There were many highlights; visiting the lovely Sanrio team to finalise bringing Momiji x Hello Kitty to the USA, as well as walks along the ocean, lazy breakfasts in Manhattan Beach and a spot of shopping, of course. But it kind of goes without saying that the pinnacle of the trip was being involved in Gwen Stefani's party to raise funds for Save the Children’s Japan Earthquake-Tsunami Children in Emergency Fund and watching everyone get creative as they painted their Momiji dolls.

Here's what we got up to...

So, we won't try and play it cool; our week in LA has been amazing. When Gwen Stefani and her team asked us to be part of a very special tea party at Royal/T in LA we were super excited to be involved, especially as it was to raise money for children and families affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Gwen personally donated $1 million to Save the Children and the party on Wednesday raised an additional $120,000 for the charity and their relief effort.

On Tuesday, 200 of Gwen's biggest fans lined up in the outside Royal/T before taking their seats at beautifully decorated tables, with a very special Momiji doll at each place setting. We donated a blank Chiyo doll for every guest and Gwen asked everyone to hand decorate them and a write a special message inside. The dolls were then packaged up with a lot of love and will be sent to children in Japan.

Royal/T's fabulous maids served an exquisite high tea of dainty delights on towering cake stands. Gwen's Harajuku Girls chatted with guests and got creative with their Momiji decorating.

The No Doubt guys were also enjoying the party and the great news that the band will be releasing a new album later this year was topped off by an incredible surprise performance.

We had the best day and we can't thank the lovely, lovely guys & girls at Royal/T enough for making us so welcome. And finally big thanks to Gwen and her team for inviting us to be part of such a special event.

More news of our LA trip coming next week.

(Photo credits: Thanks to Royal/T for image marked with their logo. Photos: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 copyright Lauren Hillary)

We're very proud to be working with Gwen Stefani at her charity event in LA next week. Following the devastation caused by the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Gwen will be hosting a Harajuku themed tea party at Royal/T in Los Angeles on Tuesday 7th June.

Like Gwen, we've been hugely inspired the culture, art, design and fashion of Japan. Drawing on this theme of creativity Gwen invited Momiji to be part of the event. We'll be heading over to Royal/T next week and we can't wait to tell you all about it. We won't give too much away just yet, but make sure you check back here for news, photos and exciting updates

All funds will go to Save the Children’s Japan Earthquake-Tsunami Children in Emergency Fund.

We've got 3 Momiji goodie bags and we really want to give one away to YOU! Each one is brimming with fabulous free Momiji stuff.

Taking part in this weekend's competition is easy peasy.

1. Make sure you're following us Twitter http://twitter.com/momijiHQ

2.Complete this sentence I'm filling my @momijiHQ shopper with...

3. Include this hashtag in your answer #MomijiWin so that we can find your tweet.

Make sure you tweet before 9.30am on Monday 23rd May (UK time)

We'll choose our 3 favourites next week. We're not looking for your usual weekly shopping list, so take a Mary Poppins approach to filling your bag...what would you carry home in your Momiji shopper after a dream shopping trip? A panda named Phil? A New York apartment? A mountain of iced buns? Robert Pattinson? Let's not allow the laws of logic or practicality get in the way.

Only one entry per person, if you please.

Good luck!

We're sipping "champagne", cutting the crusts off our cucumber sandwiches and practising our curtseys. There are only four of us in at Momiji HQ today but Deb, Emma W and I are thoroughly enjoying the royal wedding shenanigans (although Rich is not such a fan - he's keeping out of it all.)

Do excuse us as we indulge in the opportunity to show off our decorations, home-made crowns and cheap supermarket fizz. Impressed?

Good luck Wills & Kate! Anyone doing anything fun to celebrate tomorrow?

Friday was Red Nose Day so we took the opportunity to turn off our computers and devote the afternoon to cake, lame attempts at fancy dress and a table football competition. For those of you outside of the UK, Red Nose Day is created by the good folks at Comic Relief who raise millions each year for people living tough lives in the UK and Africa.

A few people from other offices popped by to take part and eat Bakewell Tarts. The guys next door ended up beating us 5-1in the final, so we won’t be letting them in again.

Here are a few pictures of us looking like a bunch of losers.

If you’d like to donate to Comic Relief you can do that here. .

We’re a little ashamed at how long it’s been since we wrote anything on this page. Do excuse us but we’ve been Gallivanting (with a capital G.).

LA, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and New York have all been getting the Momiji treatment over the past couple of months. We met some lovely people, ate rather a lot of delicious food, endured ice storms, lost a wallet, met a dog called Dolly and spotted a celeb or two.

Here are a few shots from the New York leg of our journey. Respect to Hannah for her fabulous photographs.

Our first couple of days were devoted to setting up our booth at the New York International Gift Show.

We squeezed in a spot of shopping too.

Chelsea Market is an amazing place for food, tonnes of restaurants, cafes, delis and posh grocery stops.

Loving Hannah’s images of the skyline...

The weather was crazy. The snow in the park looked super pretty, but trying to get about was a challenge. I’ve never spent so long trying to get a cab in my life. There were tears (partly due to the cold wind and partly due to the fact that my fingers felt like they were going to snap off.)

Hannah managed to stumble upon the set of ‘Arthur’ and spotted Russell Brand and Helen Mirren. Then she spotted this old banger outside the New York Library.

