A project to support rescued cats through craftsmanship - Wallets, pass cases, key cases, pouches

Founded in January 2016, waji is a group of professionals who mainly work on leather products, based in an atelier renovated from a 100-year-old traditional house in Abeno-ku, Osaka. The group includes veteran craftsmen and young designers, and handles everything from design to manufacturing.

The new brand "aoneco" (blue cat) created by waji's representative, Kanno Yuki, is a cat rescue project based on the concept of "May all cats sleep peacefully." Kanno himself lives with rescued cats and, as the manager of a manufacturing company, he wondered if he could do something for cats, and after a year of planning, the brand took shape.

With the theme of "sophisticated, ageless design," Aoneco offers wallets, purses, pass cases, key cases, pochettes, and other items that are not too cute and easy to use, but feature cat motifs. Each Aoneco item comes with a donation coupon worth about 10% of the product price, allowing customers to support a cat rescue facility of their choice.

Each item is carefully crafted by hand by artisans with the pride of being professional craftsmen, an overwhelming love for cats, and a desire to continue to provide ongoing support through craftsmanship.

Interview with Hiroki Kanno, CEO of Waji Inc.