Featured flair this week @TOKYOMADE

BAGS BAGS BAGS

A simply stunning Sunday morning in Shinjuku saw the Go Go Girl and I head out early with our mat, our snacks and our 10 litres of specially concealed Sakura Sangria.

An outrageously gorgeous spot on the water called for us and we set up camp, stretched our legs, turned up the tunes and had a little spring nap while we waited for the others.

Wasn't long before the emails started coming in warning of ridiculous lines at the entrance to the park. Fearing the beautiful beverages might go to waste we started sipping a little early.

Soon the other cherry blossom babes turned up and joined in the festivities.

By the time toilet time came around a scan of the park revealed the thousands and thousands of other sakura lovers that had packed into the park.

The toilet line up appeared atleast a 20minute wait - with quite a few litres of sangria in my water works by this stage I was thanking my lucky stars I had studied up on this. Something all ladies should practice to avoid going to the ladies (and I am not suggesting that you go to the men's but I am suggesting that you become at one with nature in your own litle private Idaho.

The party was only just beginning by that stage...

When we spotted the raw and edgey captures of tokyoPixie we were determined to find out who exactly was this photographic pixie and what was in her bag of tricks. A flip through tokyoPixie's photo album reveals a view of Tokyo and many other parts of Japan that is often left uncaptured. An interview with the spirited snapper uncovered her love of Kung Fu Fighting helps keep the creative juices flowing.

TM: How do you know when you have a good shot?

tP: It’s usually an instant “yes!” reaction. Later upon closer observation, there is always something special that distinguishes a good photo from an ordinary one. All the elements that comprise a good photo such as composition, interesting subject, color, etc. are usually present in a “yes!” pic.

TM: Do you put all of your photos for display or are you selective?

tP: I’m selective and have become even more so recently. I post only those that I think are my very best at the moment.

TM: Three words to describe your style- personal or photographic.

tP: I find it difficult to describe my style because it’s not something I think about beforehand when I take photos. From what others have told me, my photographs are beautiful, cool and elusive.

TM: On a regular day out in Tokyo how many shots do you usually take?

tP: It really depends, it can range be from 0 to 100.

TM: Are you a “deleter” or do you wait to get home and look through all of the photos before any go to the trash?

tP: I usually wait to go home unless they are obviously bad then I delete them right away to make space on my memory card.

TM: Do you have an all-time favorite pic?

tP: I have a few: the young Macaque monkey in the hot spring, the Shibuya crossing pic, the portrait of the platinum blonde girl in Harajuku and Tokyo trainspotting collage.

TM: Any interesting stories from Tokyo photo-shooting adventures?

tP: Yes, a few weeks ago, a tiny old lady, an obachan, with a huge telephoto lens elbowed me to make her way through to take a photo of a Harajuku girl. My Tokyo Sightseeing guidebook warned of this happening on trains but never in Harajuku!

TM: Are there any things in Tokyo that you don’t like to take pics of?

tP: I try to stay away from cliched images but it is sometimes difficult to do in Japan.

TM: Is there something in Tokyo that you find difficult to capture?

tP: I see many interesting scenes while I’m on the train such as on rooftops, train platforms & tracks, and in houses but due to obvious limitations I cannot capture.

TM: Your style and subject have changed as your time in Japan has progressed. Do you want to talk a little about that?

tP: There were many things in Japan that I found very unusual when I first arrived and they were the things I photographed a lot at the time. The very short skirts in the middle of winter, love hotels, condom boxes, and other unusual things only seen in Japan. I’m less interested by those now and I think my style and subjects are gradually evolving.

TM: Do you ever get bored/uninspired of taking photos of Tokyo/Japan? If so, what do you do to overcome that?

tP: Yes, I’ve had “photographer’s block” here at times. However, I just need to play “Kung Fu Fighting “ from the Fat Boys Slim on my iPod and I’m immediately inspired again by this crazy place called Tokyo.

A huge thank you to tokyoPixie for helping TOKYOMADE to launch in awesome street style. If you remember back to February 14 when TM launched our first ever front page feature was an original tokyoPixie shot. Keep watching for more street snaps from tokyoPixie.

LET'S GET ANIMAL, ANIMAL

OOOoooh we love a fun giveaway, especially one as wild as this!

Cometman strikes again with industrial design blows, organic mediums and geometrical style.

TOKYOMADE is feeling pretty spesh to show off the Co-Patch range by Cometman, it is his top selling range and is hand crafted upon order.

