UAMOU and BOO.
In my final interview for TOKYO x CREATIVES I talk with illustrator and designer Takagi Ayako who introduced a little alien called UAMOU to our planet. While graduating at Camberwell College of Arts, she ran a little boutique in London where she sold her work to a ever growing crowd. But staying in Europe was never her intend to begin with, she likes Japanese food too much she explains to me giggling.
After returning to her native Taitoku she brought UAMOU to Japan. And now she runs a little Boutique at the 2K540 AKI-OKA ARTISAN near Akihabara station. So who or what is UAMOU? Well, he is a little space-traveler who got lost on a foreign planet. During his travels he encounters many hardships. Luckily he befriends a little ghost named BOO who not only helps him out but stays by his side on his ever during exploration. The ghost is a girl, Takagi explains to me.
It was very interesting to hear Takagi’s stories about her experience as a Japanese exchange student in London and it reminds me of my own experience being a foreign student in Tokyo. Listening to her personal history the story of UAMOU started to make a lot of sense to me. Because in a certain way Takagi san and me as well are visitors from another planet.
Her brother runs a bar named after the little ghost directly connected to her store and is completely styled by Takagi’s work. The bar sells a Shochu named BOO with the little ghost on the label and her father, being an artisan working with jewelry, created custom made gold-plated bottle-holders with boo engraved on the front. It is heartwarming to see how her family is involved in her work and it is not hard to fall in love with UAMOU. I enjoyed talking with Takagi san very much, and I look forward to having some drinks in cafe BOO in the near future.
Please look forward for the full interview scheduled somewhere after March.
