Way Back Home

We know you celebrated your birthday rather recently. How does it feel to enter your thirties? 
It’s a good feeling, actually. I feel more settled—sadly not financially (laughs)—and calmer in my decision-making process. At the same time, I don’t feel so unsure about the future. While we gradually get older, it doesn’t feel too different, but when I compare myself to how I was at 21, I can see the drastic change.

Now that you’ve shifted back to Singapore, what’s in store for you in the future?
I started my own label—consisting of clothes, bags and fun prints—while I was in Japan, and I hope to continue that while I’m in Singapore. I’m hoping to launch it just before Christmas. Once the pandemic subsides, I’m hoping to hop between Japan and Singapore more regularly, since I still do some work there and I think I might get withdrawal symptoms otherwise (laughs).

What do you think has been the biggest change for you since the shift?
Well, besides the weather (laughs), staying with family has been a new change. I was staying alone in Japan for seven years, so I’m relearning how to share my space with others. It’s also very nice to have people around in the house—I’ve loved getting home-cooked food daily and breaking out into games after meals.

As someone who creates regularly, we’re sure you face your own creative blocks. How do you overcome them? 
I try to change my surroundings—recently, I went to the beach by myself to regain my own time with myself. Sometimes you just need to rethink things in a different setting, and be by yourself to allow yourself to think fully. I find that very useful for creative blocks.

What’s a dream project you’d like to embark on?
I’d like to have a creative collaborative space with other artists. I find that having a studio just by myself gets a little lonely, so it’ll be nice to have a space where people can drift in whenever they’d like and bounce off ideas. I also hope to use the space to collaborate more with my friends and create new designs and products together.

Since you spent most of your time in Tokyo, recommend us your favourite spot there!
I know this is going to be a typical answer, but I lived near Shimokitazawa, and it’s a very quaint place to cycle to and just catch up with friends. I think the atmosphere there is quite different from the rest of the city.