AKABISelect

Finished and on Break

2010-12-05T11:48:00.000-08:00

Hello readers,
We recently finished rear seats for an S14 in Suede and perforated Suede. Was a bit of a hassle as the fabric stretch and was a bit too large. But we still made it work and it looks great.

Seamstress has returned to Japan for a few months to visit family so we are currently unable to process any request until after the new year. No new updates until then. Hopefully everyone had a great Thanksgiving and will have happy, fun, and safe Holidays. See you guys in the new year.

AS Team.

Quiet Times

2010-09-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

Been quiet on the front. Had planned to attend Extreme Autofest Arizona on the 2nd of October but do to issues with the venue the event has been cancelled. We still continue with our main work of hems, tailoring, and seam correction and fixing. A co-worker wishes to have us look at some windows that she would like to have curtains designed for. This is right up our alley and we hope to see this project all the way through. The Y33 Project car will be having the headliner renovated and maybe we will do some more custom work with PVC leather in the headliner to add some more flare.

Stay tuned.

Southwest Allstar Car Battle

2010-08-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

We finished 3 cars in about 1 week. It was crazy but we made it out to this event and it was pretty awesome. Saw quite few interesting cars but a lot of custom interior work. Due to fatigue and weather we didn't make it to the low-rider section of the event. I am sure it was crazy but too bad we did not see it. KYOEI showed up with their entourage of Lexus/Toyota vehicles and looking good as always. Unfortunately the dust storms and then rain kept many of the cars from looking as clean as they could. Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Densetsu Motorsports booth and said hello and asked question or showed interest in having some work done by Akabi. We forgot a lot of business cards which was a real bummer so hopefully people remember the name and look us up.

We have been invited to help represent VIPStyleCars.com at another upcoming event in October called Extreme Autofest Arizona. We hope to work with KYOEI to get a few cars out there to help bring the forum and the style to more people in Arizona and help VIP get bigger and better in the state.

Worker Bee Rieko

2010-08-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

Prepping for a car show coming end of the month, we have been busy sewing, stitching, picking out fabrics.
More work has been done on the Promo Cars and it's good to say things are looking good. 98 GS300 is planning the interior work and has started in a big way with the center arm rests. take a look:

The perforated microfiber adds a nice updated look and the colors go well with the scheme of the interior. Once completed we expect some really good feedback.

97 Q45 has had the neckpads redone and embroidered as well. Definitely gives a more professional look and feel to them. Throw pillows were also added and the wrapping of the headliner and panels went fairly well. Then ceiling and pillars are now completely revamped and just waiting for the final touch with the Sun Visors to finish everything off.

Also the Garson DAD privacy curtains have been redone with new fabric and also added UV block to hopefully prevent this:

And now look like this:

Should have some more updates as the visors are currently being re-assembled and installed back into the Q45/Cima.

はじめまして

2010-08-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

Akabi Selectの製作者のRiekoです。
英語で書いたらいつになっても投稿できないので日本語で失礼します。。。
まず始めに私の紹介をさせていただきます。

結婚しアメリカへ移住してまったく英語が上達しないまま２年が過ぎてしまいました。。。。
趣味は洋裁で高校と専門学校で服飾デザインの勉強をし、その後就職でアパレル販売、生地屋、リフォーム屋、プリーツ製作で仕事をしてきました。
アメリカへ嫁いでしばらくは洋裁から離れていたのですが友人からミシンをもらってから再び洋裁に熱が入り日本から自分のミシンを送ってもらい始めることに。
もともとは洋服や小物作りが得意なのですが、「車オタク」の旦那の影響でカーインテリアの勉強をすることに。
ホント私、車なんてまったく興味がなかったんですよ。。。。。そんな私が車の雑誌を読み、色んなデザインを参考にしてサイトで作り方を調べ作っているんです。自分でも驚きです！
まぁ～車のインテリアは難しい。。。。っていうか超、面倒。
パターンはもともと車についてるものを利用するのですが、カーブが多い為、糸をほどいてアイロンをかけたら生地が伸びてるんです。それをうまく考えながらカットしないとサイズが大きくなったり小さくなったりします。
それから生地にフォーム（スポンジ）を貼り付け縫製していきます。このフォームが厚いと縫いにくい！！！ミシンに入らなかったりします。私はこれで何本も針を折ってしまいました。
でも、出来上がって注文してくれた人が喜んでくれたらこの苦労も一気に消えます。

