All about Whole Love Kyoto

  • Made in Kyoto, Sold in Kyoto
  • The secret town, Kyoto
  • Everything old is new again
  • Design a product of what we have learned.
  • Pestering and pestering by asking for the impossible = deep communication
  • Archive
  • KYOTO T5
  • Store / Acsess

Made in Kyoto, Sold in Kyoto

The “Whole” in Whole Love Kyoto means the whole of a whole cake. It is round, large, and encompasses the love of Kyoto. In 2018, WLK's activities were brought into the limelight by Kyoto's spring festival “Miyako Odori” (dance of Geisha Maiko from Gion Koubu), which later became a brand and continues to this day. Because of these roots, many of WLK's customers are gei-maiko, which is why we cannot make a product that they would say, “This is not Kyoto”. We are trained to be strict every day. In Kyoto, the city where we are based, there are many souvenirs that sell only if they have “Kyoto” written on them. We are strongly motivated to rebel against this trend, so WLK makes and sells its products in Kyoto. We also want to share the value of products that can only be made in Kyoto, especially now that the same products can be made anywhere in Japan or the world.

The secret town, Kyoto

What you can only do in Kyoto is collaborate with craftsmen. Crazy traditional handicrafts remain here. For example, Kirigane (cut metal), lacquer, fans, tatami mats, hardware, Buddhist altars, dyehouses, textiles, foils... the list is endless, and such variety is unparalleled anywhere else in the world. Despite the disappearance of many specialty stores, many of them still remain in Kyoto. Such as, tea, paints, chopsticks, kelp, hairpins, needles, kimono, oil... the list is endless. We believe that all of this is one whole cake that has formed the image of Kyoto and will continue to attract people to Kyoto for a long time to come. This is the depth of the city that no matter how many times you eat the whole cake or how many times you visit, there is still so much you don't know about it.

Old is New

WLK's design process does not start with what we want to create. First, we meet people. We have to listen to the stories of specialty stores and craftsmen. From there, we both start thinking about what we can do together.
When something is sparked, it becomes a product. In the process of building up this process, WLK realized the phrase “Old is New”, which is now the slogan of the company.
A simple example is a “straw” . Japanese people have long eaten rice and used the straw to make everything from clothing such as sandals and minos (straw sandals) to foodstuffs such as natto (fermented soybeans), things to sit on and decorate, roofs, and even rice bales to carry rice.
When the sandals were no longer useful, people used to take them off and throw them on the road, where they were decomposed by microorganisms and returned to nature.
This is a very beautiful cycle that does not exist today. Everything Old is New.
This kind of wisdom and ingenuity can be found in every genre. That is why each conversation is always full of surprises, and I am always impressed by how little waste there is compared to what is sold on the market today.

Design a product of what we have learned.

Therefore, the essential essence of WLK's product design is “learning”. We want to bring to our customers what WLK has learned about wisdom, materials, techniques, ingenuity, and ideas that have been passed down from person to person throughout history, along with fashion. We believe that what surprised us and touched our hearts will surely reach people living in the same era. We are sometimes asked, “Aren't craftsmen opposed to something new like this?” There are some stubborn people, and sometimes we can't get anywhere on the phone. But,when we talk face to face, the majority of people are interested and willing to do it. It may not be possible to proceed without a face to face meeting. That is why we think our work is something that can only be done in Kyoto. We not only deliver through our products, but for customers who wish to be more direct, we offer craftsman studio tours and online workshops. This is a way to connect with Kyoto craftsmen online and share the time of making while being taught.

Pestering and pestering by asking for the impossible = deep communication

The heart of WLK's products is fieldwork, research, and meet. For this process, we work in collaboration with KYOTO T5 (Kyoto Traditional Culture Innovation Research Center), an institution within Kyoto University of Arts. Other collaborations with educational institutions include joint research and production with European art universities such as Royal College of Art (UK), HEAD Geneve (Switzerland), and BURG (Germany). Ironically, Europeans are more interested in traditional Japanese work. It is also very exciting to have them look at our work from an outside perspective and learn about values that WLK could not have realized on its own. And it has led to our products being exhibited and sold in stores and museums in Europe. All thanks to Kyoto, the secret whole cake. It is thanks to Kyoto's way of doing business and the support of the city's people that so many things in Kyoto remain today. Right now, WLK is only in a position to thank Kyoto, but eventually, we would like to be the one who Kyoto thanks for having WLK. To achieve this, we will step in and do more research, meet more and more people, make them laugh, annoy them, and pester them with new and difficult requests, And to deliver better products to our customers from Kyoto, that is our policy.

