Drumcultures: We're here with artist Yoko Hasegawa. We're going to be talking about jars and buckles.

Yoko Hasegawa: Yes we are!

Drumcultures: Okay. The moment you thought "JARS" - you know, The Epiphany - what made you go "Oh my God! Here I have an idea"?

YH: I was looking at an empty jam jar at breakfast. It was really small, clear, and it just happened to have the top and I wanted to hide the top part. That's how it started. I really liked that small thing.

Drumcultures: Do you still have the first one that you made?

YH: No. I gave it away.

Drumcultures: How did you become a designer?

YH: I just woke up one morning and felt that I was a designer. I didn't study anything. Serious. Its all about my feelings.

Drumcultures: Have you done any grills? (laughter)

YH: What's a grill?

Drumcultures: Rappers wear this in their teeth.

YH: No. I'm not into that.

Drumcultures: Where do you get your inspiration from?

YH: Where? Nowhere but inside my head.

Drumcultures: How do you start working on a piece.

YH: I'm at my desk in the morning. That's the beginning.

Drumcultures: So you're sitting down with a buckle in front of you...

YH: I begin with one stone. Then I go from there. Then, as I'm into the colors, I say, I like this color so I want to use this color with something.

Drumcultures: Are you listening to any music when you work?

YH: I'm listening to Japanese TV on the internet as I work. Comedy stuff. If there is great drama or something I may have to cry, so I don't want that. As far as music goes, well, if there is music I will want to sing.

Drumcultures: Who do you like musically in general?

YH: R&B funk people. Bootsy Collins. George Clinton. I love them!

Drumcultures: Are there fashion designers or jewelry makers that you follow, like say, Armani for example?

YH: John Galliano.

Drumcultures: Why?

YH: He's unique.

Drumcultures: In Japanese culture, its there a tradition of miniaturization, small stuff?

YH: I used to collect small crystal animals. In Japanese culture we have a lot of small stuff, but it doesn't bling.

Drumcultures: That's what you do, bling it?

YH: Yes but I'm also interested in classic komono design and colours.

Drumcultures: What's your favorite color?

YH: The color I like the best is clear. See through. If you say that's not color, fine, but that's color to me.

Drumcultures: What's you vision for your work in five or ten years?

YH: Its difficult to answer because I make my stuff day by day, day by day. So, I don't know.

Drumcultures: Do you dream of having a line of deco jars at Tiffanys or something like that? Or do you see them as custom items, unique every time?

YH: Its going to be awesome if I make money out of it. But for now I just stick to my thing and hope that somebody discovers me so I could do what I want to do. I want all the girls to have my small jars in front of them in the powder room.(laughter)

Drumcultures: Where does your stuff fit into fashion?

YH: Bling Bling stuff is on and off all the time. It comes and goes. It depends on the clothes that are popular. Right now, for example, bling bling stuff is not on, its not popular right now. Marketing wise it will come back. Then those little jars will move.

Drumcultures: How did it feel to sell your first piece?

YH: The first piece that I sold was my initial wide buckle. I was so excited because it was beautiful.

Drumcultures: Do you have a picture of it?

YH: No.

Drumcultures: What did it look like?

YH: It was aurora colored with green blue stones around the buckle and salmon-pink color at the center.

Drumcultures: Somebody saw you wearing it here in LA?

YH: Yah. Here in LA.

Drumcultures: Do you see yourself working with more precious metals, like gold for instance, in the future?

YH: Gold. Diamonds. Sure. But I still like crystals because they have more colors.

Drumcultures: What's the most difficult part of coming up with a new piece?

YH: Color choice.

Drumcultures: Have you made any design that you didn't want to part with?

YH: No. If someone likes a piece, I part with it.

Drumcultures: Any one made special gifts of your pieces?

YH: Yes. I had one client who bought 7 buckles. One was a gift for his wife, another for his daughter, and the rest were for friends.

Drumcultures: I notice you have dollar signs or birds and other symbols in your pieces. Any messages in there?

YH: Sometimes it has a message. Sometimes I do peace and love things. But stuff like skulls. They're just cool. No message.

Drumcultures: I noticed that you did a Hollywood Jar.

YH: Yes. That one has a message. Somebody might go to hell because of being in Hollywood. (laughter) Its all about money in Hollywood. I've been watching a lot of TV shows about Hollywood and I know some artists in Hollywood. They had a dream, the dream came true yet they also caught hell from this! Sometimes I think Los Angeles means Lost Angels.

Drumcultures: Lost Angels.

YH: Yes. I made a buckle like that too. Lost Angels.

Drumcultures: Is your love of crystals from when you were a kid?

YH: Yes. Its almost instinctive. My mom gave me a lot of crystals. She even gave me a diamond ring once. When ever I go back to see her because my heart is breaking due to a boyfriend or I flunk at school, whatever it is, she always gave me one of her rings. Then I think, She loves me! But I've loved bling-bling things since I was four or five years old.

Drumcultures: Growing up in Japan, what did you think your life would be?

YH: I always loved putting make up on people. I liked doing people's hair. I think I wanted to be a stylist or hair designer.

Drumcultures: You owned a bar in Japan. Was it blinged out?

YH: No. It was very traditional. All my customers were business warriors, suit and tie people working for the company so hard every day. I just wanted to be between company and home. I didn't want them to bring any headaches home. So they let the stress out drinking, laughing, crying at my place, then they went home peacefully.

Drumcultures: Does your Japanese cultural background play any role in your designs?

YH: I never thought about it. I don't think so.

Drumcultures: What does you family and friends say about the stuff you make these days?

YH: My Mum loves it. She and I have the same taste in bling-bling stuff. She doesn't wear it on her clothing, but she loves jewelry. My father, he doesn't like it. My daughter is not so interested.

Drumcultures: What would success mean for you?

YH: I want anybody who really loves my work, to have my stuff and wear my stuff. Hopefully I would see it on the street or on TV.

Drumcultures: Are there any Japanese designers that you follow?

YH: Nope! I'm not following any designer. If I see something I like, then I like it. I would buy $10 earrings or a $500 suit. Doesn't matter. As long as its my taste. I follow my color instinct.

Drumcultures: Do you plan to expand beyond belt buckles and jars? I see you've done some guitar straps.

YH: Yes, of course. As long as its not a big thing. For me, the strap is the biggest product I make. Its gotta be small, cute, sexy and beautiful. Anything I expand to has to be small, even if its not the buckles and jars.

Drumcultures: Thank you Yoko.

YH: Thank you Anthony.