Art from Japan

A few years ago, I discovered the Flickr stream of Kaori, a lady in Japan, who makes little clay figures of cute animals. On a whim, I asked if she ever did custom-made figures, and she said that she would be glad to. I sent her some pictures of our two cats and before long she sent me four adorable little hand-painted clay likenesses, two of each cat, that really captured their personality.

This year, I contacted her again, and asked if she might still be working in clay, and would she be able to do a matching figure of our dog. She replied that she'd be glad to, so I sent photos, and got these amazing little Minas in the mail just a few weeks later, beautifully packaged and carefully wrapped.

They even have separate little collar tags with Mina's name, and the year. They're the sweetest little things, and her price is just stunningly low (and as far as I can tell, she doesn't charge for shipping).

Looks just like her! 

I asked Kaori if she would mind if I told my friends about her work and she said that would be fine. I think these would make remarkable gifts for anyone with pets. She takes incredible, artful care with the wrapping and packaging, and is friendly and easy to communicate with.

You can see many more of her little figures here on Flickr, and can contact her through Flickr or at this email address.