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Your Guide to Design and Pop Culture in Tokyo

Nov 24, 2004

Anko

Anko

I was sent the following press release for a new t-shirt brand called Anko, that’s being distributed in the UK and Japan.

The first collection from new t-shirt brand anko launches today in the UK and Japan, with the introduction of a collection of 12 simple, stylish and fun t-shirt designs. Having grown from a seed planted by designer Andrew Duckworth there is a feeling of sensitivity and inner space running throughout this new seemingly idiosyncratic t-shirt brand.

Having spent a number of years living and working in Japan, Andrew describes the brand as one of “refreshing simplicity and balance”. Collection one comprises of 12 unique designs with a variety of ‘kawaii’ (cute) characters and text/detail adorning both the front and back of each t-shirt; with text ranging from ‘please pass the mayonnaise’, ‘where is my face?’ and ‘are you watching me smile’ to other messages which reveal a deeper level to the brand.

anko can be translated from the Japanese as ‘red bean paste’ aswell as ’stability’ and ‘balance’. This concept of balance and simplicity runs throughout the brand, while the t-shirts in collection one are made of the highest quality interlock cotton. A women’s line is planned for 2005, with collection one being available exclusively in Tokyo and London and through the anko website.

The contact person for the brand in Japan is Yuko Yamauchi.

And while on the subject of t-shirts, let me mention that Beinghunted has just launched a new line of tees, produced in limited numbers.

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SNOW Magazine

Where's all the regular art/design-related content you used to see here? Check out SNOW Magazine, a Tokyo-based online magazine featuring news and guest columns -- see the full list of contributors -- covering the cultural landscape of Tokyo/Japan.

PauseTalk

PauseTalk is a regular series of events that take place at Cafe Pause on the first Monday of every month, with a start time of 20:00. The idea is to create a forum where Tokyo-based creatives can get together and discuss their own projects, as well as cultural currents of the city. The next edition is September 6.

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Being a survey of recommended titles for your gaming pleasure. New games are added 2-3 times weekly, and all selections are by your host, Jean Snow, a Tokyo-based writer and gamer.

Jean Snow is a contributor to Arcade Mania, your guide to the arcade gaming scene in Japan (Amazon US/Amazon Japan). He also provided assistance on Tokyolife: Art and Design, a guide to Tokyo's cultural output of the past few years, covering the works of over 80 influential creatives.
He will be contributing to the upcoming fifth editions of The Rough Guide to Tokyo and The Rough Guide to Japan, due for release in 2011.
Jean Snow lives and breathes design, pop culture, and gaming in Tokyo -- sustained by an unhealthy addiction to magazines and frequent visits to his favorites cafes. He has reported on these obsessions for the following online/offline publications: Time, Inside (Australian Design Review), Gizmodo, Gridskipper, Kotaku, Tokyo Q, Superfuture, OK Fred, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, I.D. (International Design), Metropolis, Azure, MoCo Loco, Kateigaho International Edition, Wired's Game|Life, PingMag, CNNGo, and The Japan Times. He's also the founder and editor-in-chief of SNOW Magazine.

You can subscribe to an RSS feed of this site, and also follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Pecha Kucha Night

He's a member of the Pecha Kucha team, working on various projects, including updating Pecha Kucha Daily, a blog that highlights the creativity coming out of PKN events worldwide.

PauseTalk

He serves as editor-at-large at Néojaponisme, a web journal covering social and cultural aspects of Japan. Read the manifesto, by founder and chief editor W. David Marx.

He also writes a monthly column covering Japanese product design for The Japan Times, called "On Design." It appears on the last Thursday of every month, in both the print edition and online.

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The "Jean Snow" logo is made up of the Blackout open source typeface. The "M31" logo is by Ian Lynam, and is part of a series of 31 unique designs. The site's design is based on the Grid Focus WordPress theme by Derek Punsalan.

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