uncomfortable conversations

this sunday, designglut will unveil their off cite icff show. designglut believes it is the role of creatives to start the uncomfortable conversations that ultimately cause people to grow. they challenged artists to design an object that provokes an uncomfortable yet important conversation amongst the viewers of the show. the type of object, the materials it’s made from, and the topic of the conversation are entirely up to designer. their intention is to get people talking about something they would normally avoid, pushing them outside of their comfort zones and opening their minds.

nooka design challenges people to reject nostalgia and embrace an optimistic charge towards tomorrow. fashion is one area where nostalgia is still more of a driving force than futurism, and for this exhibition matthew waldman created a piece that highlights the sometimes uncomfortable reality when biology asserts itself.

visit designgluts website for more information here!

the address is:
803 Washington St.
New York, NY

coldest april in tokyo

strangely, it's been extremely cold this whole week in tokyo, but now that i think of the volcano in iceland, it may make some sense – it was actually snowing friday night when team nooka was out drinking at en izakaya late into the night [thanks reika for reserving us a room!]. of course, now that i need to repack and check out on my way to beijing, it's super sunny and nice outside.

so to wrap up the updates for this trip, and not in chronological order, a word-dump: had a great meeting with the creative collaboration team at graniph, the t-shirt i designed will drop may 1st. if you're in a city with a graniph shop, make sure to pick one up as they only made 1000 units. my friend tomoyo hooked that connection up and it was nice to catch up with her after the meeting. tinydinosaur, a tokyo fashion design lab, famous for using new fabrics and materials featured nooka in their latest tokyo fashion week fall collection. see photos here. mr. kudo can be seen in the foto on the upper right with his handmade lamps made from discarded umbrella wires – a really creative team and i am so flattered to work with them. they LOVE the nooka strips [get yours here or in japan, here]! visited a wonderful little shop near bankart museum in yokohama called gallo the living which features nooka prominently in their shop. the shop manager, hikaru is adorable, and the owner mr. hara is full of creative energy. we all had a lovely meal after visiting the shop at the amazon club which serves deep fried scorpions and other fusion fare. went out to a night of 5 bands at unit in daikanyama to see my friend immi perform some songs and a dj set [you can tell which foto is her i think], which was great. saw another band called soutaiseiriron which was also fun, the singer was übercool, she hardly moved. i made it to nigo of bathing ape fame's new curry restaurant called curry-up. it was excellent! and i wore my yellow jeans which kinda made it look like i work there. the pretty lady with the long hair is my friend and rising design star, hiroko takahashi – great to catch up with her and see some of the amazing press she is getting. we also compared travel stories.

i will not clog up the post with every business meeting and friend i caught up with, nor complain about how i haven't had a proper night sleep in 10 days, but seriously, check the links above to catch up on the ever changing pop-culture of tokyo – a great and inspiring city. the foto of the ocean is from a daytrip to atami where i soaked in a hot tub [rotenburo] at horai, a 160 year old mountain guesthouse that was sublime though....the kami-san, mrs. furutani was a pleasure and the food is beyond words.

it's fashion week again

it's fashion week again though i haven't gotten invited to many shows this season. i did go to the lacoste show this morning at the tents in bryant park. it was very interesting [or should i say perplexing] and i am curious to see how many new stores they pick up for this collection as i can't see it in many sportswear doors that already carry the brand. it was both men's and women's with the men's being a bit too on the conservative side for my tastes, though there were a pair of grey pants that look like they double easily as sweat pants for the gym – something i've been looking for!

last week i was the subject of a photoshoot for an upcoming issue of YRB magazine. the photographer is esteban aladro, and he was really laid-back and fun. the photo above is from the shoot and is only one of many cut that i liked. check out his online portfolio here. also, don't forget to look for me in the page on me in YRB magazine!

also, a bit hard to spot, but there is a bright green nooka zub 38 in this sunday's new york time's STYLES magazine.

i love these

i just got these from dustin canalin of UNDRCRWN. he designed them for rockport. the details are really, dare i write, cute! thanks dustin! learn more about the collab here.

