a brand of bags which look like they’ve escaped from the pages of a comic book will soon hit local stores after j style signed an australian exclusive distribution deal.
jump from paper was created by taiwan design duo chay su and rika lin who decided to try taking 2d illustrations into real bags.
j style discovered the brand while watching a japanese tv show featuring the latest products. the wholesaler decided to take them on because of their uniqueness.
“we’re always on the look out for new products that are different from anything else available here,” says jennifer idosaka, j style owner. “jump from paper really suits our whole philosophy on product choice because we like things that are either beautiful or fun, but also have a practical use.”
the products confused retailers at the recent melbourne gift fair because the cartoon look is so effective.
“at first people were not quite sure what to make of them. many people asked, ‘are they made from paper?’ and ‘what do you do with them?’ not thinking that they were real bags.
“once you look closely, you can see that while jump from paper looks like it jumped from the pages of a comic, it isn’t made from paper. the bags are made from durable polyester canvas, with pockets and zips, and padding and proper handles and adjustable straps if it’s a satchel style.”
everything distributed by j style until it took on jump from paper was from japan or japanese designers, however, this range does have a japanese connection.
“like most things japan, j style has two sides, the traditional japanese side and the quirky fun side. jump from paper slips right in with the quirky fun side and rika and chay have even said they are big fans of japanese manga and artists like shinzi katoh. it’s great to be able to stock jump from paper alongside designs by shinzi katoh that have influenced their work,” idosaka explains.
stock for the initial range is expected to arrive in australia shortly and four new designs are already in development.