Archive

2017

-- April.

HANAO SHOES®️ exhibited and unveiled at the "Miyako Odori" (Kyoto). July: On sale at Fujii Daimaru (Kyoto). Collaborative bags with Ichizawa Shinzaburo Canvas announced. Sep: Pre-order event held at D&DEPARTMENT KYOTO. Oct: HANAO SHOES®️ chosen for costumes in Noda Hideki's "Tokyo Caravan" (starring Matsu Takako). Dec: First sale in Tokyo at BEAMS JAPAN.

2018

-- March.

Available at l'arabesque (Milano), LIBERTY (London), and SELFRIDGES (London). April: HANAO SHOES®️ available at "Miyako Odori" (Kyoto).

KYOTO TRADITIONAL CULTURE INNOVATION LABORATORY (KYOTO T5) launched at Kyoto University of the Arts.

Collaborating with WLK. May. Francis Ford Coppola/Film Director
Film director Sofia Coppola (Sofia Carmina Coppola) wears HANAO SHOES®️ at Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto and takes home a pair.

-- July.

Available at Tokyo Edo Week (Ueno). Aug. Available at JR Kyoto Isetan.

2019

-- April.

Exhibited at Milan Design Week (with cooperation from Kojima Shoten, Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine, and Able Co., Ltd.). Held a presentation and workshop at Apple Kyoto on innovation in Kyoto's traditional culture. June: Set up a small, continuous pop-up shop space at T-JOY KYOTO on the 5th floor of AEON MALL KYOTO Sakura Building.

-- Sep.

Exhibiting at MAISON & OBJET PARIS 2020.

-- Oct.

The series of initiatives undertaken by KYOTO T5 and WLK were recognized and the company was awarded the GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2019. In November, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (MAD Paris) held an exhibition entitled "Marche et démarche. Une histoire de la chaussure."
HANAO SHOES® will be exhibiting and selling at the "Exhibition of Walking and Shoe Design from the Middle Ages to the Present."


Participated in an exhibition that brought together local Kyoto items to coincide with the reopening of Kyoto Uniqlo. In December, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the "Otoko wa Tsurai yo" film series, a collaboration item between BEAMS, MOONSTAR, and Whole Love Kyoto, "Otoko wa Tsurai yo Geta Sneakers" was sold in limited quantities.

2020

-- April.

HANAO SHOES and TOCHU received the New York ADC Award 2020 MERIT.

-- Oct.

TOCHU won the GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2020. Available at Umeda Hankyu Department Store.


Whole Love Kyoto flagship store opens.

-- Nov.

On sale at PARCO Tokyu Hands Shinsaibashi.

-- Dec.

HANAO SHOES wins OMOTENASHI SELECTION 2020

2021

-- March.

After being exhibited at the "Cultural Affairs. Art without Borders" exhibition at the GRASSI Museum (Leipzig), it was added to the museum's collection. It is on sale at L'ARABESQUE (Milano).

--May.

"INODA COFFEE GRAPHICS", designed together with KYOTO T5, is on sale at Inoda Coffee (Kyoto).

-- Sep.

Opened a store at Kyoto Daimaru and announced HANAO SHOSE JAPAN.

-- Oct.

Kyoto 100th Anniversary Karuta wins GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2021.

-- Dec.

On sale at PASS THE BATON (Gion).

Cooperation with KYOTO T5

KYOTO T5 stands for “Kyoto Traditional Culture Innovation Laboratory” and is an organization run by Kyoto University of the Arts.
Whole Love Kyoto will work with KYOTO T5 to archive Kyoto's traditional culture and promote the innovative products it induces.

As you know, it is easy to “like” something, but when it comes to “buying” it, the hurdle is raised. This is the challenge facing traditional culture.

We believe that selling-buying is the strongest communication.
There is a “story” that begins with buying.
There is a “relationship” that begins with buying.

Whole Love Kyoto and KYOTO T5 are working together to increase the number of people involved in traditional culture in Kyoto.

We are also collaborating on the web, KYOTO T5 offers a lot of reading material.

KYOTO T5 →

Shop

40 Tanaka Higashitakahara-cho Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto-fu 606-8243 Japan

Google map

Opening Hours：11:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.

wlk@chimaski.jp

075-744-6152

Here you will be able to purchase all Whole Love Kyoto products, as well as see the atmosphere of the design studio and unpublished samples. Orders are also accepted.CHIMASKI jewelry is also available for purchase.