the weardrobe nyc conference

if you’ve been following the weardrobe nyc conference, you’ve probably read about or seen photos from some of the events. nooka was given the opportunity to be one of the sponsors and we're glad we could help. if you don't know about it, it was the first ever conference for young women fashion bloggers. learn more about it here.

here's a bit of a recap, courtesy of suzanne xie, "overall, the conference was a truly unforgettable and once-in-a-lifetime experience for the bloggers involved. the conference officially kicked off on friday afternoon, where we had a meet&greet in the penthouse suite at the gramercy park hotel. the first day consisted of a street style photo shoot in gramercy park, goodie bags and an open forum pizza dinner. the first night ended with drinks on the rooftop of the hotel. the second day was epic, starting with a brunch at eat records in brooklyn and a Fred Flare shopping spree, continuing on to more thrifting in brooklyn and finally a diy challenge with pac sun denim. after hours of studding, shredding and pinning, the girls were ready for a delicious dinner at the fat hippo with gilt groupe. Day three was also a nonstop day of Soho shopping, traffic stopping photo shoots, blogging workshops, all starting with a scrumptious press brunch at lure fishbar. after such a full weekend of shopping and shooting, it was only natural that we reserved our last day for a blogger clothing swap, photo booth shots and a teary-eyed farewell brunch".

nooka is available at fine shops all over the world and online here.

also, don't forget to vote for nooka at pulchra. the voting process may seem a bit tedious, but it is actually really simple. simply drag nooka to the number 1 spot, if that's your choice of course and choose the other 9 objects until you have completed your list. In order for your vote to be valid, you will need to complete the details form. remember you can only vote ONCE PER DAY, so make sure to log on the next day and do it all over again. link is here!

follow nooka on facebook and twitter.

celeb sightings with nooka: fashion week 2009

i had a BUSY fashion week, and i must say, the energy this year in NYC was pretty amazing. fashion night out last week kicked off the week and i hit barney's, armani and ODIN. as you read in a previous post, went to the monarchy show where the men's models were all wearing nookas. on friday night, i went to the persona magazine launch, which was very unpleasant to get into considering nooka is a media sponsor, but i did get to meet and chat with kanye west. he was very nice and personable, and someone forwarded me the foto here where i am barely visible in the background on the right!

then [and in no particular order] french soccer star zidane kicked a ball around with yohji yamamoto at the Y-3 show, anna sui is very hot this year with renewed interest in the beatles and her collection for target [i never saw so many photographers at a tent show!], vivenne tam had a great show and lovely after party where i hung out with my friend shauna and her friend carmindy of 'what not to wear' fame, went to an out-of-control after party for alexander wang where i missed courtney love perform but did get to hear the fabulous santogold, and last night i went to the perez hilton music tour which was aural heaven for me – kat deluna, little boots [i LOVE little boots], frankmusik, ladyhawke AND new york's own SEMI PRECIOUS WEAPONS [who make frequent appearances on this here blog]. i am not being a suck-up – every act was beyond amazing and i encourage every reader to buy their music online. justin of semi precious weapons is a classic glam rock star not seen since early iggy pop. being back stage was great as i finally got to meet mr. hudson. he didn't perform, but his keyboardist is the bassist of frankmusik, michael choi. mr. literally took the nooka off my wrist [i was happy to give it to him, looks better on him than me].

back to the alexander wang party, i met chozie, who is a HUGE star in mainland china as a DJ. he later came to the nooka lab and we discussed my future china strategy.










nooka is available at fine shops all over the world and online here.

also, don't forget to vote for nooka at pulchra. the voting process may seem a bit tedious, but it is actually really simple. simply drag nooka to the number 1 spot, if that's your choice of course and choose the other 9 objects until you have completed your list. In order for your vote to be valid, you will need to complete the details form. remember you can only vote ONCE PER DAY, so make sure to log on the next day and do it all over again. link is here!

follow nooka on facebook and twitter.

