I’m afraid I’m having to cancel the July edition of PauseTalk (Vol. 23) because, well, I’ll be out of the country. I’m heading to the US and Canada for three weeks — first time back in three years — and even though I was hoping to leave a bit later, circumstances made it impossible.

Apologies to those who were hoping to attend, as well as to Chris Kirby, who will be having an exhibition at Cafe Pause at the end of the month (June 30 to July 7), and was going to present his works. He’ll be having an informal reception on the evening of July 4 (Friday) at cafe, so come join us then.

PauseTalk will be back the following month, to be held August 4.

Thanks to everyone who made it out to this month’s edition of PauseTalk (Vol. 22). It was a great group, and gave us a chance to cover some interesting projects and ideas (and thank you Julie for the above photo). Below, as always, is the list of participants. Next month’s edition is scheduled for July 7.

• Chris Kirby (Designer)
• Hiroaki Koshiba (Artist)
• James Okubo (Filmmaker)
• Jean Snow (Writer)
• Joe Keenan (Graphic Designer)
• Josh McKible (Illustrator)
• Julie Forgues (Photographer)
• Masao Tamaoki (Online Retail)
• Max Hodges (Publisher)
• Panthea Lee (Writer)
• Ralf Baehren (Designer)
• Robin Anthony Coe (Mixed-Media Artist)
• Taka Sudo (Illustrator)
• Takaaki Koshiba (Musician)

We had a smaller group at this month’s edition of PauseTalk (Vol. 21), but it still made for a pleasant gathering. Talk revolved around a few specific projects this time, and thanks to James for his harrowing account of his work on a reality series currently being shot in Tokyo. The next edition will be held June 2. Below is the list of participants, although I am missing at least two names (I often get caught up in conversation once we’re done, and forget to get everyone’s details).

Chris Kirby (Designer)
Didier Kerloch (Art Curator)
Eri Kato (PR Manager)
James Okubo (Filmmaker)
Jean Snow (Writer)
Joe Keenan (Graphic Designer)
Max Hodges (Publisher)
Robin (Mixed-Media Artist)
Ronnie Kattan (Online Retail)
Thomas Antonietti (Designer)
Tomohiro Morie (Branding)

It’s been very late in coming, and I apologize for that, but here’s the list of participants from the April edition of PauseTalk (Vol. 20). I’m missing a few names from some new people, so if you don’t see your name there, please let me know. It was probably the biggest PauseTalk to date (not counting the Swedish Style edition we did last year) with around 22-23 participants (not bad for a cafe that has 24 seats). You can see a few photos from the event taken by Rafael de Lima here. Also, please note that because of the Golden Week holiday, the next PauseTalk (Vol. 21) will take place on the second Monday of next month, so May 12.

Andrew Lee (Art Director)
Anna Antoniades (Fashion Designer)
Cameron Eeles (Writer)
Craig Mod (Designer)
Gen Higashikawa (Writer)
James Bowskill (Web Designer)
Jean Snow (Writer)
Joe Keenan (Graphic Designer)
Jose Luis Olivares (Illustrator)
Josh McKible (Illustrator)
Kristina Dryza (Strategic Insight)
Masao Tamaoki (Online Retail)
Max Hodges (Publisher)
Rafael de Lima (Photographer)
Ronnie Kattan (Online Retail)
Samson Adjei (Architect)
Shantell Martin (Illustrator)
Shige (Online Retail)

This month’s edition of PauseTalk (Vol. 20) is being postponed by one week. It was set to happen this coming Monday, April 7, but because of unforeseen events, will need to be pushed back one week, to April 14. Apologies for the schedule change, and I hope that those of you who were planning on attending will be able to come at the later date.

Thank you everyone who made it to last night’s PauseTalk (Vol. 19) and who contributed to another great evening. Big thanks to Hiro, Anna, and Yuki for talking about their current exhibitions (see this post), and everyone else who chimed in. Max again volunteered to take some photos during the evening, which you’ll find in the Flickr PauseTalk photo pool. We started things off with another ramen meetup at the nearby Ippudo shop, only 5 this time, but it’s turning into an enjoyable casual apéritif before the rest of the night’s talk. As always, below is a list of participants. The next PauseTalk happens April 7, with a start time of 20:00 (and ramen meetup at 19:00 for those interested).

