Yuwa Live Life and Other Japanese Fabrics I am Currently Obsessed With

I had to write this post because I have been completely obsessed with imported Japanese fabrics for the past few days.  I am not even sure how I came across this great fabric with retro French kitchen ads:

I think it must have been through an Etsy search I was doing (??), but since I found this first fabric I have been hooked and exploring the world of Japanese fabrics.  These fabrics are very different (at least from my perspective) from the fabrics I have seen in US fabric stores, both online and traditional brick and mortar.  In my limited web search I have found a handful of specialty stores, and the fabric is pretty expensive!  All the images in the post are from a very cool Etsy shop Lucky Kaeru that is well stocked in these Japanese fabrics.  When I want to treat myself, I am definitely going to buy something from this shop!

The French ads fabric is from Yuwa Fabric's Live Life fabric collection.  Here are some more Yuwa fabrics that I loved.

I also found some pretty bird-themed fabrics from Echino.  Most scream out "Market Tote" to me, which is farmer's market/grocery bag that I have been wanting to add to my shop for a while. 

And, here are some super cute children's fabrics from various Japanese makers. 

The only downside to these fabrics are the cost.  From what I have seen, most are at least twice what I would normally spend on fabric.  My Mom is originally from Japan, and my parents visit several times a year.  My Dad is there now and he was able to find that French ads fabric at a local store.  The price was only a little bit less than at Lucky Kaeru, which is a bummer.  I was hoping that my parents might be a great way to get these fabrics at a price that would allow me to use them for my shop.

Oh well..  I can't wait to get my French ads fabric, though!  I am going to use it for a cobbler apron for me :)