Just Bento

When I was in junior high school, my mother would make an obento for my sister and me almost every day. As far as I can remember, we only had 2 fairly basic bento boxes assigned to each of us - my mother was a busy working woman who didn’t have much time to fiddle with things after all. What I did have though were a variety of things to wrap the bento boxes up in, or put them in. I had several cloths that I could just tie around the bento (small versions of furoshiki), some of which I'd sewn myself, little tote bags and so on.

These days I can't seem to find the time to do much sewing, but it's always fun to look around to see what's available to wrap my bento in. (My favorite bag in use right now is a classic patchwork and sashiko bag that my late grandmother made). Etsy is always a great place to see handcrafted items, and there are few bento bags and lunch bags there. Of these, this adorable bunny-shaped lunchbox bag caught my eye.

It's by Etsy seller biscuitbear, who is in France. It’s pink and cute but not too over the top, don’t you think?

So, if you’ve gone a bit overboard collecting bento boxes and accessories, another area to get into is bento box wrappers…. (not that I’m encouraging you to acquire another addiction…)

• Dimensions: 5” x 5” (12.5 cm x 12.5 cm), about 4” high (10 cm) not including the ears (this should be big enough for a small bento box; the chopsticks box may have to be put in diagonally or stick out a bit)
• Materials: Cotton fabric, felt, handmade
• Price: $35 + $8 shipping worldwide
• Link

(I’m actually hoping someone decides to buy it before I’m tempted to reach for my credit card….)