As I walked into Eric Nakamura’s domain of kitschy stickers and miniature figurines I found myself, much like my peers, entranced by the design of it all. If indeed that can be made into a phrase it would mean a realm of objects all encompassing different facets of design. Each book, each shirt, each miniature button had me salivating at the sheer simplicity of design.

I had to touch everything! I thumbed through books, picked up stacks of stickers, and read directions on the back of pontiki cubes. I even found elements of my own culture, that I had missed, stocked throughout the store.

As Eric began to talk about his career from small zine to little larger zine to web to store, I realized the small steps and patience required to become a true trans-disciplinary designer. The fact that most resonated with me was when he told us that it took him 10 years to get where he is now. And here I was thinking that when I graduate grad school, I would be showered with offers to work with other designers in different disciplines. Not that I didn’t expect to pay my dues in the beginning, I was just hoping that my experience in grad school might pair that time down a bit.

After a while however, I found myself paying a little less attention to the content of his lecture, and more to the content of the store. The colors and the Japanese writing- all of it entranced me. I was lost in my own little world of fantasy looking for trinkets that could adorn the bare walls of my apartment. I was looking for books that could fill my empty shelves at home. I began to think about other customers of the store. Were they designers? I asked Eric that question and his answer was one of any storeowner: all kinds of people. I wondered, really, how many non-designers came into the store and found the wonderment that I found. How many non-creative people approach the gizmos with curiosity or even think about the reason for a store such as Giant Robot. Are they as amazed at the Asian culture need for the cute, or do they write it off as just another Hello Kitty store selling needless kitsch?

I pursued perusing through all the merchandise on the shelves, trying to pick out exactly which delicious morsel I would spend my precious couple of dollars on. I debated between simple oval stickers that said Giant Robot, or little buttons that had cute affirmations on it. Being indecisive I even went from one store to the other and back again.

In the end, I bought nothing. My logic being that I would wait until I had saved up a few more dollars and get something that would be more gratifying then buying something at present. Then I thought maybe this was what non-designers did. Perhaps they came looking and enjoying all the eye candy, but what kept them coming back was the hope in finding that one precious commodity that would make every previous visit worthwhile.