BIO / RESUME

PAST

Megumi was born and raised in a little town in Shizuoka, Japan. She started showing interest and skill in arts & crafts at a young age. Her passion as a child was in making things, music, and dance. She won several regional & in-school art awards as a child, but missed out on some because she was a detail-oriented, slow-paced worker... At the age of 12, she decided she really wanted to study abroad.

At age 18 after finishing high school, she moved to New York City, where she studied dance at Broadway Dance Center for a while, moved to Seattle ("I had a tendency to want to follow the music I liked") to study art at a college, then decided to go for a degree in graphic design back in NYC. After 3 years in Graphic Design major at Fashion Institute of Technology (The State University of New York), she left F.I.T. with an Associate Degree. Megumi's first job was at a streetwear brand Triple 5 Soul as a womenswear graphic designer, which was the beginning of her career in the fashion industry.

Over the course of about 15 years, she has worked as a full-time and freelance graphic designer for many fashion brands such as Zoo York, Burton Snowboards, Nike ACG, Victoria's Secret, Calvin Klein Jeans, DKNY Jeans, Adidas Japan, Aèropostale, Rip Curl, etc. She won Kashiwa Sato award for Uniqlo GrandPrix T-shirt design contest. See these works here.

INFLUENCES

Megumi grew up with many children's illustrated books (monthly subscription!), and a father who was a big fan of the Beatles, and perhaps that influenced what type of art she leans towards. Two of her favorite children's book writers are Mitsumasa Anno and Taro Gomi, and the animation for The Beatles' Yellow Submarine illustrated by Heinz Edelmann had left a very strong impression on her after watching it only once as a child. After moving to New York, and especially studying art at F.I.T., she was exposed to many different styles of art, among them she was especially drawn to Surrealism, Art Nouveau, Bauhaus, psychedelic poster arts, and African mask designs. A little later, she discovers Pushpin Graphics, and Hipgnosis.

PRESENT

In 2009, Megumi moved to Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. After briefly working at Mimosa Clothing, she had 2 children. It definitely was a full-time job for her to be a mother for a while. Now as a single mother, she is working a part-time job and running her small business KIMONO KOMONO so she can pay for art making!

About Megumi

About Me

I grew up in Japan, received high education in NYC and worked in the centre of where lots of fashion brands were created. Leaving all that excitement, I came to Australia in 2009. Now I am a mother of 2 children and 2 small businesses. I appreciate and respect all cultures and I prefer multi-cultural work environment. I see everything as a learning opportunity, and I get along with most people from all age and cultural groups.

Owner, Designer, Sales, Marketing, Everything

KIMONO KOMONO 2008-Present

Started as a hobby side hustle, it is a solo-operation business where I upcycle vintage Kimono and Obi fabrics to make accessories such as drawstring pouches, scarves, scrunchies, zipper pouches and clutches. The items are sold on KIMONO KOMONO website, Etsy marketplace and at local markets.

Graphic Designer - Apparel 2001-2012

The role of an apparel graphic designer is: to work in a design team communicating with merchandising, production, and sales teams, to research trends and design following the theme each season, to work with tight deadlines, to organize and catalog all approved designs, to fulfil the needs of merchandising, sales, and marketing teams.

As an apparel graphic designer, I have designed: placement print designs such as for t-shirts, tops, dresses, allover print designs (textile/surface/pattern designs), embellishment designs, trims such as labels, buttons, back pockets, some packaging such as hangtags.

Employers and Clients include:

Mimosa Clothing, Cool Hand Promotions (for film Taking Woodstock), Nike ACG, Calvin Klein Jeans GIrls, Eno, Ecko Function, Heartloom, Converse, DKNY Jeans, Aèropostale, 5 Boro NYC, Rip Curl, Victoria’s Secret, Burton Snowboards, Adidas Japan, Analog Clothing, Parigi Group, Heatherette, Zoo York NYC, Zoo York Australia, Triple 5 Soul

Graphic Designer - Branding 2001-2021

Apart from packaging and trim designs for apparel brands, I consult and design branding for start-up companies. These designs may include logos, fonts, icons, color themes, looks and packaging.

Clients include: tiny kitchen Miyazaki, Calypso Irie, My Heart Blossoms, Sphere Branding, Team Spirit CW

AWARDS

2021 Ocean Shores Art Expo

First Prize in Printmaking, Drawing & Pastels

2009 Uniqlo Grand Prix T-shirt Design Contest

Kashiwa Sato Award