Andrew Lee (Art Director)
Anna Antoniades (Fashion Designer)
Chris Kirby (Industrial Designer)
Eri Kato (PR Manager)
Hiroaki Koshiba (Artist)
Hiroko Ueki (Fashion Retailer)
Jean Snow (Writer)
Joe Keenan (Graphic Designer)
Josh McKible (Illustrator)
Kristina Dryza (Strategic Insight)
Martin Holtkamp (Photographer)
Max Hodges (Publisher)
Noriko (Designer)
Philomena Keet (Writer)
Rob Judges (Artist)
Rennie Foster (DJ)
Shantell Martin (Illustrator)
Yuki Nakano (Photographer/Illustrator)

Thanks to everyone who made it out this week for PauseTalk Vol. 18. It was a terrific group, and I thank Jason DeGroot for surprising me with his presentation of FEZ, a game he’s been contributing to for a few months now, and Max Hodges for taking photos during the event, something I always forget to do properly (I’ve started a Flickr photo pool here). The pre-PauseTalk ramen run at nearby Ippudo was good fun as well, and we ended up fitting all seven together at one table. The next edition happens March 3, with a start time of 20:00 (and a ramen run at 19:00, meeting in front of the cafe). Below is the list of participants from last night’s edition:

Anna Antoniades (Fashion Designer)
Bianca Beuttel (Product Designer)
Chris Kirby (Industrial Designer)
Chris Palmieri (Web Designer)
David Tang (Engineer)
Gozi (Fashion Designer)
Jason DeGroot (Musician)
Jean Snow (Writer)
Joe Keenan (Graphic Designer)
Jose Luis Olivares (Illustrator)
Keiji Ashizawa (Architect)
Laura Lewis (Accessory Designer)
Lauren Elkin (Writer)
Linde Richter (Graphic Designer)
Max Hodges (Publisher)
Michael Mahoney (Writer)
Paul Baron (Designer)
Shantell Martin (Illustrator)
Tomoko Okazaki (Publisher)
Verena Dauerer (Editor)

Thanks to everyone who made it to this week’s edition of PauseTalk (Vol. 17), and for making it such an engaging evening. It was a great group, and I also thank Yuka Yamaguchi for coming back to the cafe to participate and talk about her works and her exhibition that is currently on show at the cafe. I also thank Bianca and her wonderful “Save PauseTalk” chocolates — worry not, we’re here to stay.

A few changes to note though. From this month on, things will kick off at 20:00. Also, I welcome anyone who can’t make it for the main part but who would still like to drop by for drinks and chatting later. Even though we usually stop the “official” proceedings at around 21:00-30, the majority usually stay much later.

Also, since many have expressed the desire to have dinner together before the start, and with Ikebukuro having so many great ramen shops, we’re starting a ramen meetup — maybe a RamenTalk? — from next month. We meet in front of the cafe at 19:00.

Here then is the list of participants from this week’s edition:

Anna Antoniades (Fashion Designer)
Bianca Beuttel (Product Designer)
Chris Kirby (Industrial Designer)
David Tang (Engineer)
Jean Snow (Writer)
Joe Keenan (Graphic Designer)
Josh McKible (Illustrator)
Max Hodges (Publisher)
Paul Baron (Designer)
Scott Lockman (Podcaster)
Shantell Martin (Illustrator)
Vincent Morris (Photographer)
Yuka Yamaguchi (Artist)
Yuki Nakano (Photographer/Illustrator)

Please note that from this month’s edition (Vol. 17, January 7) on, PauseTalk will now have a start time of 20:00 (instead of 19:30).

Big thanks to everyone who came to the special edition of PauseTalk (Vol. 15) we had this past Monday, to celebration the “Creative GBG in Tokyo” event at Cafe Pause. It was far removed from how things usually go, with a few presentations (special thanks to Jesper, Julia, Martin, and Marxy for participating) and not much conversation, but mixed in with a good amount of socializing and drinking, which I was happy to see and partake in. The next edition — a regular one — will be held December 3.