Moving Sale!

Guess who's moving?

Yes, our wonderful three years in Iwakuni have come to an end. We've loved every minute of it, but the lifestyle of Marine families dictates that it's time to move on.

I've really enjoyed visiting sites and being enriched by this proud, ancient culture. And I've been lucky enough to bring back some souvenirs along the way. I brought down a branch of cedar from near the top of Mount Misen on Miya Jima, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It's an ancient, holy island with much to see and do, including one of the oldest eternal flames in the world.

I also brought back a small piece wood from Mount Shosha, another site literally covered with temples and statues and 1,000-year-old holy places. They filmed part of The Last Samurai here, and little wonder because it's one of the most beautiful and most intrinsically Japanese places we were honored to visit.

We've visited many places and done many things and I've always tried to bring back a small piece of wood to work into a pen to commemorate the visit. I've even been lucky enough to have a friend give me a piece of the actual Kintai Bridge, another national treasure, from the 1953 renovation.

So the movers have come and gone with most of our things. The express shipment folks come in a few days. We have a week here in a hotel before we fly out, but I'm trying very hard to keep my Etsy and Articents stores open until the last minute because who knows when I'll be able to open them again?

But to reduce the cost of mailing all my 100+ items home, I hoped to reduce inventory a little by offering 20% off anything in the stores. If you're an Etsy shopper, use the code "MARINESMUSTMOVE" when you place your order to get the discount. Of course, I prefer the no-fee Articents store and if you'd like to shop there, simply contact me by e-mail, telling me what you'd like to order, and I'll happily take off the 20% for you.  And if you have any other offers or codes (like any provided through this blog or other sites), I'll be happy to honor them in conjunction with this one.

This offer will be available until I have to put the stores in "vacation" mode about June 26, so if you've been thinking of placing an order, now's the time!

Thanks to everyone who's stuck with us through our journey and I hope to see you again on the other side!