And finally a few atmospheric shots. We love you NYC.

Hello Luli Bunny!

We're beside ourselves with excitement at the launch of Book Club. If you're wondering what kind of genius lies behind dolls of such magnificance, allow us to introduce the designer, Luli Bunny...

Hey Luli, how are you feeling today?
Hi! I am feeling really well today, the weather is a little bit hot, but as it is summer here, that’s normal. [Luli lives in Argentina] On days like this one I wish I had a pool at home.^_^

What did you have for breakfast?
I had coffee with milk, (with sugar, I don’t like it when it’s bitter) which is my normal breakfast, sometimes I like to eat cereals or bread with butter or dulce de leche, but it all depends on the day. I’m not used to eating that much in the mornings, people say it’s the most important meal of the day but I’m not that hungry when I wake up.

Tell us about a regular day in the life of Luli Bunny...
My days vary a lot, what does not vary is the time I wake up: some days I wake up at 6am, and others at 8am. I like to work during the day and sleep at night. I have 2 jobs; I work as a teacher and work as an illustrator. Working at home as an illustrator is really nice but sometimes I spend a lot of days inside and that can be exhausting.

What would you be doing if you weren’t an artist?
I was studying to become a vet and I wanted to specialize in rodents but decided not to continue. I love animals, but got too distracted drawing or doing creative things, and you need persistence to become a good doctor. I really enjoyed studying about animals, anatomy, etc, but I used to imagine stories about them. My illustrations have a lot of the love I have for animals, specially bunnies and rodents. I had 4 hamsters and 2 guinea pigs in my life and they were my inspiration. Specially my hamster Topolina, she had a really big surgery done, her uterus was removed, but she lived happy for 2 more years after it.

What do you love about Buenos Aires?
I like my city during January because everyone is on vacations and the streets can be really quiet, plus you can have a nice walk. I like some of the green areas in the city like the Rosedal, I really love going there. I also like (though sometimes I ask myself why it sings so early) the song of a little bird name zorzal.

In the kitchen, what’s your speciality dish?
I LOVE to cook! Being the most voted at home, breaded zucchinis seem to be the most popular, followed by French fries and rice and vegetables, but I like to cook lots of things. This year I started to prepare hotcakes! They are fun.

If you could only have 5 books, what would they be and why?
Anything illustrated by Leo Timmers, especially Oops. Love his work; it makes me smile.

The Art and Flair of Mary Blair. Her work was and is really inspiring

Mike Spillane’s books, any of them. I enjoy reading Mike Hammer stories

Mark Boutavant’s Around the World with Mouk (I don’t have this book, but I wish I did ^_^)

Keri Smith’s Wreck This Journal. A friend gave me one last year for my birthday and it’s really fun!

Do you wear glasses? If so what do they look like?
I do! Well I had eye surgery 1 year ago, I had myopia and wore eyeglasses or contact lenses from morning to evening. Now I only use them for work as I spend a lot of time in front of the computer and my eyes get really tired. I will never forget the moment I could go to the street and see the number of the bus without problems!

Do you have a favourite Momiji from your collection? Which doll is most like you?
This one is hard ^_^ I like all of them; they all have a little something about me. I think the one that’s more like me, or at least the one that my friends compare me with is Clarice. Though my hair colour is similar to Phoebe’s. I like to ask my friends what they find about me in each of the dolls. Some of them made a good guess, haha!

How’s 2011 working out for you? If you’re back at work, school or college this week we’re sending you super-strength positive vibes; we know how difficult those early starts can be. 2011’s going to be tip-top; there’ll be new launches arriving throughout the year, plenty of new designers joining the Momiji crew as well as a few trips around the globe as we spread the Momiji love.

The arrival of the new handy zip-up shoppers has caused much new year merriment here. They’re beautiful AND useful.
Check them out then go forth and shop.

What have you got planned for the year ahead? If there’s anything you’d like to see from Momiji leave us a comment and let us know.

Make sure you’re following us on facebook and twitter; we feel a giveaway coming on...

It’s Christmas Eve, and all over the world families and friends are getting together to spend the festive season with each other.

But each family has their own little traditions for this time of year. Those of us in Momiji HQ who have families of their own have shared their Christmas traditions with all of us. Read on and enjoy your Christmas Eve.

Emma

“Christmas Eve is spent with my in laws drinking Polish Vodka and eating pickled herrings, Barzcz (beetroot soup) and Pierogi (potato dumplings). Back home to put out a glass of something warming for Father Christmas along with a mince pie and large carrot!
When the children wake it’s all in to our bed for the opening of presents from the stockings which always include a Satsuma, a walnut and some Turkish Delight (even though nobody likes it!) Jonny, my huasband, then creeps down stairs in dramatic fashion to check we’ve had a visit before the children get the OK to pile into their respective ‘present corners’.
Breakfast is made to the sound of traditional carols, cheesy but very festive. “

Joy

“Our christmas day starts glass of champagne (or two!) mid Christmas morning while we all sit around the tree opening presents”

Cameron

“I always get the same Christmas present from my Mum. She gets really cheap (!) bird seed and gives me enough to feed the birds in my garden for nearly a year. I ran out last week and will soon have a re-fill!”

Whatever you might be doing today, have a great Christmas eve and an even better Christmas day!