What's going on at Kakuto // JANuary 2024

JANUARY  4, 2024

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Hey everyone!

 

It’s been a hot minute since we did an update on what we’re doing with Kakuto so there’s no better time to start with more consistent updates than the new year. 

Who are you again? 

For those who don’t know (which may be many), the Kakuto team consists of two people. We’ve heard some say they thought Kakuto was run by a couple of dudes that seem to like Japanese stuff and grappling, but alas, we’re not quite that exciting. We’re just a couple of new parents making stuff we think is cool while trying to fit in some BJJ and gym sessions amongst the bustle of everyday life. 

 

Alex, who you would have seen in a lot of our product shots for apparel, is the designer making our visions come to life for both Kakuto Culture and Kakuto Studios. And I (Jaz) look after the marketing and operation side of things. We’ve had Kakuto Culture as a side business for a couple of years now, just idling in the background, but this year we’re focusing on ramping everything up and taking Kakuto to the next level. Watch out guys and gals, there’s some great stuff coming in 2024. 

2023 recap

Last year, we continued to focus on our Kakuto Finger Tape and sponsored our first athlete - Tye Collier - who absolutely dominated in the Purple belt competition circuit. He even managed to cinch the number one spot in the AFBJJ Adult Male Gi Purple belt ranking for 2023. Weapon doesn’t describe this dude aptly. To top off an epic year, he also recieved his brown belt this past November, so it goes to prove no good deed goes unpunished. Congrats Tye! 

 

Alex also completed some awesome custom artwork for club merch and a new series of club ranked rash guards. We’re still waiting to see the physical rash guard stock but I know they’re going to look dope, because, well, Alex did them so of course they will be. He also designed some 1/1 skateboards under the Kakuto Studios banner which turned out amazing and even has a couple up to sale right now, but more on that later. I’m super proud of all the progress he’s made in the past year with stepping out of his comfort zone with design jobs and proving me right that he’s an amazing artist who’s only just getting started. 

 

In personal news, we added the third Kakuto team member to the roster with the birth of our daughter Amelia in September. Understandably, Kakuto had to take a backseat for a few months while we go used to this new parenting gig but we’re now back on board 100% and ready to create more than ever under the Kakuto umbrella. 

Gees, tell us the interesting stuff already 

Enough rambling, here’s the juicy deets on what’s in progress right now.


New sticker packs 


You may have already seen our latest sticker pack drops on Instagram or via our Kakuto Kazoku emails, if you haven’t, where have you been man?! The MASKS + PEONIES sticker pack has become a favourite of customers already. It was designed to support the style of the new ‘Warrior in a garden’ rashie consisting of three Japanese masks (Tengu, Hanya and Kitsune) and three peonies (framed peony, peony in a jar and peony fan). 


The second sticker pack released under Kakuto Studios is the ENOKI CLAN sticker pack and I have to say, this one is my personal favourite to date. Alex took inspiration from our love of mushroom and Chibi art. These cute original characters are martial arts masters and although formidable, they’re darn adorable. Since Kakuto Studios was built as a creative outlet for Alex to stretch his creative legs, not limited to martial arts influenced pieces it will be mostly Japanese style art (unless Alex has a hankering to produce something different) so you can expect more pieces like this to drop in the year to come.


New Rashie drop 


Alright, we know what you follow our brand for. It’s probably grappling gear like rash guards and finger tape. So we have good news, no, great news actually. 2024 will have more rash guard drops than we’ve ever produced.


Since dreaming up and launching Kakuto Culture as Kakuto Grappling Culture waaaaaay back in 2020 (yes, Kakuto is a pandemic baby) we’ve only dropped one rashie - The Kitsune Rashie. One rashie? That’s it? Lame, I know. But we’re on a roll and have our long awaited second rashie in our hot little hands right now. As we speak, we’re QAing each piece to make sure it’s up to standard and once that’s done, we’ll have final numbers available for purchase. Kakuto Kazoku (Kazoku meaning family) email subscribers get first dibs on sizes since we’re doing a limited run of each rashie design moving forward. 


The rash guard itself is named ‘Warrior in a garden’, inspired by the quote “It’s better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war” (facts) and also by the birth of our first daughter Amelia. Featuring an original framed peony back piece, customised Kakuto Culture Kamon (crest) with intertwining Sakura (cherry blossoms) chest piece, Kakuto Studios Kamon and project specific Peony Kamon on either arm, this black and white rashie is a head turner. It took us a while to agree on the main back piece design, although we knew it was always going to be a Peony, it was a question of which one. 

 

Fun fact: Alex developed and subsequently dropped about four different designs across multiple months before landing on this one. Waiting until we fell in love with this piece was definitely worth the wait. 


As usual, we’ve designed custom packaging for this rashie too. Our normal process for packaging design is for myself to come up with the concept and prototype, then Alex finesses it in the final design draw up and this project was no exception. Together, we teased out the finer details for the box, changed a few things from the prototype and Alex went on to make the final design sexy. Again, like with all Kakuto projects to date, Alex hand-printed the packaging which looks sick (if I do say so myself). Each rashie will be wrapped in a hand-printed and sewn wave belt which I am currently working to completed this week with any luck. Lastly, this project also includes a limited edition black and white peony sticker and Kakuto Studio Kamon sticker which only ‘Warrior in a garden’ rashie purchasers will receive.  
 

Pre-order goes live for Kakuto Kazoku email subscribers on Thursday 11 January 2024 via email only, make sure you’re subscribed to grab your size before it’s gone. Pre-sale closes on Monday 15 January and then the stock left after pre-sale goes live to the general public from Tuesday 16 onwards. 

Kakuto Studios work 

The design arm of Kakuto is in full swing this year and we’ve kicked off 2024 with two original one of one hand-drawn skateboard decks. HANYA & PEONIES and SAMURAI DUEL are original pieces drawn by Alex. Using Acrylic paint to create the final look, along with matte finish clear coat, these pieces are Japanese inspired and are sure to be loved by true Japanese art fans. Whether mounted on a wall, skateboard bracket or any other creative way you can think of displaying them, they’ll make impressive additions to any art collection. 


As of publishing, both pieces are available. Check them out here: 

 

HANYA & PEONIES SKATEBOARD DECK 1/1  *SOLD*

SAMURAI DUEL SKATEBOARD DECK 1/1 *SOLD*

More art pieces will be released this year. The goal  is to create Japanese flags via screen printing and although these won’t be one of one editions, they’ll still be limited and completely hand assembled from the print, to the sewing finishes and packaging. 
 

Follow Kakuto Studios on Instagram (@kakutostudios) for sneak peeks and updates on new releases. 

up next...

There are plenty of projects in the works right now. We’ve decided on the next two rashie designs so Alex is currently working through the details get those off to our supplier for first rounds of samples in the next month or so. 
 

Although we’re not certain on the specific launch dates just yet, we’ll also be creating two new brands under the Kakuto umbrella within the grappling/martial arts space. We aren’t quite ready to share details, but by next month’s update hopefully we can. I (Jaz) will primarily focus on these two brands but as with everything, all Kakuto ventures are a team effort, so Alex will be heavily involved from a design perspective and various other aspects. More brands, means more content and meeting more people in the grappling community which we’re both stoked for. 
 

There’ll be lots more social media updates this year so you’ll see our progress in each project there. In the meantime, we’ll keep chipping away at the many projects underway while continuing to balance life as new parents and while Alex is still working a day job full time until Kakuto can become our 100% daily grind. 
 

Until next month homies, 
 

Jaz + Alex (+ Amelia)

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