Shop address: mumbreeze.etsy.com
Tell me a little about yourself ... We are husband and wife team. Kinya, the husband is also known as Mumbleboy is somewhat known for his Flash animation work. Kao has background in Japanese comics. We have been making more hand made artwork like the paper mache animals the last few years.
What are your favourite materials?
paper, paint, ink, paper clay, rice paper, fabric
also we use material that otherwise might be regarded as trash. Things like plastic containers, styrofoam, plastic bags, etc. These kinds of material is actually good because they don't decay and are quite strong to use as skeleton for paper mache. They would otherwise go to the landfill and may cause harm to the environment, so it's one way to intercept that and make use of the material.
What inspired you to do this?
We have both been creative for a long time in one way or another, so I think mostly we do it because we enjoy it.
Do you remember the first thing you made? What was it?
We've both gone through different phases of making things. For a long time, I was making things mostly on the computer. I still do a little, but before I got into that, I was studying painting in school and one day, I passed by a fabric store on the way home and decided to go in, I bought a piece of fake fur and then I made like an abstract figure with it. I started making more and more weird figures with fabric after that. I think it was a sort of diversion as I must have been frustrated with the conservative ways of painting. I am not as well known for them, but I think I was one of the first people to make the sort of plush figures that seems everywhere now. At least, I made them without any knowledge of other people doing similar stuff.
What's new and exciting in your store?
We've started a new line of paper mache called "P.I.Y. paper mache". P.I.Y. stands for Paint It Yourself. It's basically an unpainted version of our paper mache figures. While it may seem like we're just being lazy, but I wanted other people to experience the fun process of painting these figures and also I am curious to see how other people would paint or draw on them.
What is your favourite item? And why?
It's actually not a listed item in the store, but one that we could make as a custom order. We've made some custom paper mache figures as displays for stores. One that is our favorite is the one we made for the HaNNa shop in Harajuku, Tokyo. It's an Owl figure with the logo that says HaNNa. It was very challenging to make, but also a rewarding experience. We would love to make more figures like that.
Why should people buy handmade? I think even beyond things that are sold on Etsy, it's a good idea to buy handmade things. We live in a world where it's normal to buy mass manufactured goods that are produced in far away places and there is no connection between the producer and the consumer.
Aside from environmental impacts that these practices make, there are lots of reasons to buy handmade. I was thinking about buying new shoes recently and thought about what kind of shoes I want. We're very used to buying mass produced shoes that only lasts a few years at most and then we throw away, but shoes used to be all hand made and were repairable, so I thought that I would want to get those kinds of shoes if it was possible.
I think both on the side of the maker and the person who buys it, there is much more connection to the product. The maker will put more pride into the work and the buyer will likely take better care of it too. So, I think buying handmade things restore a bit of humanity in this age of crazy global consumerism.
What is the importance of being eco conscious for you and your store?
It isn't our primary focus to be eco conscious, but I think what we make (maybe it's not obvious, but) are inspired by nature and its patterns, so we do not want to do anything to harm our environment. We try to do things in eco conscious ways with our Etsy shop, but with the way we live as well.
Anthing else?
we will have a gallery of the P.I.Y. paper mache figures done by other artists very soon! check it out!
Speaking of P.I.Y., (P.I.Y. stands for Paint It Yourself. It's basically an unpainted version of our paper mache figures) we're thinking of doing a volume discount with the P.I.Y. figures. Maybe people could have P.I.Y. parties or something!
We (.tomate d'épingles.) think that that is a FABULOUS idea!
