A CONVERSATION WITH VERDY — THE NEW ORDER /

With OTSUMO PLAZA, a new initiative from NIGO and Verdy, opening on November 4 in Tokyo we took the opportunity to sit down and talk to Verdy about the concept and the space.

Fist of all can you please discuss the concept of OTSUMO PLAZA?

There is a story behind the concept of the store, the company that runs HUMAN MADE is called OTSUMO. The origin of the name is that the flat where famous manga artists like Osamu Tezuka and Fujiko Fujio lived was called Tokiwa-so. It was a place where various artists and creators gathered, talked about all sorts of things and created all sorts of things. It was NIGO's wish to create a place like that in this day and age.

When HUMAN MADE's head office relocated, we gave form to this by creating a shard work space called OTSUMO in Nakameguro. Myself, Kosuke Kawamura and Tetsu Nishiyama of WTAPS alomg with NIGO all work out of this space. Having established a community of creatives in this space we thought it would be good to have a store to showcase and sell the works created there, this was the birth of OTSUMO PLAZA.

What does ‘OTSUMO’ mean?

It's a term used in sushi restaurants, where the numbers are called in different ways, starting with 1. NIGO-san which can also be read as the number 25 is referred to as ‘OTSUMO’ at a sushi restaurant. It's a bit like a secret word which I only learnt about recently.

So the main direction of the store is done by NIGO and yourself?

Yeah, thats right.

Is the intention to work with other artists and to have collaborations available in the store?

I think we will continue to sell my items and works, but sometimes we will have specials items by artists who are friends with NIGO. In the past NIGO through HUMAN MADE has done various collaborations with these artist’s, so we would like to make it a home for these special items at OTSUMO PLAZA. We want to create a retail experience that people will never get bored of, even if they come back time and time again.

What are the special products, for example?

I've asked OTSUMO to produce the WASTED YOUTH items I make. Usually we only sell online, but here you can see and buy directly in the shop. Online is important, but I think that in this day and age, it's becoming more and more rare for people to visit a a retail store and actually see and buy something.

How often will new items release in the store?

Every week, I will have a new item on the shelves every Saturday. Sometimes these will be my own items, sometimes they will be collaborations, sometimes they are the work of other artists.

Will you have an online store as well?

We will sell online, but items with OTSUMO PLAZA on them are sold exclusively at the store, so they will not be available online.

As for WASTED YOUTH, up until now how have you interacted with your clientele from a retail point of view?

Up until now I have only done pop ups. From now on, OTSUMO PLAZA will be our permanent store, so you can buy our products whenever we have them in stock.

What is special about Tokyo for you? What is the significance of setting up shop here?

I have long been influenced by the culture of Uru-Harajuku and I visit this space often when it was Hiroshi Fujiwara's thePool and NIKELAB, so just the fact that I can open a shop here makes it very meaningful and I am honoured to do something here.

Tell us about the design of your shop.

The design was centred on NIGO’s vision. It used to be common to clean the floor of a swimming pool and turn it into a shop, but NIGO wanted to reflect the old, unaltered atmosphere, so it's almost exactly as it was. It's my first retail store, so there are a lot of things I don't understand. NIGO was pivotal to the interior design.

The store has a real sense of a souvenir shop I feel. What kind of store are you aiming aiming to achieve for?

Items with the OTSUMO PLAZA logo will be released on an irregular basis and only in store, so we really want people to come back again and again.

When foreigners come to Japan and go shopping at the likes of DOVER STREET MARKET and KAPITAL, I really want OTSUMO PLAZA to be included in their shopping experience and I want many people from all over the world to come here. I would be happy if people buy a tote bag as a souvenir and the person who receives the bag comes to OTSUMO PLAZA when they come to Tokyo.