Once Upon A Time in Kobe

I attended an event in Kobe called “Once Upon A Time in Kobe.” The star of the event was my new friend, Sheyen. He was born in Japan but has been living in San Francisco for the past six years, doing architecture and lots of other things, including helping to start a skateboard company called Cycle Skateboards. He brought a bunch of their handmade decks back to Japan to exhibit and sell some of them in Japan.

I was there to help my friend, Merv, with the Okayama Denim Project. Merv started the project after the earthquake/tsunami this year. He had denim bracelets made in the neighboring prefecture, Okayama, and all proceeds go to Red Cross Japan to help with the victims in Tohoku. I’ve been helping Merv with a new business venture that is almost ready to launch, so there should be some info about that in the near future.

The event also had some other artistic products on display and there were free yoga classes held on the last day. Everything took place at Sheyen’s family’s house, which also doubles as Francine’s English School. I got to watch Francine, Sheyen’s mom, teach an English class to some elementary school students, and she’s really an amazing teacher!