Our Love Affair With Tsubaki Flowers

Regardless of tsubaki being a famous flower worldwide, it probably won’t sound familiar to anyone living outside of Japan; that is, until we refer to it by its western name, camellia.

Tsubaki is one of the most adored flowers in the world, but, compared to other countries, it seems to bloom that bit more elegantly in Japan. Maybe it’s because it blossoms amongst a barrage of captivating flowers during Japan’s magical spring season.

Of the different forms of camellia, the red tsubaki is the most cherished. Its luscious red petals mixed with the sun yellow stamen in the middle, make it a sight for sore eyes. Its rich red color is one of the reasons that the Japanese meaning for tsubaki is – the perfect love.

For centuries artisans have used tsubaki designs in traditional Japanese patterns, so in a similar fashion, we too have paid tribute to this floral masterpiece; that is, we’ve dedicated one of our iPhone case designs after it.

We wanted to create a product that could accentuate the beauty of tsubaki on a daily basis, which is how the idea of creating a new phone case design came about. Of course, the design reflects the red tsubaki, which you’ll see emphasized in the base color. For an elegant finish, the floral pattern is painted on using the maki-e technique and the stamen is painted on with gold.

Now, you might think that I’m putting up a sales pitch because it’s a product we sell, however, I personally purchased this phone after being charmed by the design. Since purchasing it a year ago, it’s been comfortably attached to my iPhone and, still gets frequently complimented by people

When you first see the phone case and the maki-e detail, you immediately think ‘this is going to be expensive’ – surprisingly its conveniently priced under $100. This is because unlike other maki-e cases that are completely hand drawn, this specific case has its base design printed first and then fine detailing is done afterwards. Because it’s a mix of print and hand drawings, there’s an even balance for less manual labour, making it that much more affordable. But don’t think that the quality is reduced, it’s still handmade, which you can tell as your fingers touch the raised maki-e and gold detailing.

As much as we love tsubaki, we haven’t forgotten about all the other beautiful flowers in Japan, so we’ve created a floral line-up that includes eda-ume, Tsukini-ume and even bamboo. Browse the entire collection and see which design suits you best!