By Robin | November 17, 2017

Our Favorite Instagrammers – @indigoshrimp

Name: Mike
Instagram Name: @indigoshrimp
Amount of followers: 4078
Age: 29
Residence: Australia
Occupation: Doctor

Hello!
My name is Mike – you might know me in the denim community as mikecch or Indigoshrimp.
I am Taiwanese by birth, though I am now a doctor working in Melbourne, Australia.
Nothing keeps me awake at night, and I haven’t dreamt for a long time now.
I enjoy all manners of food, mostly cuisine from East Asia.
Outside of denim I have a handful of other hobbies, including leather, tea, audio, photography, computer games, mental health (professional interest), etc, and I’m always looking to find new passions.

 

@indigoshrimp

 

  1. Why do you share your outfits? And why Instagram?

My Instagram posts are usually item and detail focused; I don’t post many outfits at all. My blogging and social media hobbies are mostly due to wanting to share my love of denim and leather hobbies with other people, and my desire to connect with other hobbyists now that the online denim forums are slowly winding down.I started using Instagram when I returned to actively pursuing the denim and leather hobby in 2016. I’ve found it to be a great communication tool – through Instagram I’ve connected with many shops, makers and other hobbyists too.
My main focus is still on my Indigoshrimp blog, where I post my reviews of denim and leather items, though the information is very ‘one-way’ – having an Instagram account linked to the blog solved this problem!

 

  1. What makes your Instagram feed so special?

My feed is perhaps more detail focused and ‘geeky’ compared with the lifestyle or photography based denim feeds out there. It is tied in with my Indigoshrimp blog, which is one of the few old denim blogs still active.

 

  1. Where does your inspiration come from?

Since joining Instagram I’ve been pretty amazed by the photography that other Instagram users have been able to generate, and this has made me interested in learning a bit more about taking better photos. I’ve also met many dedicated and passionate people through the denim and leather hobbies, especially the guys who have taken their passion to the next level and started their own brands or workshops – these guys and girls are my inspiration, as far as this hobby is concerned.

 

@indigoshrimp

 

  1. Where does your love for denim come from? When did it start?

My love for denim started with a couple of pairs of Edwin (Japan) jeans when I was a teenager. I remember the slightly heavy, somewhat rough fabrics – totally unlike other jeans my mum had bought for me, haha! The way the denim fabrics aged were spectacular too, and totally blew my mind.
A couple of years after discovering ‘raw denim’, I joined the myNudies.com and Superfuture forums, and in 2009 I started my Indigoshrimp blog. I’ve been hooked on denim ever since then.

 

  1. Your top 3 favorite (denim)brands?

1. Oni

I’m a huge geek when it comes to the actual fabric. The denim comes first when it comes to me choosing jeans.
In my opinion, for a very long time, Oni has been the clear leader in terms of stepping outside the box of ‘vintage-style denim’ and really pushing the boundaries of Japanese denim. Out of all the Japanese denim brands, I’ve found Oni’s fabrics to be the most interesting over the years.

  1. Samurai Jeans

Another great innovator of Japanese denim, and I really love the Japanese detailing on their jeans. Rather than purely trying to copy old Levi’s dungarees, Samurai took the denim pants concept and infused their own spirit into their products. Pure Americana is a little boring for me, so I admire the brands who can infuse their own traditional arts and techniques into their denim products.

  1. Tanuki Inc.

Tanuki is a new favourite for me. Out of all the new brands in the past couple of years, Tanuki has impressed me the most with their custom & proprietary denims and numerous modern cuts. The vast majority of brands buy stock fabric from the mills, and the majority of these denims (even if they are from Japan) don’t interest me too much. Tanuki, much like Oni and Samurai, engineer their fabrics from the cotton up; their Red Cast denim in particular is one of my all time favourites.

 

  1. What is your favorite accessory?

Anything that’s leather. 😊 Wallets, boots, belts – I collect them all!

I appreciate a good timepiece too, but due to the nature of my job my watch collection mostly come out to play on the weekends.

 

@indigoshrimp

 

  1. Which items do you wear most at the moment?

I wear my Australian ‘Aomushi’ bracelet pretty much everyday. This fresh indigo dyed, wood beaded bracelet is a collaboration between myself and Wild Frontier Goods in Tokyo. I wear it because I love indigo, and wood is a better medium than fabric to show off the tonal and colour variations that indigo dye can produce.

 

  1. What is your favorite shop? And what is your favorite webstore?

My most frequented shop during the early years of my hobby is Pants Shop Avenue, one of Japan’s biggest denim stores. Naoki, who runs the shop, was super helpful and a great resource when it comes to Japanese jeans.
My favorite webstore at the moment is Denimio – these guys just seem to stock the brands that I like, including the three mentioned previously, and even Japanese leather brands too.

 

@indigoshrimp

 

  1. Do you care about the production process?

Yes, definitely. I like to know that the people involved in making my jeans and leathers are treated well and paid fairly. As much as possible, too, I try to purchase goods from makers themselves, people who I know are passionate and devoted to their crafting.

 

  1. What are your dreams for the future?

Pay off my mortgages. 😊 Jokes aside, I hope I can continue to be involved in this hobby for many years to come, and hopefully continue to engage with makers and hobbyists alike through my Indigoshrimp blog.