Good design is a big part of the Queensberry way, so may we introduce Anna Matsuoka, one of our product designers. Anna M grew up in the beautiful historic city of Kamakura in Tokyo, which maybe explains her very strong focus on materials and the preservation of history. She studied curatorial and fine arts at the Tama Art University in Japan. Issey Miyake studied at the same university, which has a strong emphasis on the art of choosing and working with materials. While at TAU Anna also did an Internship at the Tokyo National Museum where she studied how to present artifacts. After moving to New Zealand she studied at Victoria University, majoring in Industrial Design. It was her innate sense for materials and her quirky fashion sense (she’s one of our in-house fashion plates!) that made Peter Haythornthwaite, her supervisor and one of our design mentors, suggest that Heather take her on as a product design intern. Anna has now been with us for three years, working on Musée, the Press range and the very distinctive Japanese-inspired Mayu Case. Having grown up with a great appreciation of history, Anna sees the value in making something to last, and pass on to future generations. I asked Anna where she draws her inspiration from, and here's what she said: 1. Our Photographer's Images: "I love learning about the great cultural diversity through our clients' photographs. Everyday I get to see a collection of treasured moments from all over the world. It's a bit like taking a special paper called 'the anthropology of beauty and love'". 2. New Zealand: "For a girl from Tokyo, every second of NZ is like living in National Geographic. Speechless. Also I like the Euro-Asia-Polynesian mixed culture here. Very different and very special." 3. Cy Twombly: "My love for materials, textures, letters, everything is in his work!" If you're interested - take a look at Cy's work here. Cheers, Anna B