Stray Not Lost
September 30th is the release date for the latest collection of designs.
It’s called "Stray Not Lost” and it comes from the idea that there’s a difference between being lost and finding your way.
From the outside, exploration and experimentation can look nearly identical to aimlessness. But that’s just what the creative process looks like. Following your intuition. Trying things out. Discovering something you didn’t know you were looking for. Playing around with an idea just to see where it goes.
Sometimes it means taking the long way home because the view is better. Sometimes it means taking the long way home and realizing you have absolutely no idea where you are. The gamble doesn’t always pay off.
That’s a little bit of where Nora Inu has been. So when I say this collection is a course correction of sorts, I don’t mean a complete change in direction. More like getting back on the road after taking a few detours. A return to what made the whole thing worth doing in the first place.
pictured: A helpful reference guide in case I ever forget how to draw my own logo. Maybe not this far back to the basics but you get the idea.
I’ve spent the last few years trying all sorts of things. Some worked. Some didn’t. Some seemed like really good ideas until they weren’t. But along the way, I’ve had to figure out the difference between designing something I genuinely like versus something I think some imaginary customer I conjured up in my head might want. Between making something I think would have as much mass appeal as possible instead of making something for the person who shares in the same weird, niche interests. I have a much better grasp of which one I’d rather do now.
The result is fewer designs, but more intention behind each one. Not only in regards to the graphics but beyond that into the garments themselves. I want the quality of the shirts, and the overall presentation, to match the thought that goes into the artwork. Better materials. Better construction. With some weight to it. Something substantial enough to elevate the graphics it’s decorated with.
The goal isn’t to make as many designs as I can for the sake of making more. It’s to make the things I actually want to make, and make them as well as I can.
pictured: one of the two screens for a design featured in the upcoming collection.
Each design in this collection explores the idea of “Stray Not Lost” from a different angle. They’re all part of the same process of figuring out what Nora Inu should be, what it should feel like, and where it should go from here.
I’ll get into the individual stories behind each design in the coming days. But for now, September 30th.
Be on the lookout.
- Dylan Tsubasa
