This morning while I was outside taking pictures of the new storefront, I was asked several times, "What kind of shop is this?" and "Are you open?"

As some of you may have heard this morning during the live stream on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/japaneseprintmaking), Dave mentioned the effect this new poster had on the shop yesterday. While the staff were running Print Parties upstairs, he got some work done down on the first floor to prepare for our shop's upcoming move downstairs, and one of the tasks was mounting on the wall by the entrance this enormous blown-up version of our famous Rickshaw Cart image from the Ukiyo-e Heroes series.

This is what it looks like in the evening.

Even though our shop had already closed, once this bright sign was up and illuminated, he said that a large number of people noticed the brightly lit image and asked him about Mokuhankan while he was outside doing construction work. Several then went upstairs with Dave and bought some prints!

Having a street-level entrance surrounded by inviting images will make a big difference in our number of walk-in customers, and we are excited for the change. We just hope we can also keep up with making enough prints for everyone!

So, to answer those customers' questions: Mokuhankan is a woodblock print shop utilizing traditional techniques and tools to create a variety of beautiful woodblock prints from classical and modern designs. And yes, we are planning to stay open throughout the entire transition period from the second floor down to the first. We hope to see you here soon!