Almost Perfect Tokyo Podcast: Recent Episodes
Almost Perfect Tokyo
Almost Perfect is an artist residency in Tokyo where creatives come to stay, create and show their work. In this podcast we interview our residents when they start their residency with us, then again at the end of their stay to know about their works, processes and findings. Find out more about us at www.almostperfect.jp
An award-winning animation director Stu Livingston explores Tokyo.
Stu's website
other useful links from the conversation
Adrian Hogan
Fab Cafe
PechaKucha Night
An colorful and fun-loving illustrator Candy spends 4 weeks in Tokyo.
Candy's website
Food recommendations from the conversation:
Fakalo Pizza Gallery
Asada Soba
An English illustrator in Tokyo. Tommy Parker explores the crafts in his residency.
Tommy's website
Useful links from the conversation:
Kakimori (Stationary shop in the neighborhood)
Sekaido (Art supply department store)
Lemon Gasui (Supply shop for architects)
Sam Michell, an Mexican artist spent 3 weeks in Tokyo to get inspired and create.
Sam's website
Leaves Coffee (best coffee in the neighborhood according to the artist)
Coffee Hasegawa (the best coffee jelly (we found it!))
Pilar Cordoba, an embroidery artist from Mexico shares how she spent her 4-week residency in Tokyo.
Pilar's website
useful links appeared in the conversation:
Kojima Coffee
Rocky (Kissa cafe)
Kissa by Kissa - A book from Craig Mod
Nomura Shoten (Nice bar in the area)
Tokyo Pixel shop & gallery
A picture book artist Frenci Sanna shares her experience in the residency in Tokyo.
Frenci's website
Sabine Pick, a brilliant collage artist from Byron Bay, Australia did, saw, made so much in her 2-weeks stay at Almost Perfect.
Sabine's website
Other useful links of the things/person we talked about
Ooedo kotto ichi (antique market)
Studio Kotonoha (caligraphy)
Ella Sholtens
Experimental filmmakers Bill and Sabine spent a couple of weeks in Tokyo, busy exploring, getting inspired, and making a film without a camera.
Bill's instagram
Sabine's website
Useful links for experimental filmmakers in Tokyo
Place M
Imageforum
Yodobashi Camera
Tokyo Photo Museum
La Juteé
Listen to Kero's creative journey where he had his first solo exhibition in Tokyo using AR and many more tools.
Kero's instagram
also some printing tips in Tokyo
ACCEA (in JP)
711 multicopy printer (711 and other convenience stores have self printing services in Japan. )
Listen to artist Armando Mesías talking about planning and "non"planning of an artist in residence, and many more.
Armando's website
A filmmaker Robbert Doelwijt Jr. explores film and design as a way to create immersive experiences in Tokyo.
Robbert's website
The Ted Talk from Stephen Sagmeister "The power of time off"
Jenny Yu, an illustrator/background artist spent 2 weeks in Tokyo to explore the city and her creative career.
Jenny's website
Valeria Mata, a social anthropologist from Mexico spent 2 weeks in Tokyo researching "food gift culture" in Japan.
Valeria's website
Listen to Shuhua Xiong talks about the line between illustrators and artists, her love for sento (bath house) and art supply shops in Tokyo you can't miss.
Shuhua Xiong's website
Her residency fellow, Valeria Mata (researcher and social anthropologist) 's website
Art supply shops in Tokyo (some websites are only in Japanese. You can translate on browser.)
Sekaido
Tools
Lemon
Kat Cearns and us talking about balancing life/work and other things, but mostly about cats.
Kat's website
A sun of colors, Soleé came to Almost Perfect! She shares her experiences in Tokyo exploring the city but also her creative career.
Soleé Darrell's website
Miyuki Factory
Listen to the inspiring stories that Dan and Dushka have to tell to all the creatives.
Keywords: creative life and career, business vs creative, Japanese aviation history, artistic confidence, otaku (maniac) culture, and many more
Dan's website
Dushka's instagram
Their interview on State of Tokyo
Listen to Ella's story about her life, creative career and her adventures in Tokyo.
Ella's website
Camille Vallotton, aka Vamille, explored Tokyo and other cities in Japan following her passion for comic.
Do not miss her recommended restaurants in the Taito area too! (see below for links. You're welcome!)
Vamille's website
Other links of people/places we talked about
Joost Swarte
Ella Sholtens
Baluko (new laundromat in the hood)
Coffee Wrights (Great coffee.)
