Shoichi Nakajima, 28, who lives with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), always knew he was different. But while his unique way of looking at things once led him to drop out of school, it also found expression in a talent for design that has now brought him commercial success.
Nakajima runs a small company making fashion accessories that he founded in his home prefecture of Kochi. The firm uses the name of the prefecture, and since the name sounds the same as the way U.S. fashion brand Coach is pronounced in Japanese, he has played with references to Coach items in his signature product, a wallet.
His wallets' designs feature the two Chinese characters that make up the name Kochi, but which are stylized in a way that references the rounded look of some Coach products.