A blended market from Fukuoka that organically mixes people, things, and services.

The two-day "Blend Market" brings together unique stores from Fukuoka Prefecture and other parts of Kyushu. It is a market event where visitors can purchase men's and women's apparel, used clothing, and miscellaneous goods, but there are two points worth mentioning. The first is that it brought together a lineup of stores that would not normally appear at such a joint event.this way (direction close to the speaker or towards the speaker)is the list of stores that will be open.

The official text used the phrase "a market for professionals," but I think it is a very popular lineup.

Second, the venue is the famous Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine's archives.

The importance of the venue for an event needs no reiteration. There are several important factors, such as convenient transportation and a space that can cope with rainy weather, but there are not many venues that can lift the spirits of both vendors and customers just by being able to hold an event. Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine definitely has that kind of power. Of course, it is not an easy place to hold such an event.

I had a joint exhibition "Sort" held here at Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine. At that time, many buyers, press, store owners, young people, and families came to the exhibition, and the shrine priest who saw it liked what he saw. The shrine's director liked what he saw and asked me if I would be interested in doing something else with them. I was asked if I could do something else. We are very grateful," said Tsuyoshi Fujito of FUJITO, one of the organizing committee members, smiling.

The venue, the Archives of Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, is a place that is normally not even open to the public, and basically only hosts events related to the royal family or, on rare occasions, music-related events, making it truly unusual for such a market event to be held there.

The booths were all full of stores with strong characters, as if they had been called upon to express that "Fukuoka and Kyushu have such interesting stores" (Fujito). . From here, HOUYHNHNM will run through the booths that caught his attention.

."KIYONAGA&CO.The "Senbon-draw" was held at the booth of the "SENBON-DRAW" (a thousand-piece lottery). 1,000 yen per draw, no prizes were given away, and some of the prizes were extremely good deals. The 300 sets of prizes were sold out in a few hours. Hirofumi Kiyonaga, the representative of the event, was surprised at the success of the event.

One of the committee members, Hisahito Minami, is the founder of the shoe brandSTOCK NO.. On this day, the brand's iconic moccasin boots were available for personal order. It is interesting to see how the authentic beige suede can be completely changed by simply changing the color and material. It is only at events like this that designers and customers can communicate face to face.

which sold many miscellaneous goods with pop and kitschy tastes.Jimmy'2 (JIMMY'2))". This store was quite unique among the stores at the event, and for that reason it had an outstanding presence! It seemed to have caught the attention of many art and culture lovers. The poster in the lower right of the photo is one of the cute ones.

A store from Kurume City, "TheGARDEN." was a lineup of trekking and running items that the owner has been into for the past three years. In addition, there were original parkas, military deadstocks, and more. HOUYHNHNM has long been a big proponent of trekking and running, and in the past few years, it has really taken off. I can feel its popularity everywhere.

The darker items you see were lined up in the "RAD (RAD)The booth of the "BURBERRY" brand. Special treasures such as vintage "THE NORTH FACE" and vintage "BURBERY," which he had saved up for this event, were in abundance! The store is said to purchase items from all over the U.S. once every two months, which explains the great selection of items.

The store, run by Fujito, a member of the executive committee and designer of "FujitoDirectors. I also have to check out the "FUJITOSKATEBOADING" items. . I guess the main items are from Fujitoskateboarding. The atmosphere with a sense of nookiness is very pleasant. And above all, Mr. Fujito's friendly and warm customer service created a nice vibe in this area.

The final event was the "Hayashi," a member of the executive committee, who ran the event.Good Daily Hunt." The lineup was characterized by a variety of design-conscious sundries that one would be tempted to pick up. In addition, there was a wide selection of bags by "STANDARD SUPPLY," and once again we were reminded of the potential of this brand. Great bags, really .

These are the stores that HOUYHNHNM thought were hip. As the name "Blend Market" suggests, the event was a chaotic mix of people and things, in the best sense of the word.

As I thought when I participated in the mid-launch held at the end of the first day, the event was filled with a peaceful atmosphere anyway. The "Blend Market" was a miraculous balance of the venue being happy, the vendors having fun, and the customers enjoying themselves. We look forward to the next and subsequent editions of the market. If the second event is to be held, we hope that people from nearby prefectures as well as those from far away will come. I can assure you that it is an event worth traveling to attend.