Dogs in strollers
 
When you think of dog-loving cities, most likely you are going to think of Paris, but on the other side of the world, Tokyo is now the 'Paris of the East' (in terms of their obessions with their pets or dogs).
Tomigaya is an area in Shibuya, located on the [...]

The preserved townscape of Minoshi
 
I think many people who are interested in Japanese paper would have heard of Mino washi paper, especially after it was was designated an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2014. The origin of this paper dates back to the Nara period (710 ~ 784 CE), and is [...]

 
Top: The entrance of an industrial building in San Po Kong
 
Since I started this business, I was lucky to have met and made friends with many like-minded designers and entrepreneurs in Asia and London. After working with Hong Kong's ten Design stationery for years, I became friends with their designer Paul [...]

Inle heritage shop, Inle Lake

 
When I was in Myanmar, I was genuinely surprised by its diverse craft industry. Aside from traditional crafts, we were quite delighted to have come across some contemporary craft/design brands as well. My favourite shop of the trip was an accidental find in Inle Lake... We had hired [...]

Katamaku - an upcycled stationery and product range
 
In the last 2 months, we added three new product ranges from Japan, including: upcycled stationery by KATAMAKU, textile products by Tenp, and Sola cube and Sola Zukan by Sola.

During my trip to Japan earlier this year, I met up with Japanese architect Shimon [...]

 
d47 design travel store and Tomio Koyama Gallery at Hikarie
 
Shibuya
d47 design travel store (Hikarie 8F 2-21-1 Shibuya) - Muji is now an international brand that many non-Japanese are familiar with, but in Japan, d & department Project is the fastest-growing household and lifestyle brand in recent years. Established in 2000 by the [...]

My final two Tokyo entries are on shopping, so I hope this will delight a few readers. I have written another entry under the same title 2 years ago, so this is an update/addition to the previous blog entry (click here to read). This entry will focus on Eastern and Central Tokyo:
 
Kuramae
On [...]

 The facade of Anthropologie store on Kings Road
 
We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with Anthropologie, one of America's most popular retailers this autumn/winter. The company is our first major retail outlet, which is a big step forward for us. It is exciting to see Gongjang's eco balance monthly [...]

New paper stationery by Kuroyagiza from Japan
 
Can you remember the last time you received a handwritten letter from someone? I can't (postcards don't count). Have we lost the art of letter writing? Did you ever have pen pals when you were younger? In recent years, authors, designers and retailers are trying to [...]

Gongjang's eco Balance diary
 
A few years ago, I was doing some decluttering at home and I found an old diary written by me at the age of seven. The diary was about a holiday with my family and the 'dilemma' that I was facing then. Of course what bothered me at seven [...]