今は１歳の息子がいるのでその子の面倒を見ながらの製作になるので思うように進めませんがボチボチやっていきますのでこれからもAkabi Selectをどうぞよろしくお願いいたします。

ただいま、カーテンを製作中です。出来上がったら旦那が「英語で」UPしてくれると思います。

最後まで読んでいただきありがとうございました。

RIEKO

Beat our way on to Canibeat

2010-07-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

Recent work we did for a Hyundai Genesis Coupe got us some attention on an amazing photography site called
Canibeat.com. Don't know what the name means either but they have some really great photos and skilled photographers.
Check out the car here:
Densetsu Motorsports: Genesis Coupe

やばいっすね！
Thanks Richard for the shout out but you spell RIEKO wrong. haha

A:S Y33 Q45/Cima

2010-07-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

Been busy with alot of projects the past couple months so blog updates have been seriously lacking.
本当にすみませんでした。
Recently we have been working on the interior of our Q45/Cima.

The neck pads, and center arm rest were redone. Throw pillows added to rear seats. Headliner and all pillars re wrapped in Copper/Brown microfiber. This being the first headliner we have ever attempted it came out mediocre with some mistakes but live and learn. Probably should not have picked unstretchy material to use as our first project. ばかじゃん！

Also had the chance to have the car shot by Chris Summit for Chris Summit photography.
Check him out @ http://chrissummitt.com/

Car @ http://chrissummitt.com/car

Interior pics coming soon.
また見にきてください～！

Y33 Center Arm Rest

2010-04-25T17:44:00.000-07:00

Just to test some color change schemes out we decided to customize the Center Arm Rest on our Y33 Q45. It came out not bad at all for a job done from start to finish in about 2 hours. Using the original neckpad fabric from Junction Produce were combined that with the same grey fabric used in our neckpads to make a 2 tone designed arm rest.

Color wise it goes very well with the already grey pillars and Headliner not to mention the neckpads.

Hyundai Shift boot and more

2010-04-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

Finished up the shift boot and pretty please with the results. Was unable to locate the same button used so we decided to substitute it with one similar but is stitched in instead of riveted in.

Another update is we finally got the business cards made. Used an older design but should be good for now. Not a major business or anything so a nice simple meishi (Business Card) works fine.

Little by little we are trying to get the name out there.

Hyundai ji ni!

2010-04-03T21:59:00.000-07:00

Got a request to do a shift boot for a Hyundai Genesis. Will be a good chance to do some work for a newer vehicle. Will be posting some before and after photos as well. This particular boot requires some additional hardware and will need to be purchased, so this gives us a chance to expand the tool set. Will be needing to add snap buttons similar to Outdoor or Letterman jackets.

Also getting some requests for Pants repair and hemming. Hopefully we will be able to do a custom bag as well. As the Japanese would say sukoshi zutsu (bit by bit).

Neck Pillow Complete

2010-03-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

Finished up the new pillows for the headrest and they came out pretty good. Not to mention the interior of the car has greay roof and pillars. So these neck pillows accentuate the interior quite well. Will have to see what's next on the list for Interior work.

Check more photos here:
Automotive Interior

Pillow Update

2010-03-28T18:40:00.000-07:00

1 down 1 to go

Pillows

2010-03-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

Stopped by one of the local fabric shops and found some poly-foam.

This foam is normally used for upholstery and cushioning. We had a pair of neck pillows which one was lost in a rental car. "Lost" cuase they claimed they never found it. So we decided to use the one to make our own set of neck pillows. Bought about half a yard of the foam since it was on sale and now our neck pillow project begins.

And just for the record. cutting foam is easier with an electric carving knife if you don't have a foam saw. But shaving is a whole different story. As long as the shape is similar the foam itself won't be seen. The fabric will be a PVC black leather with gray trim.

Welcome to AKABI Select

2010-03-26T20:05:00.000-07:00

This blog will be used to display the work of AKABI Select creator, Rieko Yamasaki. The works created range from self generated ideas to suggested themes and requests. From Home Decor to Personal Fashion and even Automotive Interiors, we hope to bring fun excitement and joy to each product and possible customers of our works. Please be patient as we update the site with new information and displays. We hope you enjoy the blog and feel free to suggest themes or make requests.

Thanks,

AKABI Select Team