I like to think of myself as fairly stylish. Maybe I don't live up to New York City standards, but I'm not too shabby either. The pinnacle was when I attended a seminar in rural Virginia where everyone (mostly Canadians) admired my "NYC wardrobe" and I was dubbed the "Carrie Bradshaw of the Woods."

The low point was a few years prior when I met my boyfriend's father - a very dapper, traditional Japanese man. I bought a vintage kimono for the occasion that I believed was very subtle in color and design. I wore it robe-style over a simple black dress, sure that he would be impressed by my fusion of "East meets West." At dinner that night, he commented to my future husband, "That kimono Cathy's wearing looks like an old lady's." Ouch.

Fashion missteps aside, I still love traditional Japanese materials. Lucky for me, there's a trend in Japan known as Jiba that takes traditional manufacturing methods & materials and uses them to create modern products. Notebooks are made with handmade paper and traditional bookbinding techniques, gift cards are adorned with elaborate paper cords shaped into loops and pinecones, wallets are made using traditional dyed cloth from Kyoto, which gives it an organic feel, and vintage kimonos are re-designed to make elegant bags, coin purses, and girly hair ornaments. Jiba cleverly blends the quality of traditional craftsmanship with the charm of vintage fabrics and materials, expressed in a modern design that is stylish and youthful, and not at all like an old lady's.

Limited quantities of exclusive Jiba products will be on sale at at the Japan C exhibition at the Felissimo Design House (10 West 56th Street, NYC) until Saturday.