365 Days of Clutches by Hitomi Negishi @ Studio Yono

Last Saturday (August 22nd), I checked out the 365 Days of Clutches by Hitoco Gamaguchi. Hitoco is a Japanese accessory brand created by Hitomi Negishi, a Japanese crochet designer I've been following from the start of my crochet journey. The exhibition was at Studio Yono in New Bahru.

Negishi-san really did have a hand crocheted gamaguchi for each day of the year. Some commemorated her personal experiences and memories, others commemorated days dedicated to certain themes or festivals, or historical events. For instance, she made a pair of crochet Hinamatsuri dolls for March 3, a crochet Rafflesia flower for June 29 International Tropical Day, a crochet karubi short rib for August 29 Yakiniku Day, crochet kaya toast for February 15 marking her first day in Singapore, a crochet sunny side up egg and bacon for October 19 Overseas Travel Day, referencing her fond memories of the breakfasts during her first overseas trip to Canada. Each gamaguchi is also fully lined with fabric, some had fabric that are matched with the specific theme for that purse.

Hitomi Negishi's 365 Days of Clutches, a gamaguchi a day...!

There was an artist meet session on August 22nd afternoon, in which Negishi-san was present to meet customers / fans, and sign autographs. Unfortunately I didn't make it to the artist meet, though I did catch it before Studio Yono closed for the first day of the exhibition. I also managed to score the last sticker sheet!

It was pretty hard narrowing down what I wanted to get. In the end, I got 4. One of them was a gift for my friend AE, and I chose AE's birthday (January 22), which was a crochet Japanese curry rice gamaguchi to commemorate Japan's Curry Day. Coincidentally, happily so, AE loves curry rice, and the rhinestones were a bonus because she likes bling stuff like that. She confessed that she's like a cat that gets distracted by shiny, bling things... ꉂ(˵˃ ᗜ ˂˵) ·.

My loot! Curry rice (January 22), hourensou spinach (March 26), watermelon (July 27), chestnut (September 30).

The watermelon was for July 27 Japan's Watermelon Day, and was for Hubby because it's his favourite fruit. He would've preferred the Mt Fuji one (October 3 Tozan no Hi登山の日/Mountain Climbing Day) but it was already sold. And I couldn't decide between the hourensou spinach was March 26 Spinach Day and the chestnut was September 30 Japan's Chestnut Day and so, it became a "buy first, think later" decision (￣▽￣;) (¬_ლ;)

Negishi-san's pieces and concept were inspirational for me. Not only in how cute and well made her gamaguchi are, but also her creative thought. AE was super optimistic and encouraging; she pretty much told me that she thinks I could do something like that for Singapore foods and icons too. But we both agreed that crocheting 365 gamaguchi with individual motifs is an ambitious undertaking. So much respect to Negishi-san for achieving that!

On a side note, it was also my first time at New Bahru. We're now a <10-minute car ride to the area, and have often been in the surrounding area around New Bahru, but we haven't actually set foot in New Bahru itself since its soft launch in June 2024. Although the repurposing of the former Nan Chiau High School grounds into a trendy creative and lifestyle enclave has mindfully preserved the unique Brutalist architecture and heritage of the campus building, for me, I'm pretty jaded with the new F&B/retail developments. So, whether it's another spot I'd hang out in the 'hood, and whether it'll become another soulless retail spot remain to be seen.