Renowned glass company, Hirota Glass Co. began in 1899 in the Sumida ward of outer Tokyo.  Founder, Kinta Hirota, started his 100-year-old business manufacturing drinking glasses and later, with the rise in popularity of loose wrapped candy in the 1920s: candy jars.  While new designs are still being developed today, Hirota continues to mine its répertoireof beloved designs to produce…

Los Angeles based clothing line Prospective Flow was the dream child of three brothers and their friend who couldn’t find the clothes they were looking for on the racks. They founded Prospective Flow, PF for short, with an eye towards bringing style heritage into the future. PF incorporates fashion inspired by Japan’s native Ainu people, traditional Japanese dress and a…

Mature HA was founded on a relatively simple premise: stylish hats for everyday use. To that end, the husband and wife behind Mature HA designed ‘box hats’; stylish, refined hats capable of being flattened into boxes no more than three centimeters high. Employing both classic and fashion-forward styles, Mature HA has an extensive collection of luxurious but functional hats to…

Makoo is a one man operation in the heart of Tokyo with a heart for the environment. Makoto, the founder and source of the brand’s name, came from fashion, but eventually founded his own company after realizing environmentally conscious recycled products on the market today were not desirable for people who wanted long-lasting, high quality products with a design eye….

Niime Tamaki is a soft and gentle powerhouse in the middle of Hyogo, Japan. A small company that believes in the holistic production of clothing, Niime earnestly grows, dyes and weaves her own cotton in one location, all in the service of her vision to continue and invigorate ‘Banshu Ori’ – a traditional form of weaving for her eponymous brand….

Founded in 1873 in Kurume, Moonstar had its start manufacturing Japanese tabi – the split-toe shoe with flexible sole that gives its wearer balance and agility. Today Moonstar is a pioneer in shoe manufacturering, leading the way for vulcanized rubber shoes, where raw rubber soles are baked in kilns like pottery, hence the name of their popular line ‘Shoes Like…

Tokyo-based stationary brand Craft Design Technology was not named haphazardly. The company exists at the apex of its three named elements, with stationary products existing at their intersection, namely, perfect symbioses of craft, design and technology. The result is effortlessly thoughtful tools for the office that’ll leave you wondering why anybody does it differently; it just feels natural. Taking a…

A small leather goods company based in the industrial outskirts of Tokyo, Sakura is run by a third generation female CEO.  Started by her grandfather, a skilled leather craftsman who originally began crafting leather bags and belts for Japanese department stores, Sakura has evolved into its own brand of fine leather goods designed in house under the direction of the…

In 2002, Rhythmos was a small atelier inside the home of a husband and wife based in Kagoshima, Japan. Today the high-end leather brand continues as a small operation, but now in a brightly lit shop and atelier in Satsuma city, complete with a charming French bulldog mascot beckoning passerbys in their storefront window. Carefully handmade, Rhythmos leather goods continues…