To capitalise on the new Star Wars film coming out in August, J Style has taken on a new range of themed mugs and money boxes imported from Japan.
The items will launch at the Melbourne Gift Fair in August, and co-owner of J Style, Jennifer Idosaka, says it will be the perfect time for retailers to get on the Star Wars bandwagon. Along with her husband Sam, Idosaka has sourced the items from an existing supplier who works closely with Disney to produce J Style’s popular Minnie, Micky and Winnie the Pooh stacking tea sets.
The lidded mugs and money boxes will be available in Darth Vader, R2D2, C-3PO and Storm Trooper designs, and make great collectors’ items. “I am totally geeking out over these myself and my kids have already abducted the samples,” says Idosaka.
“Even without the new movie imminent, Star Wars has become such a phenomenon; I can see these being a big hit in August.”
On a completely different note, J Style will also be launching a range of bowls and plates in traditional Japanese blue and white designs at the fair. For Idosaka, this collection is a return to J Style’s roots, with the difference being that after 16 years in business they know what sells and can cater to their customers.
“We know the Australian market better, and we’ve built strong relationships with our suppliers [so] we can work with them to tweak their products to better suit the Australian market. Doing things like having the bowls gift boxed into sets of four makes it easier for our retailers to display and sell in multiples.
“We’re also carefully choosing sizes and shapes that work not only with Asian food, but with European and other food as well. Our most popular bowls are a perfect pasta bowl shape. The Japanese aesthetics work with Italian food just as well as sushi.”
