my work

Illustration for China Airlines x WenWen

I recently had a serendipitous opportunity to work on an illustration with China Airlines and Chef Eric Sze. Eric just released his first cookbook, titled TAIWANESE?, and his restaurant WenWen (Greenpoint, Brooklyn) collaborated with China Airlines to create an exclusive in-flight menu for flights from LAX or Ontario to Taoyuan Int'l Airport.
To celebrate the inaugural flight of the collab menu, China Airlines had copies of TAIWANESE? available for purchase at the gate. Each book came with this illustration as a small bookplate!

I'm still baffled that I get the opportunity to have my work affiliated with a major airline, let alone one that has carried me back and forth from home many times. It's always been my goal to have my work seen by a wider audience, and this commission feels like a tiny step towards that dream.

But most of all, I'm so grateful to have the thought and trust of an old friend, and the chance to contribute my skills to support their achievements. I've known Eric for a long time, and it's incredible to see that he's earned a reputable name in the restaurant world while still just being truly himself.

Out of the four concepts above, the team liked A but suggested we incorporate other characters (like in sketch C) to show a generational family. Great call.

Autumn goes too fast

After the blistering summer passes, I feel like time speeds up all of a sudden. I've been in overdrive this past month doing lots of things and being outside every weekend. Especially since Tokyo rained for 34 sad consecutive days in September! This is really the golden time

Naminami cocopuff

Last week marked one year since the passing of my cat, Nami. I adopted Nami when I was only 20, and through remembering her I also think back to some of my most formative years. I've been writing about and drawing her often, trying to keep those memories

Yearning for play

‘Man only plays when he is in the fullest sense of the word a human being, and he is only fully a human being when he plays.’ I read this article recently and have been thinking about it very much. It really hits me deeply at this specific time of

End of summer

Festivities make summers a little more bearable I've lived my whole life in hot places, but Tokyo summers are HOT. Every year, I feel like July and August are a blur either because I'm indoors a lot more or I'm constantly mildly heat stroked

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Autumn goes too fast

Naminami cocopuff

Yearning for play

End of summer