Axisss Tokyo (Cafe with great doughnuts run by a leather maker)
Crane Sandwich (Sandwiches and milkshakes)
Fakalo Pizza Gallery (THE best pizza)
elab(Vegan cafe)
Asada Soba(Our favourite soba / tempura place)
McLean Burger(If you crave burgers)
Izzy Burton, an award-winning director, illustrator, and an artist from Brighton, UK explored and worked in Tokyo to focus on her new story of "a food truck bear".
Izzy's website
Kristen, an independent curator and consultant spent one month in Tokyo to explore the topics her curiosity led to. Listen to her multi-tasking journey to renew her website "Say Hi To" while preparing the show "Urban Aquatica" at Almost Perfect.
Kristen's instagram
Other useful links from the conversation
Patio Workshop -woodwork
Showcase Tokyo -architectural tour
Kabuki -cafe near us
Tomihiro Kono -wigmaker
Cafe Terrace -another cafe near us
Mireia, an industry designer from Barcelona explores the world of "self-illuminating-objects" using Japanese washi papers in Tokyo.
Mireia's website
other useful links
Plus Minus Zero
Balmuda
Balmuda USA
Listen to what Anja Giese, an artist and graphic designer, had to say about tonic espresso, her fascination to electric cables and dedicating a month for a passion project.
Anja Giese
The book about Japanese color palette (Link to Amazon Japan)
Johnny Nghiem, a Berlin-based photographer and video director shares his ideas about art, cooking and creatives' lives.Johnny's websiteJohnny's residency fellow, Anja Giese's websiteThe infamous and beloved Ameyoko area
Wyatt Clough, a filmmaker from Canada did a research residency at Almost Perfect to make a documentary about artists in the city. He shares Japan border entry tips(as of November 2022) and his experiences in Tokyo.
Q. "What makes an artist an artist?"
Wyatt Clough
userul link:
My SOS
Diane Wang, a paper artist from San Francisco, US, had 3 weeks in Tokyo to wonder around the paper shops and experiment with her craft.
You can listen to her views about handling tech job at the same time with her analog art, her favorite paper shops, and some gluten free tips in Tokyo.
Useful links:
Her favorite paper shops
Ozu Washi
Matsuya (website in JP)
Itoya
Sekaido (website in JP)
Takeo
Matthew Forsythe
Imperial Palace Garden
Gluten free ramen restaurant Sora No Iro
Catherine Pearson is a Swiss illustrator who spent a month in Tokyo to create her show "Happy Hell", working together with some local artisans. She shares her experience and learnings for her creative career.
Catherine's website
People/places that we mention in the episode:
Fakalo Pizza Gallery (We call him "Napo-san" or "Pizza guy")
Grace Lee (Tokyo-based illustrator)
Patio Workshop (Woodwork. We call him Paco)
Katayanagi Embroidery (Enbroidery place near Almost Perfect)
ATELIER MATSUDAIRA (Gallery-quality printer)
Alexandria Hall is an illustrator and muralist from Tennessee, US. She spent a month away from her busy usual life in the summer of 2022 to create without pressure and expectation.
Alexandria's website
Paper tape brand MT Lab
Iris van den Akker, an illustrator and 2D animator from the Netherlands, spent 3 weeks at Almost Perfect residency in Tokyo in the summer of 2022. She shares her creative experience and a tip to make friends in a new city.
Iris's website
MOD in Ginza (article on TimeOut)
MUJI Hotel in Ginza
This is us:
Almost Perfect
We interview Sandra Golay and Alex Armand from Get It Studio, a creative duo from Switzerland. They came to Almost Perfect in the summer of 2022 to do a project about Nakagin Capsule Tower, a symbolic building of metabolism architecture movement.
Here they share the difference between client projects and personal projects, and a process to trust yourselves in creative career.
LINKS
Get It Studio website and Instagram
Nakagin Capsule Tower (Wikipedia)
Showcase Tokyo (Tokyo-based architectural tour guides)
Get It Studio PechaKucha presentation in Tokyo on Jun 13, 2022
Martyna Alexander is a painter from US, decided to spend 3 weeks at Almost Perfect creative residency in Tokyo to explore the city and her creativity. She shares her path, passion for sustainability and how to work in a community.
LINKS
Martyna's website and Instagram
"Go Lightly: How to travel without hurting the planet" by Nina Karnikowski
Our friend Paco's woodwork workshop Patio Workshop
