What I Choose for WabiSabi Kitchen—and Why

Sometimes I come across an object and think, “What is this?”

I may not know its name or what it was made for yet. But the shape catches my attention. It might be beautiful, funny, striking, or so well made that I want to look more closely.

That curiosity is often where a piece’s journey into WabiSabi Kitchen begins.

Learning to trust my own eye

Years ago, I tried selling Japanese products overseas on a small scale. I made sales, but the business never grew to the point WabiSabi Kitchen has reached today. Eventually, I decided to stop.

Looking back, one thing I recognise in my approach was an assumption: “If it’s Japanese, people overseas will probably like it.”

That was not always the case. It is one part of that experience I have thought about when choosing what to offer now.

Today, I make a point of selecting things I find genuinely appealing myself. I can follow what seems likely to sell, but I also want to offer things people will remember.

I think about shops I visited years ago, where something made me stop and ask, “Who makes this? Where did you find it?” I still remember that feeling of discovering something I had never seen before.

That is the kind of encounter I would like people to have here.

An object’s age, tradition, or maker can give me more to learn about it. But those things alone are not enough for me to choose it. First, something in the form, the beauty, the humour, or the way it has been made has to catch my attention.

I can still be surprised by something whose background I have yet to learn.

Why “Kitchen”?

At the beginning, I wanted to offer much more food.

I imagined kits that would help people make a Japanese hot pot, udon, or ramen at home. I also wanted to offer ways to make miso and amazake themselves. Apparently, I had quite a few plans for other people’s kitchens.

Then I discovered how many restrictions I would need to navigate when sending food overseas. The food side of the shop became more limited than I had imagined, and the selection moved further toward objects.

I still offer foods I can ship. That part of the idea has stayed with me: giving someone the chance to try something at home, whether it is a meal, a useful tool, or an unfamiliar object.

Objects to live with

Many Japanese objects have a specific history and an established use. I want to explain those things when I introduce a piece.

But I also want people to have room to make it their own. A matcha bowl could become a bowl for yogurt or dessert. An old utensil might be enjoyed as a sculptural object, simply because of its shape.

These are possibilities, rather than instructions. The material and condition of each piece help determine what will suit it.

I wrote more about this way of looking at things in my article on kogo, the small Japanese incense containers.

Knowing what an object was made for can add to the pleasure of owning it. It does not have to settle every question about how you use or display it today.

A small extra in the parcel

For many years, I worked in importing. Some of the people I did business with in Europe would include a little extra in their parcels.

It always made me happy.

When I started sending my own parcels, I wanted to do the same. The small gifts I include change with the season. Sometimes they are things I genuinely enjoy eating myself—something I like enough to want someone else to try.

I love choosing what to include next. As the seasons change, I get to ask myself, “What shall I send this time?”

It is a small part of the order, but it comes from a very specific memory of being on the receiving end.

If I were the one waiting

Online shopping can feel impersonal. So much happens through automated messages that it can be hard to know whether there is anyone there.

I want WabiSabi Kitchen to feel like a place you can explore, with things to discover and experiences to try. That is why I keep thinking of new things to offer beyond the product listing itself.

There is also the practical side. I send parcels around the world, and delays happen. For someone ordering from Japan, the distance can make waiting more worrying.

When a parcel is delayed or something goes wrong, I try to reply to emails as quickly as I can. I cannot make every parcel arrive sooner, but I can answer, explain what I know, and help someone understand what is happening.

I often ask myself how I would feel if I were the one waiting.

Somewhere to come back to

There are so many things in Japan, including plenty I have never encountered myself. I am still looking, learning, and finding pieces that make me stop.

I would like WabiSabi Kitchen to be somewhere people visit because they think, “There will probably be something interesting here.”

That matters to me whether someone buys something that day or simply enjoys looking.

My selection begins with what catches my own eye. What I hope follows is that someone, somewhere else, finds something in it to enjoy.