J:    What is your educational background and how did you get involved with apparel? T:    I never took any technical courses. I naturally got involved in this industry in the same way a river flows. J:    Starting your own business – other than getting employed with a company – is a big (and risky) step. At what point did you know that you could manage yourself? Did you have any worries not to succeed? T:    WTAPS is my own brand and it is a company affiliated with NEIGHBORHOOD. I have always been involved from the beginning but I do not take care of the management side of things. J:    When you first started, who were the people supporting you and what kind of support did these people give you (ideas, help with manufacturing, etc.)? T:    A new culture in Harajuku was born when I first started up my line. We tried doing new things within our circle of friends through trial and error. J:    Putting together a collection for the first time is a huge undertaking. What was the biggest difficulty for you when starting out? What was the easiest /most fun? T:    Not at all. I was still enjoying myself even though everything was so hectic around me. I was also a lot younger ... (Laughter) At this point it's much harder because I'm now capable of thinking about certain things as I have had a lot more experience. To set up my brand's identity and keep trying to maintain it. This way all of my staff have the same purpose and idea which never gets lost. It leads to a higher quality product and I think you can get a sense of our identity through the products that we produce.
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