Design Festa: Your one-stop shop for predatory purses, zombie nesting dolls & more

Twice a year, Design Festa takes over the Big Site convention center in Odiaba, and artists selling everything from zombie matroyshika to predatory purses gather to outdo each other.

Get one in every color!

Or if that isn’t creepy enough for you, perhaps a crying baby head?

Or you can take blowing your nose to new heights with a Mt. Fuji-shaped fake fur Kleenex dispenser

Or up your mask game with this fox mask covered in rhinestones

Not sure what outfit might perfectly coordinate with this froggy coin purse…

…but a blue fox fur bracelet that can also be worn as a hat will surely go with EVERYTHING.

Imagine the impression you’d make at your next zoom meeting in this hand-tooled leather cow skull mask

Or concentrate instead on upping your Room Rater score with some giant felted goldfish…

…or a realistic 3-d felt portrait of your beloved pet

If those are a bit beyond your budget, there are always tomcat butt fridge magnets

And while the outlandish pieces steal the show, there are also some articles of great beauty tucked away among the vendors. These delicate glowing glass mushrooms mounted on rustic branches are truly lovely

And not all the art is for sale—these members of the Tokyo Zentai Club turn up at every Design Festa in their signature one-piece leotards to cheer up the masses and make friends

And muralists are assigned blank walls between the booths to compete for top honors in creating a larger than life piece of art over the course of the event. This one is a collage made from thousands of snippets of printed paper…

…like coupons, receipts, and other throwaways

And some are paintings, like this killer dragon

While others invite audience participation, like this one where onlookers can step up and contribute their own spirograph flower

Design Festa is held every May and November. Information on the next one is here.

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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly Japanagram newsletter, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had