The Tangerine Fox

Found the Tangerine Fox online and ordered some things for a friend who just moved back to Adelaide. The staff is outstanding!!! They signed my card and wrapped all my prezzies individually. They even wrapped the outer box beautifully and emailed me photos of everything. They went out of their way to make sure my bestie got her gifts on her birthday even though it was a national holiday! I cannot say how awesome this shop and their fabulous staff truly are… MANY THANKS ALL THE WAY FROM THE USA!!!

Love this shop!!!
Such a great little place, whether you are buying something for someone else or something special for yourself :) you won’t leave empty handed and with lots of ideas for future gifts and treat.
Wonderful staff are always happy to help and will go beyond the norm to help you find just the right piece

So I recently went back here and was super confused. It looks like Ikeguchi. but isn’t. But never fear they have the same type of gifts and jewellery and the staff are just as knowledgable and friendly as before. I really appreciated that they rolled over my points from when it was ikeguchi, so I got a $ 20 voucher to spend at the Tangerine Fox. I am not sure how much I have spent there, but would really recommend signing up if you are thinking about going back.
This time I bought some Jewellery by the brand eachtoown, they do handmade jewellery, made in QLD, and they have a whole lot of other handmade brands that are relatively local, including a number made in Adelaide.
Would highly recommend this place if you want to treat yo self to some awesome hipster living items (? not sure if that’s the right term. cute things to have in your house that you don’t need). Also if you alway need more jewellery that features geometric shapes and or cute animals. This is a great place to go as well for cards and stationary, I have bought a years worth of birthday, wedding and other cards here which all get praise for being adorable and unique.

This store was formerly known as Ikeguchi Japanese Store. They have all the same stuff, but just a different name and owners. I really love the new name and branding, it is super cute and matches the whole Japanese theme of the store.
Well, not all of the stock is Japanese, but they also stock lots of cool art, jewellery, home décor and toys. This is one of my fav places to shop for gifts for my friends and family. You will find lots of quirky unique things in this store, like fake deer heads, cool mugs, quirky books and gift cards.
I actually found some super cool Star Wars plates with Darth Vader with a top hat. That was a immediate purchase. You know those moments when you are shopping and you say «omg I must have!»
Check out the jewellery in this store, you will find some really lovely modern styled elegant pieces. I found it very hard to choose from so many cute options. Some pieces full silver, others have beads and acrylic shapes.
The staff in this store are super friendly and so happy to help you out if you are looking for something in particular. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they have a loyalty program which gives you discounts and invites to a special VIP party a couple of times a year. How cool is that, especially for such a little store!

If you are looking for gifts — come here. I don’t care who it’s for or what their interests are, you will find something in this shop that:
a) you would never have otherwise thought of (perhaps you didn’t even know it existed) and
b) will make the gift receiver go «Zomg! That’s amazing!»

So easy to walk past too hastily this little shop is packed to the brim with kitch, fun, hip little bits and bobs. Jewellery made of crafted porcelain to resemble origami cranes and the wall mounted deer plasters stood out for me. Quite cheap considering the usual markup you expect to find on such custom items so was great for a browse, will be coming back for the dreaded last minute birthday trip soon!

Yes the Japan culture craze has hit Adelaide and other part of Australia for years now. Either you like it or you just don’t.
Am not a huge fan of Japanese products, although I do adore their cloth bounded notebooks, journals and silk fabrics.
Other than that, the monotous waving lucky cats, trinkets and odd objects just doesn’t do it for me.
I try to avoid clutter in my house when I can, save for the Japanese tea bowls and cups which will probably find a comfortable place in my tea cupboard.

It’s hard for me to look at Ikeguchi with an objective point of view as a half-​Japanese person. I personally never understood why Japanese things were considered «cool», but I suppose the cute/​weird/​creepy thing has its appeal. I must say though, this shop does have charm and there are plenty of little knick-​knacks for all kinds of people.
To my surprise, a lot of the items didn’t appear to have all that much to do with Japan. I’m not sure if the items are made in Japan or have a general Japanese concept, but I was expecting a lot more «otaku», if you know what I mean. That said, there are plenty of cool things to pick up here — a lot of notebooks, diaries, general stationary, and kooky decorative pieces. The Astro-​Boy figurines definitely caught my eye, as did the animal heads hanging off of one of the walls. Perhaps more than anything, the design and layout of the shop is very Japanese in its colour and organisation, and it’s one of the places where you can just wander around and feel quite comfortable browsing the shop while the minutes fly by.
Might have to go back for that Astro-​Boy figurine though — damn that’s awesome.

Japanese arts and crafts are undoubtedly awesomesauce. I’ve always been attracted to the concept of wabi-​sabi in Japanese culture: in simple terms it’s all about imperfect, transient beauty. This comes through in the hand hewn, irregular, asymmetric feel of Japanese arts and crafts, many of which you can find at Ikeguchi.
As you walk into Ikeguchi, there’s the usual colourful assortment of Japanese paraphernalia: lucky cats, out-​and-​out kitsch décor, lacquer ware, bento boxes, Japanese snacks, kimonos and origami.
But my favourite part of the store is the upstairs section, where you can find gorgeous Japanese tea ware and bowls that exemplify the idea of wabi-​sabi — yeah, they’re reasonably expensive. But splash that cash if you’ve got it, authentic imports like this are hard to find in person.
But no matter how much cash you’ve got, you can pick up something at any price point. Ikeguchi is a particularly great place for gifts, as they also have vastly superior wrapping skills.

For what this place is, it’s awesome. Like Dave says, it’s a place to buy Japanese trinkets and knick knacks, cool little wooden dolls, origami stuff, purses, all sorts of stuff.
I find it fascinating, there’s so much stuff here that you just won’t find anywhere else, short of buying it on the internet, and even then you’ll probably need a good command of the Japanese language.
I’ve bought a couple of little presents here for some friends who had just gotten back from a trip to Japan, and some of the origami things for my primary school class. Really cool little place.

In the heart of Adelaide here is a slice of Japanese culture that I never expect, even when I know it’s there. It seems this shop has been here for ages but it always manages to have something surprising sitting out front that entices me in for a good look around.
It is filled with the strange and wonderful imports from Japan that you simply can not purchase anywhere else in Adelaide; well mostly… There is a Japanese food shop over by the Central Markets, I must go buy some Saki there; and I realise you can buy tea pots and cards and ceramic plates all over the place, but not quite like these.
If you enjoy Japanese culture and the rather unusual sense of art they embrace you will find this shop a treasure trove of wonders. If it doesn’t really float your boat then you will not be getting very excited at all.
I myself usually get a little excited because (for example) they have a range of paper critters you can create; I love it. Spiders and dragonflies, moths and beetles…
Very interesting stuff. There are also very odd little creatures that look like stuffed dogs, the sort you may buy from a taxidermy shop… Okay, so they don’t look like stuffed dogs, they basically are stuffed dogs, but plastic, and very realistic.
I don’t quite know what to think about them, some people probably find them cute, I find them a bit creepy, but they sort of amuse me in that creepy kitsch way so I guess I’d adapt if I got one for Christmas… how about yourself?
Would you like a tiny furry Doggy under your tree?