The Blog

Have you heard of kendama? I hadn't, but a friend insisted that this Japanese toy was being enthusiastically played in competitions around the city. I have to admit, after doing a little Googling, I was really skeptical about her claim, but over the weekend I went to two unrelated events where people were really into the game. Maybe my friend was right, but I needed to know more about kendama before I was going to admit that to her.

Kendama is a traditional Japanese toy, made up of a mallet and a wooden ball attached to a string. It's reminiscent of thee olde cup-and-ball game you might've gotten as a party favor or stocking stuffer when you were a kiddie. But aside from a physical resemblance, a kendama is much more complicated than its Western cousin. Playing it involves a whole set of tricks that take extraordinary coordination and focus. Oh, and bending your knees! It's also crazy addictive. I didn't realize any of this until I entered the Kengarden on Sunday afternoon.

The Kengarden is a community that was started by San Franciscan Jake Wiens, kendama enthusiast extraordinare. That's him in the orange shirt above. He was introduced to the game about two years ago by friend and pro Matt Rice (the dude in the glasses in the second photo; he's actually a sponsored professional!). Jake became so hooked that he got all his other friends into the game and started backyard kendama battles. He would give the participating host's yard a makeover, planting succulents, ferns, flowers, and other shrubbery, to make the space look pretty for the competition and as a thanks for volunteering the space. You can't see the green handiwork in these photos, but you can check out part of the fire pit Jake & co. made as a centerpiece in the photo below.

On Sunday, a battle took place at the Mission Kengarden on Church Street. About 40 people showed up to compete in, or watch, battles for beginning, intermediate, and advanced kendama players. 

People from around the world send Jake videos of their tricks and e-mails about wanting to come to a Kengarden event, but he's also noticed that the SF kendama community has grown. He said that although a lot of the people who were at Mission Kendarden were friends, he didn't know about 40 percent of the attendees. 

Another reason to come to a Kengarden competition? To get a kendama, which you can't find at San Francisco stores. Jake gets the toys sent to him, and he loves spreading the gospel by giving them out to newbies.

Here's a tense moment from the advanced battle:

For more info and the date of the next Kendama Battle, check out the Kengarden tumblr and Facebook page.

All images and video by Sarah Han

Last Friday, I headed out into the cold, cold Sunset to stop into Everybody Bikes , a new shop that opened last Tuesday. The store's mission, as its name suggests, is to be an all-inclusive stop for people who are interested in cycling, whether it be avid mountain bikers, fixie riders, commuters, BMX-ers, or general city cruisers. A couple friends of mine — Grayson and Janell — had helped the owner, Mike, get the shop up and running. All involved were celebrating Everybody Bikes ' grand opening with beers and an art show called "Together Forever" in its upstairs gallery space, The Set.

Before I get into the art that was hanging up the windy staircase, here are a few snapshots from the downstairs bike shop.

Seemed like half the store was playing with kendamas — those are the things that are hanging around the guys' necks in the photo below. If you don't know what the heck a kendama is, stay tuned for my post tomorrow on the Kengarden battle I went to on Sunday.

Most of the partying was happening upstairs in The Set. Behind that lamp on the left was a little cozy Super Nintendo station set up, where I got my ass handed to me at Street Fighter II.

Someone made some buttons for the party. Give 'em a hand!

"Together Forever" featured art by Nicole Dreyfuss, Mia Christopher, Jason Arnold, Audrey Erickson, Chad Hasegawa, Justin Lovato, and many others. Here are a couple of my favorite works from the show:

All images by Sarah Han

On Saturday night at a very packed Public Works, I boogied down to beats spun by Dâm-Funk and Peanut Butter Wolf. Funk and soul pulsed through the heavy air laden with smoke and sweat until 3 a.m. Less than 8 hours after the last party-goer stumbled out of the place, it was transformed into a D.I.Y. wonderland called Culture Club. For the first time this year, Noise Pop presented a two-day event featuring a craft fair, lectures, and workshops. On Sunday afternoon I checked out the scene.

Food carts lined Erie street and served up a variety of goodies.

Both floors hosted a pop-up craft fair showcasing Bay Area artists. Gold chain-link jewelry and hand-crafted baby clothes were aplenty.

Silvi Alcivar advertised her personalized poetry for $10 a pop, and also sold already-written poems rolled into charming vintage amber medicine bottles. They were tempting to buy as a gift, but I had a feeling that I'd want to keep it for myself if I purchased one.

Leah Jachimowicz of Coffee n Cream Press sold sweet hand-printed cards with a bite.  Leah controls every step of the card-making process, from design to printing on the letterpress.

By far my favorite items for sale were the fabulous collages by Maureen Shields. Maureen creates collages on tree trunks, pins, cards, and vintage ceramic plates. Her plates are made using a water-based decal system that permanently adheres the compositions she constructs to the plate. She's a paper and ephemera-collecting goddess.

Isotope Comics sponsored a station where attendees were encouraged to design their own album covers.

The bald cat emerging from a giant pink mass was particularly charming.

Upstairs, No Age spoke to an attentive audience about the process behind their albums and album design, and Kelly Malone of Workshop discussed DIY and held a workshop on screen-printing. The $10 entry fee (which included a complimentary drink) was a steal for anyone looking to spend a day crafting, eating, and soaking up all forms creativity.