Fashion Week: Monarchy

fashion brand, monarchy, by designer eric kim, puts on quite a show. monarchy is a leading men's and women's fashion brand that was established 2004. monarchy is a favorite among the hollywood elite and nooka was privileged to be featured in their fall 2009 fashion show this past friday on the male models walking the runway at the tents in bryant park. learn more about this great brand here. the boys at mao pr put together a great show – thanks for the great seats! i really enjoyed the music while waiting for the show to start, need to get the soundtrack. moreover, the audience was a who's who of cable television fashion. i was happy to run into old friend J alexander who i've known since we were both teenage club kids in a very different and gritty NYC [and so happy to see his continued success with america's next top model!]

unfortunately, my fotos are all too blurry to use, so using the ones on getty images for now. does anyone out there have better fotos for me to post?

nooka is available at fine shops all over the world and online here.

also, don't forget to vote for nooka at pulchra. the voting process may seem a bit tedious, but it is actually really simple. simply drag nooka to the number 1 spot, if that's your choice of course and choose the other 9 objects until you have completed your list. In order for your vote to be valid, you will need to complete the details form. remember you can only vote ONCE PER DAY, so make sure to log on the next day and do it all over again. link is here!

follow nooka on facebook and twitter.

nooka at project in las vegas september 1–3

now for the official launch, well official as in having the attention of buyers from around the world to see the new nooka strip [that's nookan for belt], nooka AO [nookan for wallet], the future distilled™ [the nooka scent] as well as our up and coming collections for our time pieces at project in las vegas!

we rarely do trade shows, but the strip, AO and fragrance all have more mass potential than our signature watches so i'm looking forward to the response...i think we're off to a good start as 2 of our products were highlighted in today's WWD which is their project las vegas special edition. learn more about project here. say hello to robert, christen and carrie as well as some regional sales rep who will all be there. i was told to stay away as buyers do not feel they can speak freely in front of the designers, as as much as i like making people nervous, i am also a business man.

can't make it to vegas, buy you nooka stuff or find out where to buy here. follow us on twitter.com/nooka and on facebook with the box on the right of this page.

on another note, this week has been full of amazing press which i hope to catch up blogging about. i was also in los angeles this past weekend [came back to nyc on tuesday night] which was a lot of fun, so i need to do a 'nooka loves L.A.' post soon too!

abb interview video: matthew waldman

the power of twitter: a few months ago i was monitoring "nooka" chatter on twitter and came across a thread from jabari johnson his wearing my designs, and i contacted him and got to know more about his incredible DC based network. andre is part of that network and he was kind enough to make an effort to come to nyc to interview me for his video magazine series.

the interview was conducted at our pop up show at den on 330 east 11th street 2 weeks ago. i was given the chance to showcase our new line of belts (the strip) and wallets (AO) as well as our fragrance. it's difficult for me to watch as i HATE the sound of my own voice, but doesn't everyone hate the sound of their own voice recorded? that said, i hope you enjoy it. remember, the pop up shop is open until august 16th, so check it out while you can! the frank nan designed interior is really impressive.

the video itself is enough of a plug for andre's skills, but seriously, check out his vimeo page [link below] and hire him for your videography needs, especially if you're in the DC area.

also, don't forget to vote for nooka at pulchra. the voting process may seem a bit tedious, but it is actually really simple. simply drag nooka to the number 1 spot, if that's your choice of course and choose the other 9 objects until you have completed your list. In order for your vote to be valid, you will need to complete the details form. remember you can only vote ONCE PER DAY, so make sure to log on the next day and do it all over again. link is here!

nooka can be found in fine stores all over the world and here. follow nooka on facebook and twitter.

Nooka X Interview from ABB VIDEO. .

ABB productions website here.

nooka sightings: oh so pretty!

these photos of the adorable giorgina was sent to me by our man in the netherlands! apparently, she is one of our youngest fans. the netherlands is one market that really 'gets' nooka, and why not – they are one of the few countries that have viewed design as an important professional discipline for years. it is one of the few countries where one can receive government support to pursue purely theoretical design problems, plus they have paté american which is something you'd never find in america [it's raw beef mixed with ketchup you spread on bread in the mornings]. i'm a little jealous having to claw my way towards the top here in dog-eat-dog NYC but i am having a fun claw at it.

nooka is available at fine stores in the netherlands and here. join nooka and on facebook and nooka on twitter.

