PUEBCO: From Tokyo, 2007

Founded in Tokyo in 2007 by Hirotaka Tanaka, PUEBCO is a Japanese lifestyle brand with an instinctive approach to everyday objects.

Rather than following trends, PUEBCO draws from retro industrial design, found materials and a restrained Japanese aesthetic. Its objects often feel utilitarian, imperfect and quietly original — familiar in form, but difficult to place.

Before PUEBCO

Hirotaka Tanaka was born and raised in Tokyo. After high school, he entered Japan’s apparel industry, working closely with clothing, materials and production before founding PUEBCO in 2007.

Before starting the brand, Tanaka spent time in the United States. The influence is not always direct, but it can be felt in PUEBCO’s industrial references, practical forms and quiet sense of humour.

Each year, he spends months travelling through Asia in search of surplus, recycled and found materials. For PUEBCO, an object does not always begin with a sketch. Sometimes, it begins with what is already there.

A Name Without Definition

PUEBCO does not carry a fixed meaning. The name was shaped more by sound, rhythm and practicality than by definition.

It needed to feel natural in English, be short enough to type easily as a web address, and carry the familiar structure of company names such as Costco, Texaco and Petco, with “CO” added to the end.

After a series of rearrangements, PUEBCO was the name that felt right.

Beyond Tokyo

Today, PUEBCO’s world extends far beyond Tokyo, with stores in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Canada, Thailand, Italy and Australia. Each space offers a different way to encounter the brand — through objects shaped by utility, reuse and quiet irregularity.

For those travelling nearby, it is worth leaving room in the itinerary.

Images courtesy of houyhnhnm.jp