Mitsu, talented artist and designer of Peaboy, is the first collaborator of the Blank Paper Project.  His experience with tie dye started out when he was creating tie dye goods with his daughter and he has been into the craft ever since. He and art director Roachi, who both share a love for green peas, started Peaboy in 2019 and created an iconic smiling green pea character called "Mametaro,” which is found across Peaboy’s tie dye apparel and goods like stickers, pins and patches.

We visited Mitsu's studio when he made samples for us. His six year old daughter Hana welcomed us and showed us around his backyard where he dyes fabrics. Mitsu’s talented hand tie dye is a work of improvisation reflecting his emotion and transitions of seasons. Mitsu "Tie dye creates a mix of colors that  exceed my imagination sometimes. I love the randomness. Paper Project’s material seems to transfuse the dye more than other materials, which creates unique blurred patterns."

A passionate artist and devoted father, he enjoys dyeing from the bottom of his heart like the way he loves his daughter, who sometimes assists him with dyeing his products. That's why his works are not only beautiful but also embody his joy, which we have been captured by.

We are grateful Mitsu accepted our request to dye our socks, T-shirts, shorts and underwear, resulting in a Paper Project x Peaboy capsule collection.

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Mitsu often joins and supports local community events. He has been dyeing goods for Neighborhood Spot, a brand whose proceeds support small businesses in New York City. He is also interested in ecological dyeing and recently started dyeing with food wastes from local restaurants.

Photos by Mac Shafer, who is pictured below in our tie dye tee.