Sumire Taya 
KLOKA is a creative studio based in Tokyo that designs and produces graphics, spaces, and products. KLOKA, which has collaborated with numerous artists to date, is producing key rings for “TOKION” that combine an assortment of motifs like the beckoning cat, Mount Fuji, Daruma dolls, calabash gourds, pine trees, and other items that have served as lucky charms in Japan since long ago, as well as the Tokyo Tower that serves as a symbol of Tokyo. The key rings, which appear to bring good luck and fortune, are items that people always keep on them as lucky talismans.
We asked three creators who have constantly continued to take on challenges in a creative manner to tell us about episode of their “My Lucky Item.”
Jewelries from the “NEW TOP Jewelry” by the stylist Lisa Kato, who has gained popularity for her “alternative girly” worldview
My lucky items are the pieces of gold jewelry that I collect whenever I travel to New York. New York is a city I’ve always had a longing for, and the first time I went was when I took a month off from work. It was then I encountered the “NEW TOP Jewelry” shop. Their jewelries are absolutely adorable, and I buy it with a sense that it is a reward in that I get to come and buy more jewelry after putting in a ton of work mixed with a sense of aspiration. I’m at the point where I can travel to New York frequently (up to twice a month when things are going well!), and every time I go the jewelry I own steadily piles up and up. I was delighted by the fact that Jen, the owner, who is a stylist who is knowledgeable about New York (who has even go so far as to give me photos taken in New York and write out guide information to the city!), has told me that she’s seen an incredible increase in Japanese customers. She has even decorated the inside of her shop with my photo among the numerous photos of celebrities in the store.
The “Montblanc” ballpoint pen that supports the creative endeavors of Hiroyuki Fushitani, who continues to spread the words on Tokyo’s culture
This “Montblanc” ballpoint pen. I’ve been using it for about 15 years now. It was given to me when I became the President of Tower Records, and has become one of my long-term associates, so to speak. I didn’t much care about stationary and small accessories because I lose them quickly, but while the thought has occurred to me that I’ve lost this pen, even though I don’t treat it with any special reverence I don’t seem to be able to sever my connection with it. It’s been the partner I’ve used to write down ideas and drafts of plans, as well as to sign important contracts, from my Tower Record days through to my Napster and Time Out Tokyo days.
The “Minnoshima-ese” letters of Lang Lee, a multi-instrumental artist from South Korea
In February 2020, I went to perform my first ever live event in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture. On that occasion, I met Taruho, the son of the local organizer who sent the letter, and we instantly became friends. He dreamed up the imaginary country of Minoshima, and had even gone so far as to create a language for this country. This letter was written in this Minoshima-ese, which came to be our own top-secret language that we would only use between the two of us. We are currently in an age where people can easily communicate back and forth by email and LINE. Not to mention that now with the novel coronavirus, sending letters back and forth by air mail is slow and can take up to a month to arrive. Yet despite this I find it immensely enjoyable, and they have come to be important lucky charms for me.
Edit & Photography Sumire Taya
