"BASE," an online shopping service, will be exhibiting at the art event "Aosando Art Fair" (October 24th to 27th). Eight shops using the site will exhibit and sell their products on a rotating daily basis. The venue is the H.P.FRANCE Planning Office (GB3F, 5-17-24 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo).

FASHION HEADLINE conducted email interviews with participating brands and shops. We will introduce them in relay format. This time, we will be introducing "HANTO," print accessories by Taichi Ito of Vectculture, who will be exhibiting on the 27th (Sunday).


--What is the concept of the brand?
HANTO is a brand that expands the possibilities of printmaking and printing with the concept of "together with the print." While printmaking is not something we are familiar with in everyday life, it is actually a surprisingly familiar medium, used in art classes and for making postcards. The "print" of a print has a wonderful appeal that is different from the printed work itself. HANTO's first product is "print accessories," which allow you to wear the texture and color of the print itself. We explore the unique appeal of prints, such as the contrast of uneven shapes and colors, the accidental ink rubbing that occurs when printing, and the fascinating reversal of the print and the image. Each piece is carefully hand-painted by the printmaker, making them nearly one-of-a-kind. --What inspired you to sell the items you sell? Listening to printmakers talk and looking at their works and prints, I realized that while the works themselves are certainly beautiful, there's also a tremendous appeal in the "prints" that don't usually see the light. When I wanted to somehow make this accessible to as many people as possible, I thought of accessories. I'm always conscious of and strive to reconstruct traditional techniques with modern technology and design. It would be wonderful if prints became so familiar and integrated into our lives that people would pick them up initially because they were "cute" or "lovely," only to later realize they were actually prints.

--Why did you choose BASE out of all the market sites available?
The appeal of BASE was that there was no limit to the number of products you could register and it was easy to create. The site design has been designed to eliminate as much information other than the products as possible.

--Finally, what do art, design, and fashion mean to you?
I think they are about raising issues, solving problems, and self-expression.