ARTIST NO.32 NORI OKAWA

“What’s your favourite piece you’ve ever created?” A standard question we ask most of our bag artists. It usually elicits some fun stories — art born from a rogue night out, a breakthrough illustration, or something that involves an extremely arduous process. But Nori Okawa, the artist behind this bag, couldn’t name just one. Tucked away in her studio, in the backstreets of Ryogoku, a hop and a skip away from our Roastworks, Nori tells us “It’s always the one I’m currently working on.” Focusing on the now, is a common theme throughout her art. Nori’s work is inspired by ‘Ukiyo-e’ or “floating world,” a form of Japanese art popularised during the Edo period. Nori reimagines traditional Japanese art through a contemporary lens using inorganic shapes and extreme details, viewing this world as a floating one.And if you should ever have the delight of meeting Nori, it's a sentiment that she radiates herself. After serendipitously stumbling into her studio (we'd spied some art we'd seen and loved around Tokyo through the front window) we soon realised she was also a regular of Single O - often sipping the Barista’s filter recommendation at our Ryogoku Roastworks Cafe, chatting through the tasting notes (preference: light n fruity). Just as we’d followed our nose to her, she’d followed her nose to us. A big thanks to Nori for the art and the answer. We might even borrow it the next time someone asks ‘What’s your favourite coffee?”