News & Features
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Cross World Connections
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Featuring up-to-date News and Features.
Each year brings new energy to the world, and this is not an exception. 2021 is the year of the cow in the Eastern Zodiac. It's customary to bring a charm or artwork of the animal of the year as a blessing and talisman for good luck. Homes throughout Japan will have cow charms and artwork to bring this auspicious vibration. The year of the cow will fortify us with patience and strength to move forward as a society.
There may still be challenges in the coming year, but the spirit of the cow will lead the way! The artwork below is just a small example of what's available at the store! Click HERE to shop now!
Click here to visit the CWC Gallery & Shop!Christmas is just around the corner!
Afternoon Tea and Berry Aktuglu bring to you a spacey holiday illustration!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
The CWC Reflects series looks back on the 30 year legacy of our agency as told through the voice of our CEO and Founder, Junko Wong.February 4, 2021 marks the thirtieth anniversary of CWC. It’s hard to believe — the years have sped by! A new generation of young and energetic agents are taking the helm and piloting the good ship Cross World Connections on new journeys into exciting territories. I have been looking back through old fliers and photos of those early years, reflecting on the legacy of our agency. I wanted to share some stories from our creative life.
1. What is your morning routine?
I start my day by answering emails over breakfast, then I do some yoga, walk my dog, and cross my backyard to my home studio
2. Where do you like to work?
I love working in my studio
3. What are your favorite materials?
Acrylic gouache and bristol paper
4. What are your favorite subjects to draw?
Women, fashion, and plants
5. Who are your favorite artists?
Kerry James Marshall, Alexander Girard, Corita Kent, Alexander Calder, Jules de Balincourt, Ruth Asawa, Norman Gilbert, Andy Warhol, Jonas Wood, Elizabeth Peyton, Henri Matisse
6. If you could see how one artist works from beginning to end, who would it be?
Corita Kent
7. If you were to make a 10 piece series, what would it be about?
Cacti. I'm working on it now!
8. What book have you read recently, or what is your favorite book?
I've recently read Eve's Hollywood by Eve Babitz and Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde and would recommend both.
9. What sort of music do you like?
Lately, I've enjoyed listening to different types of Jazz, like Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, and Mulatu Astatke.
10. When you meet another creative, what are you most interested by in them?
Their process.
11. If you were to collaborate with another artist living or dead, who would it be and what would you do with them?
I would love to collaborate with a designer like Miuccia Prada on a collection.
12. If you could live in any era when would it be?
The 1960s for the music, fashion, and art
13. If you could move anywhere and live comfortably/freely where would it be?
Scandinavia
14. What do you do when you have to be home with nothing to do?
Puzzles
15. What is one thing you want to do this year?
Vote our president out of office
16. If you had unlimited resources, what would you create?
My own lifestyle brand of clothing, accessories, furniture, and home goods, all made in an ecologically responsible way.
17. What is your favorite drink?
Hot tea
18. What are some new skills you would like to learn?
I would love to get better at animating my illustrations but haven't wanted to put in the learning time in front of my computer.
19. What is your favorite palette, please name at least 3 colors.
Chartreuse green, light pink, and terra cotta
20. What is your favorite movie?
Harold and Maude
21. What time of day are you most able to concentrate?
It depends on the day, but usually In the afternoon, after lunch.
22. Do you have a favorite distraction?
My dog, Mushroom.
23. How do you unwind?
I cook dinner at the end of the day.
Since October 5th, a series of Disney themed Halloween goods has been released! All illustrations by tomoto.
Get party goods and more at the 3COINS near you!
For our third Artist Q&A series, we asked Genie Liang some questions about some of her work habits!
Coffee to sip on, sketchbook drawing, emails. Then add milk to the same cup of coffee after lunch.
2. Where do you like to work?
I work from home, but I like to go out to try new environments to work from.
3. What are your favorite materials?
Pilot Kakuno pen I have 4 now, it’s a nice simple pen.
4. Who or what is your biggest muse?
Time & love.
5. What are your favorite subjects to draw?
People in motion, futurist ideas, and scenes with calming compositions.
6. Who are your favorite artists?
MIQ, Little Thunder, Milkbbi, Joyce, Yue, Chloma, Bahi JD, Ehiorobo, Mushbuh, Punimelt, Freddy Carrasco, Minipete, Juli Majer, A Bluer Don Juan, James Jean, Ikegami Yoriyuki, Yoshitaka Amano, Fumiko Takano, Eizin Suzuki, Iris Van Herpen, and more.
