This weekend my friend and fellow colorist from Tokyo, Chiemi Akiyama, came to visit Minneapolis. It is always an adventure when she comes. We might spend our time together at favorite local boutiques, looking for color merchandising and new design innovations. When we aren’t on retail detail, we always take some time out to enjoy food–either in new local hot spots, or by cooking something at home.
This visit was also special as Chiemi brought two guests from Japan. The visitors were Reiko Kiyono and Akiko Kawamura from Tokyo. I quickly learned these women are very talented and creative. Not only are they successful graphic designers, working for world brands like Sony Music and Shiseido cosmetics, but they are also accomplished restaurant owners. It is a remarkable pairing of businesses, talents and passions.
Reiko and Akiko in Red Wing
Reiko and Akiko had just come from a retail excursion in New York City. They had come to Minneapolis with Chiemi to shop in some of the local organic produce markets. They were also on a hunt for unique plates and dishes to use as food styling props in their latest cookbook. It gave me the chance to take them down to one of my favorite haunts in Minnesota–the little hamlet of Red Wing, tucked in a bend of the Mississippi River, home of the famous Red Wing pottery and dinnerware.
With the growing interest in whole food cooking and organically grown produce, I was very eager to learn more about what they do. One evening I sat down to talk to these two fascinating women, who have been business partners for 12 years. We talked about the business of design and food, and how color is deeply relevant to what they do.
Reiko is the president of the venture. She was trained in oil painting and illustration, and later found work as a graphic designer. At one point during the weekend, I learned she had even been a DJ at a latin music club! Akiko is the Vice President. She completed her training a the School of Visual Arts in New York, and moved back to Tokyo in the 1990s to become a graphic designer and art director.
Erika: To me it is very interesting that you’re merged graphic design and food…How did you manage to combine these two vastly different industries into one successful business?
Reiko: I think many creative people today have found success by integrating their interests. Instead of focusing on just one skill or career path, we have combined our experiences and interest to offer our customers different services. Ours happens to be using our talent as graphic designers with our passion for food, restaurants and catering services. Our design background helped us build a strong brand for the restaurants.
EW: I’m seeing this happen here as well…often we have graphic designers develop identity programs and interiors for restaurants, but they do not often design the menu as well! How did you get started on your current path?
Reiko: It is a tale that has some turns! After working at Sony for several years, I became tired of doing corporate design and was looking for something different. I knew that if I continued doing corporate work, I would lose interest in design, so I had to either try something else or get out altogether. I actually thought about going out and becoming a professional snowboarder!
Akiko: I was looking for work after I returned from New York, and found a job at Sony. Reiko and I became friends because we lived near each other and worked for the same company.
Reiko: It was important for me to meet someone like Akiko. Because she was so new to the business, and so full of passion for what she did, I was very inspired by her. So we started the agency called Double Ow Eight. The number 8 is the symbol for infinity, and in the Kanji text, it is the shape of Mount Fuji which is very lucky.
EW: Who is Double Ow Eight’s customer?
Akiko: Clientele range from the large Sony Music to Shiseido cosmetics to smaller accounts like Chiemi’s Colorworks company. It is nice for us to have a mix of large and small clients.
Reiko went on to explain the first joint venture the team endeavored upon was to work for licensing on Congo sportswear from London. They were asked to develop everything from new clothing to stationery. They tried to introduce more interesting, vivid and bold colors to the line of conservative sports wear products. An important discovery here was that vivid colors didn’t necessarily sell more clothing. It did teach them how to use color to create a more inviting and exciting atmosphere in retail areas.
Their second endeavor was designing a line of glass ware. They hired local craftsmen to hand-make glass pieces in Japan. A famous buyer from the Takashimaya department store ordered their entire line for the New York City store’s Christmas gift department. The primary colors were clear glass with white and red accents. The pieces were so popular, they even hand-carried product from Japan to New York in backpacks to make sure the store had enough stock! When the endeavor became time-consuming and production became difficult due to labor issues, they dynamic duo took their business in a different direction.
Reiko: In January of 2000, we decided to make a film!
EW: A film? You mean a full length movie?
Akiko: Yes, it was 50 minutes long!
EW: I’m sitting here talking to movie makers, too? Is there anything you two don’t do!? What made you decide to make a movie, and how long did it take?
