Meet the creators behind clothing brand Japangeles
LOS ANGELES - Urban clothing brand Japangeles is all about identity and pride. Like the name suggests, it’s part Japan, part Los Angeles and 100% about community.
"I always wanted to create something that expressed my culture and identity and represent the city I'm from," said creator Roy Kuroyanagi.
He started the brand 14 years ago.
The original symbol was an overlay of the Japanese characters nihon- or Japan, and LA, but it took time for Roy's idea to take off.
"We first started as a kiosk in Japanese Village Plaza, cold nights, standing out there, with no sales. Every day I came to work and would do it for the community, do it for people, wanted to show the world Japangeles," he told FOX 11’s Sandra Endo.
"I barely graduated from high school, I was hustling, she was pregnant, I was trying to sell shirts, sometimes I wanted to give up. The community is what made me strong."
And community is what kept him going... support from not only Japanese Americans - but anyone who could identify with two cultures and who loved hip streetwear.
"It hits a core, not just an American, they too are a hybrid of cultures. Never did we think we would build a business this big," said his wife Kristy Kim.
Eventually, a single kiosk would become this brick-and-mortar store in the heart of Little Tokyo.
Then at a time when everything was e-commerce, they shut down their online business, just to make Japangeles a destination in the community... to bring people out to Little Tokyo to shop, eat and explore.
"We wanted to add to this vibrant community and make it thriving," Kim said.
Japangeles is thriving...with big collaborations from major brands and legacy businesses in the community such as Kirin, Sanrio, and LA Galaxy.
They say they owe their success to their early cheerleaders and the ones who continue to support this dream that's all about identity.
"I honestly believe it's authenticity, we never try to do what other brands are doing, we do our own thing."