop recently when I was in LA for a girls getaway with a good friend. We'd stopped by Venice Beach on our way home to San Diego to take a look around and check out Jin Patisserie, just next door. Tortoise specializes in Japanese crafts and housewares - glassware, textiles, kitchen items, jewelry, garden decor, games, cards and paper, finely crafted wooden and ceramic vessels and small furniture items. Everything is carefully curated and artfully displayed, and you just get that lucky feeling - like you're seeing things you're not likely to see anywhere else - and let's face it, how often can you really say that these days?
I was particularly infatuated with these Japanese textiles. They're multi-purpose squares of cloth called tenugui that were traditionally used as scarves or headwraps, but can also serve as napkins, bread basket liners, table decor, kitchen towels... you name it. I contemplated them as napkins - but the $12. pricetag was a bit of an obstacle since I wanted one of each.
Their online store doesn't provide quite the same experience as the shop, but if you've been there before, or need to shop for a gift from afar, it's good to know it's there. They also do the most amazing gift wrapping, with a beautiful handcrafted paper overlay with stamping and a ribbon.
tortoise
1342 1/2 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Venice, CA 90291
310.314.8448
Open Wed-Sun 12-6
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2 comments:
Mmm...loving that chair in the window. And I know what you mean about how exciting it can be to find a shop that doesn't just have the same old stuff---a rare find indeed these days!
And those clothes make me want to move to Japan and become a textile artist...
Thanks for commenting Ann - it is a really cool little spot, and sometimes those things are even better when you find them accidentally!
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