File#07
Cheval Bleu
Anei Bldg. 2F No. 72
3-2-13 Minami Semba
Chuo-ku, Osaka
TEL&FAX (06)6120-0518
cheval-bleu@mbh.nifty.com
http://homepage2.nifty.com/cheval-bleu/
OPEN (CLOSED on HOLIDAYS)
MONDAY-FRIDAY 12:00-20:00pm
SATURDAY 11:00am-20:00pm

As a lover of the color, "blue," I have long yearned to visit a variety shop called Cheval Bleu in Minami-Semba, after first learning about it at the Wakayama art-supply store, C'est Mignon. And having heard that a cafe had been added, I decided to it was high time to go. It was the first time I had ever strolled around the Minami-Semba area, but as I approached an old building with an extremely charming air about it, I noticed the sign for the shop.
I climbed the stairs to the second floor and after opening a blue door, I came upon what can only be described as a "blue" world. Even the windows were blue. And blue objects leapt out at me from every corner. Rie, the shop's manager, was running things that day. I had a lively conversation with her about our mutual love for "blue." As of April, the shop has been in operation exactly two and a half years since opening its doors on November 11, 2000 at 11:00.
Rie's many years as an office worker came to an end when she managed to get her hands on this location. Here, she has been able to create the "handmade space" that she had long desired. A variety of events are also held at the shop, with fortune-telling and nail art and coloring classes being especially popular. The shop also has its own free paper called Cheval Bleu Nouvelle. Besides organizing collaborative events with other cafes, Rie is planning a wide range of other projects at Cheval Bleu.
She tells me that the shop's name means "blue horse," which explains why many of the things in the shop that are not blue have something to do with horses. Born as I was in the Year of the Horse, I have a fondness for horse goods and I discretely cast my eye over the merchandise. Needless to say, by the time I'm finished shopping, I leave with one of the original horse mascots, which I took a fancy to when I saw it on the shop's website, and several other charming items.