Happy Felissimo in Nippori

Some of the best things about the holidays are unexpected. I spent hours looking at two Christmas trees for the Happy Felissimo project that I stumbled on at Nippori Station.

As my sewing roots are primarily in soft toy making, I was thrilled when I stumbled across hundreds (thousands?) of soft fabric, felt and amigurumi reindeer shaped into Christmas trees. I went back to my hotel and followed the link to the Japanese website where I spent another half hour or so in giddy bliss. (Make sure your sound is on!) Then I followed the not as entertaining, but infomative link to Happy Felissimo's English site.

For those of us in Australia, the project is something akin to Softies for Mirabel on a larger, global scale. Toys are collected in Japan, Hong Kong, Beijing and New York where the they are spread across the globe.  I think I read that the project is in its eleventh year, though I may have that wrong. Each year, members make similar critters using either fabric, felt or yarn. I think the consistency of design is what made these trees so captivating and such a joy to look at.

Unexpected joy in Tokyo.