Edition 1
The Mottainai Mindset
Field Notes from the Art of Slow
The Sunday Notes - Nomadic Stories
Step inside The Sunday Notes, a nomadic journal of rhythm, craft and culture. We share slow stories for fast minds, field notes from makers, off-grid kitchens, creative retreats and modern rituals.
Inspired by Japanese values and blue zone living.
Since 2019, Chop Suey has called Portugal home-base, the land where sun, salt, and soul collide. In a world of creatives, conscious entrepreneurs and next-gen rebels, the flow is present. Along the way, Chop Suey wanders nomadic paths, open to adventures and finding satori on the way.
Honouring the ancestors
Chop Suey has no memories of grandfather Jacques. It al comes from stories, fragments that show what legacy truly means. His life carries the essence of Shu Ha Ri, that Japanese philosophy of first honouring tradition, then learning, and finally shaping one’s own path. For grandpa, it was all about family, community, education and nature. And let’s face it, the man breathed style.
Grounded in the principles of Shu Ha Ri, we create space for ambitious souls to participate, learn, and re-create within an environment designed to soften social pressure and to quiet external triggers.
By scaling back expectations, we allow communication to unfold organically, where exchange feels intuitive and collaboration emerges through shared interests, practice, and intentions.
Drifting between Dust and Tide
In the sunburnt hills of Alentejo, where cork trees cast long shadows and sheep wander without hurry, minimalism wears a different face. Here, wabi sabi breathes, in layers of stones, chipped tiles, faded fabrics, and things too lived to be new. Every crack tells you time has passed and left something behind.
Down by the coast, the rhythm shifts. Surfers dance with the tide, hikers move along the Fisherman’s Trail, slowly the sky melts into gold. The salt in the air, the sand between toes, a glass of wine in hand, a calming balance to reflect on a day.
That’s Chop Suey: drifting between dust and tide. Always moving, grounded. finding beauty where life simply is.
© 2025 ChopSueyTheBrand