You say Janus, I say ménshén YOCHA STUDIO |
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As our erudite readers will doubtless be aware, whether you say January or januari, the first month of the year takes its name from the Roman god Janus. This two-faced character (in the literal sense) looks both backwards to the old year and forwards to the new one. Janus is associated with doors and gates of course, but also with changes and new beginnings – such as the beginning of the new year! |
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Although the Chinese language has a much more practical term for this month: 一月/yīyuè (first month!), Chinese mythology also has god(s) of doors and gateways called 门神/ménshén, literally, door spirits! And these fierce looking guys are likewise associated with changes and beginnings, particularly the Chinese New Year but, unlike Janus, they are two separate beings who face one another. Not to be outdone, around this time of year Ireland celebrates the start of spring and new beginnings after the winter with the festival of Imbolc. This was originally dedicated to the pagan Celtic goddess Brigid but is more generally known as St. Brigid’s Day, after a natty little bit of cultural appropriation by the early Christian church. As well as new starts, the day particularly celebrates all things female as it is Ireland’s only public holiday in honor of a woman. So, with all these new beginnings being celebrated, and doors being carefully guarded, what better time to have a look at what's new inside the doors of Yocha Studio! |
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New arrivals Firstly, we can at last announce the long-delayed arrival of our latest consignment of Asian design items, hip, hip, hurray! Following a long and hazardous journey from the Far East, eagerly awaited replacements for our out-of-stock items, along with several new products, have FINALLY arrived. Apologies to those of you who have been waiting impatiently - the usual 45-day voyage from China turned into a 90-day odyssey as unstable situations in various parts of the world affected sea routes. And even after our container arrived in Sweden, there were further delays as the gate guardians of Stockholm port, i.e. Swedish Customs and Coastguard, gave our precious goods the once over before eventually releasing them into our eager arms. Still, all’s well that ends well, and at long last many of our previously sold-out Yocha products are back in stock. Amongst these are our ever-popular cat series plates, persimmon tea caddies, and unique enamel brooches along with many other beautiful items available only at Yocha Studio (see our website for more details). In addition, we have several new lines now available online and in our store, including cat series ramen bowls and insulated water glasses, ceramic mugs and portable Japanese tea sets. All of these products of course are sourced exclusively by us in Asia and therefore unique to Yocha Studio! |
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New food For reasons too complicated to go into here, the delay in our container arriving in Sweden also meant we had to delay the launch of our new all-day lunch option, Yocha Ramen. Once again, apologies to those loyal customers who have been waiting since December to try out this delicious, healthy and completely authentic Japanese/Chinese lunch staple. Happily, we managed to start serving both our pork ramen and our vegan tofu option just before January ended. To say these have been a success would be an understatement – it seems Uppsala has been as eagerly awaiting the arrival of an authentic ramen option as we have! As we carefully make each bowl individually, this can mean that at especially busy times there may be slight delays. We are doing our best to speed up the process, without compromising on quality of course! In the meantime, as one patient customer said this week, ‘Well, they are ramen worth waiting for!” |
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New customers Around one out of every five customers who come to Yocha are regular visitors and it gives us great pleasure to see these familiar faces returning again and again, whether to enjoy sipping quality tea with friends, enjoy an authentic Asian lunch or fika, or find a unique gift for a friend or relative. However, that also means that four out of five people who walk in our door are new faces. We love to see their reaction to our range of products and unusual (for Uppsala) food and drink options. But sometimes we’ve noticed these new friends can be a little confused … Is this a tea house, a café or a design shop? Are those beautiful, carefully arranged Asian products just decorations or are they for sale? Are those people drinking tea in a design shop? Does an authentic tea house also sell coffee? Well, the answer to all these questions is, of course, YES!! We understand, it may be a little confusing as Yocha Studio is such a unique concept in Sweden, so if you have any hesitant friends or acquaintances that aren’t quite sure what exactly goes on inside our doors, spread the word - tell them to just take a step in and find out! |
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New Year Isn’t that all over? Well, yes and no. While the western world has been nervously tiptoeing through 2024 for a couple of months now, the New Year celebrations in much of East Asia are just about to start. The Chinese year of the Dragon kicks off on February 10th so look out for some New Year/Spring Festival offers at Yocha to mark the new year! Our founder and CEO, Zoe is currently travelling in China sourcing new unique Asian design products for our shop, but no doubt she will find time to celebrate this biggest Chinese festival of the year with family and friends in her home country - for the first time in five years! |
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Dragon Dance in Time Square, NYC |
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New workshops Well no actually! We won’t be holding any workshops at Yocha Studio for the next few weeks, mainly because our chief workshop holder is temporarily unavailable (see above). However, normal service will be resumed shortly! At the same time, we are working on plans to bring our workshops out to businesses, organizations or schools - essentially any groups that might be interested in learning about the fascinating world of Kung Fu Tea, Chinese ink painting, calligraphy, Mandarin and Japanese languages, Mahjong and more. If you, or someone you know, might be interested in any of these activities, please contact us at info@yochastudio.se (Uppsala area only at present!) |
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Not so new As always, if you aren’t able to make it to the Yocha Studio store in Uppsala (even for our new delicious new Ramen dishes!!) you can still check out our website www.yochastudio.com or social media channels for the latest news on all our Asian design products available for purchase online – all with delivery to your door. Till the Year of the Dragon, Best wishes and 恭喜发财/gōngxǐ fācái (happiness and prosperity) from the Yocha Team. |
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