strip for me baby

this is out of order, i know i need to blog about what a HUGE success the pop-up shop party was last night. give me a day or two to decompress and i will blog about that. i'm also now allowed to blog about my exciting fragrance! i'll blog that this weekend as well. you can read the cool article on timeout here.

the nooka message has evolved from an ethos most simply expressed by the not so marketing/sexy attitude of "question everything" and "explore alternative systems" to a more elegantly articulated theme of "universal language". universal language is a key tool for strengthening global culture and insuring greater cooperation for even greater innovations from our society in the future. i truly believe that fashion is as much a universal language as math and music, and in that sense, i like to think of nooka as a futurist brand. it is easy to see these themes in the nooka time pieces which for the most part do not need any written language skills to use and they're designed with a glam future aesthetic, and would be understandable if sent to another planet as a gift. and i am now proud to announce the release of the nooka strip™ [the NS], our very first belt!

belts originated in the bronze age, in leather form, between 3500 & 1200 BC. the bronze age saw the creation of knives, axes, pottery that were more durable than those previously created in the stone age. In these times, interestingly enough, primarily men wore them, and they were used for a decorative purpose. it was considered rare for a female to be seen wearing a belt.

starting in the 1920s, as fashion changed, so did the function of belts. instead of being for show, men needed something to hold up their pants! no longer was it just military men wearing them [suspenders were more commonly used to hold mens pants up before this change in trend] .

Today, there is a variety of belts - police officers use them to hold their equipment, women wear them with a high waisted skirt to provide some oomph, and plumbers...still don't wear them. There are different colors, different sizes, different materials, different types of belt buckles. It has become one of those things that can 'make an outfit'.

but with all the options for belts out there, i still felt something was missing both functionally and in terms of form and color. so i came up with the NS™. the closure is something i developed with my design team to offer easy adjustment throughout the day [i never found the perfect hole in a traditional belt, and it's really socially awkward to readjust a traditional belt in a restaurant!] which is the functional innovation. the innovation in look-and-feel is apparent – you can do the dreaded "matchy-matchy" look with our belts and zubs!

it looks so good you'll have no problem getting people interested in looking at your crotch, and the mechanism is so slick, your pants can come off faster than they went on. this is why i came up with the product name "strip" [strip of material for form as well, so it's really a pure expression of form follows function]. seriously, belts up until now were too concerned with holding your pants up, and a belt equally concerned with getting-off is truly an innovation.

nooka strip available at den, 330 east 11th street until august 16th, DDC lab in NYC [currently west 14th street location] and here. join nooka and love nooka on facebook and nooka on twitter.

wow wow nymag article online!

what amazing photographs thanks to melissa hom of new york magazine. frank nan's design translates more than seemlessly in these images [thanks to the production coordination of shinya nakamura and my dedicated staff! thanks guys!] so definitely check out the slideshow in the article available here.

nooka is available at fine stores and here. join nooka and love nooka on facebook and nookaNOW on twitter.

the build-up and build-out and the nooka boys

one thing people sometimes mention when they visit the nooka lab is how handsome all the guys are [and how pretty the girls are too]. yes, it's possible that they're just saying that to be nice, but seriously, we have a disproportionate number of hotties working here – which is well illustrated by these fotos of the nooka team working on the build out of the pop-up shop at den.

top left is frank, our architect who calls the interior treatment "the Nth dimension" – giving a physical form to the nooka journey to the future! working in no particular order is alex, product designer, paul, product and graphic design, our swedish intern david [shirtless so he wouldn't get paint on his clothes even though everyone was told in advance of painting day] and my PA intern, michael. not pictured is yours truly and shinya nakamura [former full time employee and artist/fabricator extraordinaire] who is overseeing the build-out of the shop.

i think some men's fashion magazine should use the nooka lab staff as models for a story....any creative directors reading my blog?

nooka is available at fine stores and here. join nooka and love nooka on facebook and nookaNOW on twitter.

pop up shop soon!

as you can see from the image: i can keep it a secret no longer: BELTS [nooka strip, NS™], nooka wallet system [asset organizer, AO™] and super secret launch, our precious essence of nooka in a bottle debut at our pop-up shop at den.

