The new Jet Set Leger record store at Laforet in Harajuku looks rather nice. More from Patrick.
Month: August 2006
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Collect.Apply
Collect.Apply are a Kyoto-based design company made up of two English designers, James Gibson and Hal Udell. They have quite an impressive array of work — view a PDF of some of their designs here. Pictured here is Block Jam, a prototype for a musical interface.
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More Biking Adventures
As you could tell by my moblogging yesterday, I’m still enjoying the hell out of my new bike, and ended up doing the long trek to Tokyo Big Sight. On Thursday I was in and around Ginza for a while, and then headed back to Kundanshita to meet up with Craig at Co-Lab. We grabbed some lunch at a Russian restaurant in Jimbocho, and then went to this really funky cafe I’ll post more about later. When I told him about my idea of biking to the “Good Design Presentation,” he showed me the best route (he’d done the same thing the day before), and I realized that it was definitely doable, and not that complicated a route (quite easy actually). From my apartment to Tokyo Big Sight took me 1 hour and 20 minutes, which I think is pretty decent for someone like me who only started biking around the city a few days ago, especially since I still need to check my atlas every once in a while to get my bearings. The Good Design show was fantastic, but walking around the exhibition space for 3 hours took its toll. On my way back, I remembered spotting a sign for the CODAN Shinonome housing development, and I’d always wanted to check out the mYwaY store by TRICO there, so decided to head inside and try to find it. Finding it was quite easy, and as soon as I walked in I was welcomed by Haruna (pictured above), who works there, and brought me a glass of tea. After having a look at the gallery on the second floor, I came back down and ended up staying a couple of hours, drinking some beer — they have a mini-bar area near the register — and chatting with Haruna. When I finally left, it was around 7, so completely dark out, which made for an amazing ride, as I could see all of Odaiba illuminated.
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Poppas for Sale
Everyone’s favorite little Tokyo-based indie publisher, Chin Music Press, has now released their latest book, LAST OF THE RED HOT POPPAS. I bought my copy directly from Craig the other day, and it looks fantastic. By far the most beautiful book they’ve released yet, with an amazing fold-out dust jacket that incorporates the obi. You can buy the book online directly from CMP.
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Polypunk 10
More guerilla retailing from Uniqlo in the US:
Uniqlo will deliver container stores modeled after a ship’s cargo containers to various locations in Manhattan and beyond during Labor Day weekend, according to Women’s Wear Daily. As a precursor to the October opening of Uniqlo’s 36,000-sq.-ft. flagship in SoHo, the container stores will operate every weekend until the flagship opens. The exterior of the container stores is made from corrugated metal, while the inside is fitted with shelves. The container stores, which are arriving from Tokyo, will be transported from the pier on flatbed trucks, then lifted by cranes and placed on streets throughout New York. Merchandise in the container stores will vary to reflect the demographics of each neighborhood. The SoHo flagship will be the largest of the company’s 730 stores worldwide. (PSFK)
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This Week at Gridskipper
You can read all of my Gridskipper posts here (or even subscribe to a feed).
Time-lapse video of busy Tokyo, set to a track by the Teriyaki Boyz. Link via Boing Boing.
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W.A.S.T.E.
Me, in full action pose, sporting my snazzy new W.A.S.T.E. tee. Don’t know W.A.S.T.E.? They are of course the evil nemesis of supercool agent Casanova Quinn, and if you aren’t already, you gotta be reading the new CASANOVA comic by my friend, and probably undercover special agent himself, Matt Fraction, featuring gorgeous art by Gabriel Ba.
I’ve mentioned the work of Maku Remu in the past — he also did the Knee High Media site, as well as the recently launched blog for MAMMOTH magazine — and his latest site is for an all-girl grunge/punk band from Fukuoka, BO-PEEP, who are getting set for a second tour in the UK this year in October (they have a growing fanbase there). The sheep you find scattered throughout the site are by Junko Kanamori, who is again working with Maku Remu on the design of the band’s next album release.