Upcoming Chigiri-e Workshop & Latest News | January Newsletter

nori — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 14:58:52 +0000

Welcome to my latest newsletter!
If you missed any past issues, feel free to browse them all here.

Hello and Happy 2026!

I know I missed sending a December newsletter, so I didn’t get a chance to say Merry Christmas or Happy New Year — so here’s a big, warm hello to all of you! I hope your holidays were filled with joy, family time, and special moments.

Now that the new year is underway, I’m excited to share my upcoming event and the latest news. Let’s start 2026 with creativity, curiosity, and a little bit of magic!

Online Chigiri-e Workshop

Monday 2 February, 17:00 – 18:00 (GMT)

Join my 1-hour online Chigiri-e workshop, an introduction to Japanese paper collage art. Using everyday materials like newspapers, I’ll guide you step by step to create your first piece — no experience needed.

The workshop will be held live on Zoom, with only 8 places available, so everyone can receive personal guidance. I don’t run these workshops often, so if you’ve been curious about Chigiri-e, now’s the perfect time to join!

Japanese art, culture, and language workshops

I’m running a series of Japanese art, culture, and language workshops at Steel Street Youth Club in County Durham, in collaboration with the Japanese section at Newcastle University.

Our first session of 2026 explored Japanese New Year. After learning about customs, festive foods, and the Chinese zodiac, the children enjoyed hands-on activities such as calligraphy, origami horses, and creating New Year cards with Japanese writing.

Our next workshop will be a manga session, which I’ve never run before, so I’m excited to introduce new ideas and activities.

Through these workshops, I love creating joyful, creative spaces where children can explore new cultures and express themselves

If I had an “Anywhere Door”…

I recently joined the Happy Writing Marathon, hosted by the author I deeply admire, Ken Honda.
The Christmas prompt was:

“If you could use magic for just one day, what would you do?”

I was delighted (and very honoured!) when my piece was chosen by Ken as one of the “stories that moved the heart.”

The story is inspired by Doraemon — a much-loved Japanese cartoon about a robotic cat from the future who helps a young boy using magical gadgets. One of the most famous is the “Anywhere Door,” which lets you travel instantly to anywhere in the world.

That childhood dream still lives on in my story today.

Don’t Say Hurry Up, Hurry Up

Here’s another writing piece inspired by a prompt from Ken Honda:

“What was a recent moment when your heart felt, ‘This is it!’?”

In this piece, I reflect on a picture book that recently caught my eye — Don’t Say Hurry Up, Hurry Up.

As a mum and a children’s author, I warmly recommend this book, especially for busy parents raising little ones. Although this book is written in Japanese, the message goes beyond language and culture.

Buy My Books (from me!)

My picture books (signed & personalised) are available here!

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