A doctor once told me that if one wants to improve their taste sensitivity, they should go to the countryside, grab a handful of soil, smell it, and try to describe it with words.
Now that I think of it, I am the most sensitive when I feel relaxed. Letting loose of my usual wariness, my intuition becomes extremely accurate, even the smallest things can be detected.
Probably because we all want a good night of sleep, we let loose. And to get there, we give a pass to things that are seemingly unhealthy.
When our mind is relaxed, we don’t want the day to end so quickly. Our heart turns soft. Our body relaxes; we manage to float in the water, just like how tea leaves open up when rehydrated. Is this the feeling of abundance?
The feeling of letting loose appears to be in a certain shape; but for some reason, its edge gets blurry. And if you poke it, it takes time for it to bounce back; just like how the human body reacts when soaked in water.
If you ever need a place to let loose, have a drink or even get drunk occasionally, here are some places that you can go to.
Made solely from the Yamada Nishiki rice that is taken from one particular rice field in Hyogo prefecture, Japan, SEN is a sake brand created by sake brewery ten.
To complement this charming brew, Martau, a designer known for her handmade bags, is commissioned to tailor-make a unique carrier bag made of white, vintage French linen and ink-dyed Japanese linen. As a big fan of vintage fabrics, Martau crafts her products using bed linen made in France during the 1960s to 1990s. These linen fabrics are either sourced in France or collected from all over the world by Martau’s antique buyer friends. Martau believes that vintage fabric has a unique texture that has grown over the decades and a gentleness that can hardly be found even in the finest-quality fabrics produced in the modern world. To best preserve the original appearance of these fabrics, a simple design and sewing method that exposes the stitches the least is adopted.
Currently, this specially-tailored sake carrier bag is sold only at the ten brewery’s storefront in Hyogo.
S.i.t.a. Netting Knots Wine Bag
同樣是深愛古布，並用古布製作每件獨一無二的apron dress，我們曾訪問過的一人工作室「something in the air (s.i.t.a.)」，製作者Lea利用了平日造apron與wall hanging的剩餘布料，以netting knots的編織方法製作wine bag，也就是跟漁網的結一樣。「我帶著它去了好多地方，夏天時它是我每天帶出門的袋子，有時不放酒瓶，會拿來放水壺，我也會將鑰匙掛在網子上外出。有一次露營的地方有很多小野花，我背著wine bag隨手採了一些，放在喝完的空瓶子裡。」
Also a vintage fabric lover, Lea of something in the air (s.i.t.a.), whom we have interviewed before, makes unique apron dresses using the age-old material. To make use of the leftover fabrics from her apron and wall-hanging projects, Lea weaves them into wine bags. The weaving method she uses is called netting knots, which is also used for creating fishing nets. “I’ve traveled with this bag to so many places. I use it as my everyday-bag during the summer. I’d carry a bottle of wine in it. Sometimes a water bottle. And at times, I’d just hook my keys on the bag and go out. There was a time when I went camping and came across a field of wildflowers. I picked some and put them inside the empty bottle that I was carrying in the bag.”
“Also this summer, I took it to Paris. After a wonderful meal at my favorite restaurant, I took the leftover wine and put it in my wine bag. It was such a great evening. Good food and nice wine with my beloved family and friends. It’s definitely a night to remember!”
Most of the time, what makes a day unforgettable is not about what we did, but who we spent the time with.
Cawley is a brand from London that produces everything locally. They create only two collections of everyday clothes a year using natural materials, mostly cotton and linen with the addition of wool and sheepskin for the winter seasons. Their designs transcend the seasons. And to reduce overproduction and garment waste, everything is made to order.
This wine bag is a collaboration between Cawley and Hannah Crosbie, wine and food writer from Edinburgh. Hannah founded Dalston Wine Club in 2020 with the aim of demystifying the esoteric world of wine and making it accessible to a new generation of drinkers as no hobby should be out of reach for anyone. Besides reading from the books, the best way to learn about wine is to get a drink!
A wine bag that is puffy like a winter coat and doubles as a cushion.
The Amsterdam clothing brand, speedyharmonycollectorthings, handcrafts all of their products with sustainable and recycled fabrics. They have a vision to create items that can last for a lifetime, and therefore make their items sizeless and therefore good for all body types. Some of their pieces come with adjustable ropes and buttons for easy sizing adjustment and unique styling. From sewing methods to different ways of raw edge finishing, numerous tests and trials have been carried out during the production process to ensure the durability of their products. The multi-purpose nature of the products also brings along countless possibilities.
Products go out of production once their raw materials run out. So grab your chance if you spot something you like.