7. If you could see how one artist works from beginning to end, who would it be?
Junya Suzuki of Chloma. I’d love to see the concept to execution of their clothing ideas.
8. How do you get over a creative hump?
Turn off my phone, close my laptop. Drink something hot, go for a walk. Repeat daily for 1-2 weeks.
9. What other art forms would you like to try, or already do, and why?
Ceramics, Glass blowing and fashion design. I like how textures and color combinations are the main components in these art forms. I draw mostly figurative works, so these are very abstract to me.
10. What sort of music do you like?
A mix of things. I like exploring and listening to things without context. My favorite genres are ambient, dream pop/shoegaze, house, bossa nova, post-rock. And occasionally classical composers like Claude Debussy or Erik Satie and film composers like Joe Hisaishi and Susumu Hirasawa.
11. If you were to collaborate with another artist living or dead, who would it be and what would you do with them?
Wednesday Campanella - an animated music video.
12. What is your ideal vacation?
A journey to a different city every couple of days, learning about what to eat… then eating it. And sleeping.
13. What is one thing you want to do this year?
I want to finish my next book. I’ve been working on it this year and it would be a great wrap up of this chapter.
14. What are three things you want to do within the next 5 years?
Publish more books and comics, grow my studio / online shop, get a pet snail.
15. What is your favorite drink?
Coconut boba milk tea, no sugar.
16. If you were to teach a class, what would it be?
Figure gesture drawing.
17. What are some new skills you would like to learn?
I’d like to learn 3D.
18. What is your favorite palette, please name at least 3 colors.
Pale lilac, sky blue, yellow.
19. What is your favorite movie?
Whisper of the Heart.
20. How do you unwind?
Lay on the ground and listen to music.
21. What is one word of advice you would give yourself 10 years ago?
Follow your heart and don’t be afraid. Every drawing is another small step. Be unwavering in your goals and keep walking steadily. -also, in hindsight, don’t throw away your sketchbooks!
22. What is one thing about yourself that you hope won't change?
I hope I’ll always try new things!
Bandai Namco and Fangamer has reached out to Mushbuh to create this vibrant Katamari Damacy poster, featuring everyone's favorite Prince of the Cosmos and a few of his cousins!
You can practically hear Katamari On The Swing emanating from this beautiful Fangamer exclusive.
Pick yours up today by clicking THIS LINK!
Château Beychevelle has given François Avril carte blanche to design it’s interior. For one summer, the artist offers visitors a graphic walk through the ancestral spaces of the estate. François Avril sees the world differently and presents it in a simple and refined form. He offers us a utopia of cities, landscapes and reveals, through the filter of his memory, imaginary places. Avril does not seek the representation of the real, but the unique Truth which composes it, the essence of what he observes, taking it into the abstract world. From the vat room to the cellars, François Avril approaches his favorite themes by taking inspiration from the formal and natural repertoire that surrounds the prestigious Beychevelle vineyard. It draws from its interior territories to offer visitors a poetic and renewed vision of the landscape, space and composition. The spectator is invited to dive into the artist’s universe while passing from one space to another of the castle. The vat room will host a monumental installation made up of three graphic canvases. The centuries-old stone walls of the cellars will reveal two large frescoes of landscapes, while the tasting areas will offer original paintings and drawings.
TIOVITA totebags by masaki ryo is now available at the drug store in Japan!
Yuri Shimojo illustrated for Cuisine Kingdom magazine June/July issue.
A beautiful Mother's Day card by Chico Hayasaki.
Stina Persson collaborated with EPOCA for 2020 Spring Sumer collection. EPOCA created beautiful dresses and T-shirt using her illustrations. They are available at the store right now!
Lisa Grue's iconic sunshine illsutration was used for Toyota Homes new housing in Higashiura.
Marcus Oakley illustrated yearly visual for Osaka Gakuin University.
Chico Hayasaki collaborated with amenimo.
Jeffrey Fulvimari illustrated for CREER cleansing water.
Samantha Hahn collaborated with Afternoon Tea for their summer collection.
We are partially working remotely for the foreseeable future.
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[Contact]
Agent Team, Crossworld Connections, Inc.
contact@cwctokyo.com