Post your latest purchase or impulse buy

[GavinG]

Might your "juniper" be a bookleaf cypress (Thuja orientalis)? Something about the stumpy fingers on the leaves reminds me of that.

Gavin

[PeachSlices]

looks like an itoigawa to me

Simon

[Ryceman3]

Could very well be…

[Abarnes93]

My latest purchase was this shimpaku from Neil from shibui bonsai. Great branch structure and trunk. Hopefully I can trim and wire it to do it justice

Did you pick it up at the Northwest show? I grabbed a few prunus there with the same SB code and assumed it was Neil's including a nice purple leaf plum with a good little twin trunk

When you've given it a trim and wire post up the results, looks like a good start for a great mini tree in future

I managed to get it trimmed and wired up. Pretty happy with the results will let us settle for a while before putting it into a nice pot. Still needs some adjustments I think too.

Sorry for bad photo won’t let me upload good quality
Photos.

[TimS]

A few impulse buys from the Waverly show; forgive the mobile phone quality pics

Two Walsall pots from Elaine at Bonsai Island, both the same size and shape. The blue one i picked up originally, but then the purple one stuck in my mind as an outrageous option for the ginkgo comes home tree for when it is in full autumn colour set off against the purple. I've become a convert to WS pots from Tokoname of late. The new pots i'm seeing out of Japan just don't seem to have the quality of those from the previous generation of potters but that's a sweeping statement too. Anyway

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Then in a rogue move even for me, i purchased this JBP Primarily i like the style with the semi-cascade nature and maybe more of a JRP type styling to it. Also the price was a motivating factor, it seemed well priced when it arrived at the show, and when i saw on sunday it had been reduced by about 25% or more i went of to chat to the owner about it. Got a smidge more off the price which sealed the deal and it came home with me. The owner got it in the early 90's from a batch started in the early 80's so it's got a good bit of age to it as evidenced by the bark. Nice tree, just he has lots of great pines and this was a bit unloved so my gain there.

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[Ryceman3]

I've become a convert to WS pots from Tokoname of late.

Don't limit yourself Tim, plenty of great pots from all "corners" of the globe!
Walsall are lovely though... as are pines!

[Rory]

I've become a convert to WS pots from Tokoname of late. The new pots i'm seeing out of Japan just don't seem to have the quality of those from the previous generation of potters but that's a sweeping statement too. Anyway

That is prophetic and you’ll see more of this.
I too have noticed the exact same thing.
Tokoname has slacked off and has been resting on its laurels for decades.

Europe is by far becoming the better exporter of high quality bonsai pots now:

Adam Luczak
Roman Hussman
Walter Venne
Walsall Studios

And in Australia, we have Tracey Francis who produces amazingly beautiful pots. And with Bad Swan and Rod Vert producing gorgeous new unique pottery it’s a definite reason to look elsewhere from Japan.

The above European potters though, are world class for traditional shapes, and are much higher quality than any tokoname pots coming out of Japan lately.

All of the above potters are so much better than what Japan is producing.

[wrcmad]

The new pots i'm seeing out of Japan just don't seem to have the quality of those from the previous generation of potters but that's a sweeping statement too.

Agree. In general I've shared this opinion for the last decade, with the exception of a few potters. Though having been to Tokoname and spoken to a number of potters, there are some valid reasons for this. Besides the natural attrition of the last generation of potters as they age, along with their workshops, other reasons include depletion of local clays, and the banning of some of the older glazes in Japan due to their potential carcinogenic effects on the potters.
I have always purchased older Tokoname pots, rather than new, for this reason - and continue to buy some of the old clays and glazes that have been banned and are no longer used, as they will become harder and harder to obtain.

[TimS]

The new pots i'm seeing out of Japan just don't seem to have the quality of those from the previous generation of potters but that's a sweeping statement too.

Agree. In general I've shared this opinion for the last decade, with the exception of a few potters. Though having been to Tokoname and spoken to a number of potters, there are some valid reasons for this. Besides the natural attrition of the last generation of potters as they age, along with their workshops, other reasons include depletion of local clays, and the banning of some of the older glazes in Japan due to their potential carcinogenic effects on the potters.
I have always purchased older Tokoname pots, rather than new, for this reason - and continue to buy some of the old clays and glazes that have been banned and are no longer used, as they will become harder and harder to obtain.

Makes absolute sense; the clay is a big one for me that is a noticable shift backwards. As you say there are reasons for that, but old koyo vs new koyo is night and day. Same with the glazes, they seem much thinner and less lusterous than the previous generation ones.

[SuperBonSaiyan]

I'm curious, what is it y'all are noticing when you say the quality is different?

E.g.: is the clay less / more smooth, are there inconsistencies in the panels (flat sections not perfectly flat, feet not level), why is thinner glaze a bad thing, etc.

I'm a newbie to the whole pot world, so I figure this will help me appreciate the various nuances all the more.

If there's a website or youtube that's easier to point me towards, please link

[TimS]

Koyo is easiest for me as that's the kiln I have most experience with. Wrcmad feel free to correct me where I'm wrong, you are far more knowledgeable than I am on pots

First off is to know kiln vs potter. Kiln is effectively like the company name, not the potter's name themselves. So to say you have a Koyo pot is some information but not the whole picture. Like saying a Walsall pot, it doesn't tell you which of the potter's there actually made it.

Koyo is a shortening of 'Aiba Koyo' as far as I know is again not overly descriptive of which potter actually made the pot. It's just one standard 'chop' which is on all Koyo pots regardless of if it is mould made, or hand made (no mould used, built from a raw piece of ckay) and both father and son use(d) it. In the case of Koyo there are only 3 options for who made the pot ; the father Kouichirio Aiba, his wife who I think pots under the name kouso or something similar but her pots are very uncommon, or the son who now has taken over and pots under the name Juko.

If there is only the one chop mark it's generally a mould made pot (not necessarily true of older pots) by Kouichirio. Then there might be a 2nd or 3rd chop with the standard one, a common one is a Ginkgo leaf which indicates a commissioned / hand made pot. There is also one specifically for pots commissioned by Fuyo-en a famous nursery in Omiya bonsai village.

The most sought after Koyo pots are by the father Kouichirio who has sadly passed away a few years back. Unfortunately he doesn't often sign his own pots specifically as his, so it's more a case of judging by the clay being used. Black clay is pretty much a certainty it was by him and as such they command big $$$ like the large tray I sold recently. These days Aiba Koyo are being produced in a very pale almost white clay which is very light in comparison to the black clay which I find a bit off putting and feel cheap in the hand. Also the glazes as I mention are thin quite literally. It looks almost like it is a water transfer onto the pot, where the older ones are thick and had texture and individuality in colour from firing to them the new ones don't seem to.

Hard to really explain without holding them in your hands to compare so if you're ever down my way feel free to hold an old black clay Kouichirio koyo and a new pale clay koyo to feel and see it

There is a website with all the main chop marks listed, just search bonsai chop marks and it should come up

[SuperBonSaiyan]

Got this little prunus today. Love the dark bark contrasting with the white flowers.

[Patmet]

Bought myself a christmas present. I want to learn more about, and get better at identifying Western Australian Eucalypts when I'm out and about.

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[GavinG]

Maybe get out into the rough country, where the trees don't grow straight... And the windswept south-west coast. There are apparently some mad old Melaleucas and Grevilleas out there that might be worth a look. Please send photos!

Gavin

[gnichols]

Not sure if my photos are working for some reason, but buying some pots from a Thai potter.

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