Reiko: We didn’t have much money, so it only took a week to shoot. Then it took another three months to edit and produce the final cut. The whole movie is done in English with Japanese subtitles! The musican who did the soundtrack for the movie organized the first showing of the movie at a club. Later, we took the film on a city tour: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Okinawa, Kobe… I decided to become a vegan at that time because working was so hard on my body! I had to do something to help myself feel better.
EW: I want to see this movie!
Not long after the movie wrapped, they were approached by a furniture store owner who had just bought a building in the affluent Aoyama shopping area of Tokyo. His goal was to open a modern furniture store called Time and Style, and he wanted a cafe in the building. She jumped at the chance, because this would allow another way for her to be creative. Reiko said she told the owner she would run the cafe if they served vegan food.
Akiko: In October 2000, we opened the first Cafe 8 restaurant. We did not advertise that it was an all vegan menu because we didn’t want people to judge. We wanted everyone to come and have a good impression of the vegan food, interior and atmosphere of the place.
Akiko shows a sign
Reiko: Right away, people noticed this was not your average new restaurant in Tokyo. It was very different, and not just because of the menu! The walls change color every season, and changes the temperature of the space. From light blue in the summer, to red wine in the winter, the shade varies a little each year. We met Chiemi a few years later and launched the Wonderful Wall Exhibition. Cafe 8 became a place that promoted many events that celebrated art, music, lifestyle and food. Cafe 8 was a media in itself that could change to make any statement we liked.
Akiko: In 2003, Aveda opened a store in the Aoyama district. They asked us if we would like to open a cafe in their salon. It would be another vegan restaurant, only this one would be more casual in style. It is called the Pure Cafe.
Reiko: Our vision here was to have a black, white and silver interior–it contrasted with the natural tones Aveda uses for its brand and product packaging. We feel it appeals to a broader audience, not just women, and not just men! The food is also different here. It is quick food, done slow and organic, but still fast food like sandwiches.
Akiko: In 2004, we decided to close the first Cafe 8 restaurant. It was too close to the Pure Cafe, and the rent was very high there. We had to move the shop to a different location.
Reiko: So in 2005, we had no shop. All of our food business was done on the web.
EW: You did a catering business?
Reiko: Yes. Our menu and store was all done online. Then in 2006, the new Cafe 8 opened in Aobadai, near Shibuya in the center of Tokyo. It is a quieter neighborhood, and the pace is slower. The new Cafe 8 is more an everyday diner.
EW: Who is a customer at Cafe 8?
Reiko: Everyone! Some people come every day and order the same thing! The prices are lower than they were at the store in high-rent Aoyama. There is a deli corner also. We still do catering. (Here she looks at Chiemi) And Chiemi is one of our catering customers!
We did a special event last year and this year, for the Green Room Festival in Tokyo (the “green room” being surfer speak for the tunnel a giant wave makes as it falls). It is a surfers convention, and we were asked to run a vegan food stand. Our booth was green and white, to promote our green and healthy food!
Akiko: We have two vegan cook books. The first is a beginner cook book, the second is a little more advanced. The third book, coming out later this year, will focus on desserts.
EW: You’re making me hungy! I would love to go to Tokyo and visit Cafe 8. (I was lucky enough to enjoy some of the delicious Yoga cookies they make at the cafe).
The next day part of my wish came true: The four of us went to the local co-op and bought a basket of fresh organic produce to make a vegan feast. Reiko put on her chef’s hat and put my little kitchen in Minneapolis through its paces. In no time, I watched and took notes as she whipped up three vegetarian meals: stir-friend broccoli tofu with spring onions, portabello mushroom with tomato in turmeric seasoning, and acorn squash in a peanut butter and maple syrup sauce. I can’t tell you how delicious it all was! And not to mention colorful, too–a true feast for the eyes!
Reiko is right at home in the kitchen
The visit with Chiemi, Reiko and Akiko ended with them telling me they had forgotten about their recent jaunt in New York by visiting Minneapolis for a few days. It was the highest compliment these three styling ladies from Tokyo could have paid me!
The next time you’re in Tokyo and are looking for something unique to eat: here’s your chance. I guarantee you won’t find another place more authentically hip, healthy and cool on the planet.
