Happy Holidays !

Make sure to come check out our Winter Wonderland window this season!

And if you are late shoppers, we still have plenty of great gifts in stock for your last minute shopping stop.  We've got you covered!

We hope everyone will celebrate the joy of the Holidays with good company, great food and drinks. We wish you all lots of happiness and prosperity in the New Year.   

Cheers!

 ~

Please note our opening/closing hours during the holidays:

Dec 24th - Open 11am-8pm

Dec 25th - Closed

Dec 29th - Open 11am-8pm
Dec 30st - Jan 2nd - Closed

We will reopen on Friday Jan 3rd at our regular hours,
Tues through Sat 11am-8pm

~

 

A Hint of Tradition from Europe

Christmas markets originated in Germany as far back as the Middle Ages.  They take place during the four weeks of Advent, right before Christmas.   Held in the town square, they used to bring a great sense of community offering traditional Christmas cookies, heart-warming locally made drinks, nativity scenes and wooden toys accompanied by traditional singing and dancing.  It must have been a magical time for small towns and villages back in the days, with such a sense of unity and sharing.

The markets have been admired all around the world.  Many countries now host their own versions of them. 
We love the look of them.  Old, new, it's a great time of year!

Holiday Gift Ideas

We hope that this year's Thanksgiving was full of love, comfort and good food with friends and family. Reflecting on the many things we're thankful for this year, it's always around this time we like to show our loved ones how much we appreciate them! And while some of us are just starting their search for the right present, here at Commune we're already in the gift-giving spirit! 

Cote Bastide

A French-based luxury brand company, Cote Bastide's products are both intimate and sophisticated.

Fig Tree Bubble Bath - $40.00

Bag of Salt (Assorted) - $17.00

Room Spray (Rose, Fig Tree) - $50.00 - $25.00!!!

Land by Land

Our favorite scented candle brand brings four new scents just in time for the holiday season!

Scents of LAND (Assorted) - $37.00

Travel by LAND (Assorted) - $13.00

Michiko Shimada

Brooklyn-based ceramic designer brings charm into her delicate creations.

Forest Animals with 14K Gold (Fox, Owl, Fawn) - $12.00 each

Canvas

Canvas home-ware is the perfect gift for co-workers, friends, and family.

Iron Mirror with Chain - $35.00

Pomegranate Tumbler 12oz - $13.00 each

Apotheke

We love Brooklyn-based soap and candle company Apotheke's quality natural ingredients.

Sage Lemongrass Lotion - $20.00

Charcoal Liquid Soap - $20.00

Soap (Assorted) - $8.00 each

Gift Box - $3.00

A Happy Anniversary

Last Sunday we had the pleasure to celebrate one more time our many years (9 to be precise!) in business. 

It is really because of the support and the great community of friends and loyal customers that we are still going strong and we want to thank again every participating soul in this great adventure of a business that is Commune Salon & Gift! We love our community.

As usual, the party was a blast.  The kids are growing and families expanding and we couldn't feel happier to see everyone gather around good music and good food.

With Love,

~ Commune ~

Japanese Hair Monsters!

In the spirit of Halloween, we'd like to share some Japanese folk monster tales that we certainly wouldn't want to come across ourselves!

Futakuchi-onna (二口女)

Like the rokuro-kubi, the futa-kuchi-onna is a woman afflicted with a curse or supernatural disease that transforms her into a yōkai. On the back of her head beneath the hair, the woman's skull splits apart, forming lips, teeth, a tongue, until there is an entirely-functional second mouth in that spot. As if that weren't bad enough, the mouth begins the mumble spiteful and threatening things to itself, and demand food. If it is not fed, it will screech obscenely and cause the woman tremendous pain. Eventually the woman's hair begins to move like a pair of serpents, allowing the mouth to help itself to the woman's meals.

A futa-kuchi-onna is often considered to be a woman who lets her stepchild die of starvation while keeping her own offspring well fed; presumably the spirit of the neglected child lodges itself in its stepmother's body to take revenge. In one story the extra mouth is formed when one of these stingy women is accidentally hit in the head by her husband's axe while he is chopping wood, and the wound never heals.

Other times the futa-kuchi-onna is a woman who never eats, sought as a wife by a miser. While no food passes through her normal lips, the mouth in the back of her head consumes twice what the other one would.

Hari-Onago (針女)

Hailing from Ehime prefecture on Shikoku, this female ghoul has on her head a huge and terrible mass of mobile hair, each serpentine strand tipped with a sharp, barbed hook. She is fond of tormenting and preying upon young men. Appearing on roads as a beautiful woman, she laughs derisively at whoever strikes her fancy, and if he makes the mistake of laughing back, she lets down her deadly hair and gives chase.

(Source: The Obakemono Project)

Classic Japanese Actresses

What makes a hairstyle iconic? Here at Commune, we love reflecting back and being inspired by classic looks. Though we admire styles like Audrey Hepburn's fringe or Anna Karina's shoulder-length bob, we asked ourselves what Japanese actresses have influenced the hairstyles of their time.  After researching a few actresses from the 1950s and 1960s, however, we became more enamored by the actress herself. Here are a few profiles of iconic women in Japanese cinema.

 Kyoko Anzai

While her film career lasted under a decade, Kyoko Anzai's presence onscreen showed a young and high-spirited actress who clearly stood out despite not having many lead roles. Her most famous role in the sci-fi flick Battle in Outer Space (1959) was a huge leap from her debut as a fresh face in Seishun Jazz Musume (1953). Married to star actor Tatsuya Mihashi, Anzai passed away in 2002. 

Seishun Jazz Musume (1953)
   

Ruriko Asaoka

Emerging from the golden age of Nikkatsu Productions, Ruriko Asaoka was its most prominent actress. The cultural boom of the 1960's was a pivotal time for youth-oriented films and art house cinema. From film noir classics to jidaigeki dramas to contemporary pieces, Asaoka's range of performances and dynamic beauty propelled her into stardom. 

I Hate but Love (1962)

Red Handkerchief (1964)

Junko Fuji

When Junko Fuji wields a sword, it's unfathomable how she can combine strong fierocity with delicate grace. As one of the biggest stars of the yakuza film genre, Fuji's success as a notorious gambler earned her many reprisals of her role in the Red Peony series. Having starred opposite of big stars like Ken Takakura and Koji Tsuruta, Fuji clearly carried enigmatic charisma. At the young age of 26, she left the film industry to marry kabuki actor Onoe Kikugoro; but not after making name for herself and setting a standard for strong female lead roles. 

 

Setsuko Hara

Widely considered as Ozu's muse, Setsuko Hara's name is unanimous to the famous director's film work, but also stands on her own as one of the most recognizable Japanese actresses of her time. Her style and charming disposition displayed a great feminine beauty onscreen. After retiring from acting, Hara stepped out of the spotlight almost completely, leaving her smiling character an everlasting image in Japanese cinema.

Late Spring (1949)

Tokyo Story (1953)

Mariko Kaga

Mariko Kaga's career spans four decades in Japanese film and television, but her debut during the 1960's New Wave era made it evident that she was more than just a pretty face. Taking on bold characters in films like Masahiro Shinoda's Pale Flower (1964) and Ko Nakahira's Only on Mondays (1964), Kaga showed her depth as a mysterious femme fatale as well as a flirtatious call girl. Kaga's cute-sexy look has influenced many contemporary Japanese films today.

Pale Flower (1964)

Only on Mondays (1964)