The agency · Bespoke projects
Exclusive objects, from the Japanese workshop to your brand
From the very beginning, we thought of Robinson not just as a distributor but as a brand in its own right: website, Instagram, YouTube channel, trade show stands. This clear, consistent identity caught the attention of many houses and gave rise to bespoke collaborations: exclusive colours, limited editions, co-brandings.
Three formats
Exclusive colour, limited edition or co-branding
01
Exclusive colour
A shade developed for you on a product from our catalogue: a Toyo Steel box in your colour, a series of notebooks, a collection of pouches.
02
Limited edition
A limited run made in Japan by one of our partner makers, for a launch, an anniversary or a shop opening.
03
Co-branding
An object bearing both names, yours and the maker's, designed together from prototype to packaging.
Past collaborations
What our brands have already done with others
Toyo Steel, Esterbrook, Kakimori, Tetzbo, Okamoto Shoten and TRAVELER'S COMPANY are used to special editions and bespoke projects. Here are a few collaborations carried out by our makers over the years, to give an idea of what is possible with their products.
Toyo Steel alone has collaborated with coffee shops (Blue Bottle Coffee, Filter017, Unito, Poketle, Sarutahiko Coffee, NO COFFEE × BOTANIZE), fashion brands (Supreme, Human Made, New Era, A Bathing Ape, Converse, Edwin, Deus ex Machina, Journal Standard, niko and…), Japanese brands (TRAVELER'S COMPANY, MUJI, BEAMS, ANA), licences (Pokémon, Gundam, Evangelion) and the automotive world (Toyota, Suzuki, Subaru, Nissan, Michelin, Goodyear).
Toyo Steel × TRAVELER'S COMPANY
Travel Tool Box, a series of grey-green boxes
Toyo Steel × Mercury
Red and grey toolboxes, Mercury label
Toyo Steel × Zeonic (Gundam)
Green box with Earth Attack Force screen print
Toyo Steel · illustrated edition
Engraved mint box [partner to be specified]
Toyo Steel × Blue Bottle Coffee
Turquoise Y-350 box, red handle
Toyo Steel × Filter017
“Creative Dept.” series, Taiwan
Toyo Steel × Unito
White T-190 box, Unito Store
Toyo Steel × A Bathing Ape
Boxes and TWR wagon, black edition
Toyo Steel × Human Made
“Dry Alls” compartment boxes
Toyo Steel × ANA
Blue box in the airline's colours
Toyo Steel × Toyota Land Cruiser
Grey T-320 box, Land Cruiser logo
Toyo Steel × Michelin
Blue box, Bibendum and Clermont-Ferrand 1889
Toyo Steel × Suzuki
Silver box, Jimny logo
Toyo Steel × SKIMS
T-190 and Y-350 boxes in SKIMS colours, sienna and umber, limited edition ↗
Toyo Steel × MUJI
MUJI's steel toolboxes, made in Higashi-Osaka ↗
Esterbrook × Toyo Steel
Almond-green pen case
Esterbrook × Tamenuri Studio
Wooden fountain pen, limited edition
Esterbrook × TheCoffeeMonsterzCo
Estie, ink, blotter and engraved nibs designed with Helen of The Coffee Monsterz Co. ↗
Esterbrook × Accutron
Estie Spaceview, Esterbrook's first clear demonstrator, inspired by the 1960 Accutron watch ↗
Kakimori × Hobonichi
TSUKI no IRO pigment ink, the blue-grey of the Techo's ruled lines, 2027 ↗
Tetzbo × Grand Seiko
Hand-hammered ballpoint pen, a gift reserved for Grand Seiko VIP customers, not for sale [temporary visual]
Okamoto Shoten × Haratsuru Onsen Taisenkaku
Kurume kasuri for the renovated rooms of a ryokan in Fukuoka: headboards, cushions and washi lamps, 2024 ↗
Okamoto Shoten × BEAMS fennica
Aloha shirts and skirts in Kurume kasuri, fennica special edition, 2022 ↗
TRAVELER'S COMPANY × Moomin
Leather notebook, letterpress stickers and brass pen
TRAVELER'S COMPANY × Pan Am
Notebook, case and stickers in the airline's colours
TRAVELER'S COMPANY × Starbucks Reserve
“Explore Nakameguro” stationery, bottle and tote
TRAVELER'S COMPANY × Prada
Notebooks, brass clips and tags
TRAVELER'S COMPANY × Ace Hotel
Engraved brass pen and notebook
TRAVELER'S COMPANY × Merci
Brass ballpoint pen, Paris, 2019
TRAVELER'S COMPANY × Taiwan Beer × Eslite
Limited-edition notebook and accessories, Taiwan
TRAVELER'S COMPANY × Braniff International
Retro notebook, stickers and envelopes
TRAVELER'S COMPANY × Nigel Cabourn
Brass ballpoint pen, khaki finish
TRAVELER'S COMPANY × Log-On Hong Kong
“Caravan in Hong Kong” spiral notebook
[Visuals taken from the brand pages of the old site; partners, dates and usage rights to be checked before going live]
Beyond shops
Architects, hotels, institutions, design studios
We also develop exclusive products for architects, hotels, cultural institutions and design studios. Whether it is a bespoke colour, a limited edition or a co-branded concept, every project is carried out with the same care and the same sensitivity to design as our collections.
These commissioned collaborations now account for a significant share of our business. More than product development, they connect design, the know-how of Japanese workshops and your brand's story.
They came to us
Saint Laurent · Orient Express · Van Cleef & Arpels · Tokyobike · Edwin · Deus Ex Machina · Prada · Supreme · Boucheron · Petit Bateau · L'Occitane en Provence · Diptyque · Muji · Starbucks Reserve
How we work
From brief to delivery, a single point of contact
Step 1
The brief
Your wishes, your quantities, your timeline. We suggest the most suitable products and makers.
Step 2
Development
Colours, finishes, marking, packaging: prototypes are followed up with the maker by our Tokyo team.
Step 3
Production
Made in Japan, in the workshop that produces the original collection, to the same level of quality.
Step 4
Delivery
Shipped from our warehouse in France or directly from Japan, to your shops, hotels or offices.
[Steps, lead times and minimum quantities to be confirmed]
Our own brands
We know what it means to make things
Anything × Robinson and Okamoto Shoten were born from the same method: a Japanese maker, a precise specification and art direction. What we do for our own collections, we do for yours.
Have a project in mind?
Tell us about the object you are imagining
An idea, a colour, a rough quantity: that is enough to get started. We reply in French, English, Japanese, German and Korean.