the space is tiny so a guest list is being tightly maintained [not by me] for the opening so make sure to RSVP if you want to go to that or are press and need a special earlier time. otherwise, shop is open for 6 full weeks!

i will do a post a bit later about the design of the shop and the buildout process as well as insights on the new products. it's very exciting.

nooka is available at fine stores and here. join nooka and love nooka on facebook and nookaNOW on twitter.

building momentum and ready to explode

monday and tuesday we held exclusive press interviews for our upcoming secret product launch. it was so exciting to meet the actual editors for this new category nooka is entering, and also to have a unique space dedicated to showcase all my designs. it was unfortunate i had laryngitis the whole time but all went well as i articulated how my design philosophy of universal communication and utopian futurism relates to the new products. this is all leading up to our very first US pop-up shop at den on east 11th street opening july 10th [i'll blog about that soon]. look forward to posts on our upcoming belts [nooka NS] and noo approach to wallets [AO assets organizer] as well as the product line my PR people wont let me blog about just yet. seriously, sooooo much going on at once it's going to all come together like a supernova!

nooka is available at fine stores and here. join nooka and love nooka on facebook and nookaNOW on twitter.

nooka press: vice

latest 2 months in vice magazine! kinda hard to tell, but trust me, they are nookas on the naked ladies.

don't forget about the vice/DF/nooka sponsored juan mclean tour, tonight in BOSTON. info here.

nooka available at fine stores and here. join nooka and love nooka on facebook and nookaNOW on twitter.

sundance 2009 round-up

sundance was full of firsts for me: first time spending time in salt lake city, first time in park city, and first time eating a taco bell bacon cheddar gordita crunch [wow!]. our party had some setbacks though – jared gold and his clothes were a no-show due to a production over-run in germany for america's next top model! the venue and management were able to pull in some local designers for the runway show. the designs were not an ideal stylistic fit for nooka, but it was really one of those "on with the show" kinda situations. the models rocked the nookas and the colors worked well with both collections presented. so... with the dj skills of michna and kate simko, the hospitality of pierpont place and all the wonderful talent in salt lake, a wonderful party was enjoyed by all who came.

and now, let's talk about salt lake city: what good looking people! they were so warm and receptive to me and to nooka. i met so many wonderful people – i will definitely go back to spend some more time there again.

also, the nooka image video and signage really branded the whole affair as a "nooka" event. thanks again to my in-house design team for all their hard work and the peeps at pierpont place for getting the signage produced locally in such short-order.

great music, yummy UV brand vodka, good people = fun for all.

now the real work is to get some exposure for the professional photos from the event [not my crappy ones posted here and on facebook].

thanks again sam, missy, adrian and kate of ghostly!

nookas always available here.

missbehave magazine

missbehave magazine is showing nooka mad love in their upcoming issue! we are all-over the main fashion spread, they write about the sooperdooper limited edition hellz bellz collab AND they have a contest give-away on thier website. makes me want to be a teenage girl all over again.


missbehave giveaway is here.

nookas featured can be purchased at fine shops near you or here.

nooka sightings: takashi murakami

i have been a big fan of takashi murakami's ever since i bought an issey miyake t-shirt stuffed into the head of a plastic figure in the marui men's kan on yasukuni avenue in tokyo a few years before he burst onto the art scene [i remember reading about him as a graphic designer for a brief moment]. it also came with a poster of a monster holding the character on a background of his signature eyeballs [that poster is framed and in my living room – i'd love to replace it with a real painting of his, but even when i went to gallery to try and buy one, they were all pre-sold!].

he truly is the andy warhol of my generation, so i was so happy to see these photos sent to me of mr. murakami wearing one of my creations bought at one of my favorite stores, ddc lab [locations in new york and los angeles, their site here].

caption: Takashi Murakami preparing for his 10/16/2008 appearance at Pratt University, where be was honored along with two other artists.

Styled by: Image Director: Alexander Allen.

if you are not in nyc or los angeles, watch worn is available here.

thank you alexander!

nooka in russia

yes, nooka is available in russia, and we are sighted on this photo-shoot in the october issue of ELLE magazine there.