COOL THINGS WE THINK YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT COMETMAN
- He really does go by the name Cometman. We have no idea what his real name is, making us think this talented creator may actually be from out of space!

- Once a designer for a VERY famous Japanese fashion house, Cometman is all about independant style and creation these days free from the shackles of big company dictators he is rockin' it his own way (just the way we LOVE it!)

Check out more Cometman HERE

We have been invaded by MAZTO here at TOKYOMADE instantly creating a kind of cute divide.
Sleepy Nem Nem just want to snuggle up and get snoozey. The wild and wacky Caveman and Cavegirl are bouncing off the walls in rooflifting party mode!!

I have a million and one ice jokes, lyrics and little stories. I really could go on and on for hours about my love of ice. So you can imagine how ecstatic I was when we were introduced to glass creators Sci-Fi.

In the back streets of Harajuku on the second floor of an ultra cool bar and loft house Sci-Fi was showing her wares on the walls surrounding one of the most vocal and eclectic nabe parties we have had the pleasure of interupting.

We have more Sci-Fi surprises for you very soon!
TM xx

What does Finland and Japan have in common? You can Wikipedia all you like, but you are probably going to end up with the same answer as us...not much! Well atleast that is what we thought but it seems as if we were oh so very wrong.

The answer is Harajuku Girls! While we are not entirely sure that any 'real' Harajuku Girls exist in Finland, we have definitely spotted some Finnish Harajuku Girls in Japan. We even have the pics to prove it!


Inspired by some of our personal favs; Kera and Fruitsthese girls were on a two week Tokyo pilgrimage when we spotted them on a sunny corner in Harajuku.

In awe of their popularity and intrigued by their inspiration we just had to stop for a quick chat and photo op.

Decked out in Takuya Angel, a much loved Harajuku label, one of the students confessed there really wasn't any kind of street scene quite like the Harajuku one in Finland. A bit of Cosplay here, a bit of dress up there but no true scene to speak of. Both students surprisingly spent a hard earned fortune on their dress ups, on a much dreamt about Tokyo shopping spree.

Surrounded by the rest of the Harajuku crew, not content just to shop and watch, these cosplayers were rewarded for their audacity with endless requests for photos and the chance to be Harajuku Girls for a day.

New icy number accessories for all ultra cool bean counters and number crunchers now @ TOKYOMADE

This week's Featured Flair award goes to Eshimasa and Cometman.

Eshimasa's monsters, Bad Fukusuke and Fran Fran are taking over the world. Be quick to grab your Japanese monster...only a few left in stock!

Cometman's NEW Electron range shows off the perfect pieces for all electronically geeky guys and gals!

We think everyday should be Earth Day!

And not just because Tokyo gets to enjoy a two day festival in Yoyogi Park known as Earth Garden.

Tokyo and Earth put on spectacular weather this weekend. The wicked wind blew the smells of patchouli and hemp around the park and Gocoo put on a taiko performance powerful enough to stir any soul.

As an earth loving, vegetarian in Tokyo it often feels like an uphill battle so Earth Garden is the ultimate two day adventure in all things calming, soothing and yummy. Away from the traffic, buildings, sushi shops and extra packaging, Earth Garden is filled with rows of tents offering the very best environmental solutions, fun and fashion this country has to offer (oohh and some very delicious hemp beer!)

We joined Cometman and friends for an awesomely, earthy day in the park. Got to check out some very cool eco-design and nibble many a vegan snack. Also bumped into Mac Bag doing her thing. There was a bit of a stampede in her tent, her stuff really is hot, we are totally happy that she is so popular- well deserved.

Happy Earth Day Tokyo fans! Remember > switch it off, ride your bike, say no to plastic bags (get a groovy shopper instead), plant yummy things, every drop counts, reuse it, reduce it and buy recycled when you can!

In the middle of a moving performance the taiko leader,Kaoly Asano, offered her words of wisdom for Earth Day "All you need are two words > Arigatou (thank you) and Ashiteru (I love you)"

THANK YOU WE LOVE YOU

NEW Pod Canvas in stock now! Check out how sweet the sakura one is...oh and the pointer is just so geeky we just have to love it!!
It is hard to choose, so sleek and stylish we want one of each. Guess that means we need to buy a whole lot more iPods huh?!

Hey we have been doing some renovating around here at TOKYOMADE.
Check out the recent edition to our catergories list to find the latest styles as they are updated @ new styles.


Feast your eyes on Tokyo's latest treasures!
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