Here’s the Inspiration Behind Our Latest Merchandise Collaboration With Tonii’s Fresh Rice Noodles
As part of our ongoing Made in Chinatown initiative to help Chinatown businesses struggling financially, while also bringing Chinatown’s stories to life through creative design, we’re excited to announce our second merchandise collaboration with Tonii’s Fresh Rice Noodles — a family-owned-and-operated bakery located on Bayard Street in the heart of Chinatown.
As you might have guessed from their name, Tonii’s specializes in delicious, homemade rice noodles that are made fresh to order, but, according to designer Harry Trinh, it’s their best-selling sponge cakes that served as the main inspiration behind the logo. “Each illustration of a sponge cake person represents a specific family member — the punk rock one is Liz! They wanted the family represented in their space,” Trinh explained.
The three-piece collection brings the bakery to life through a simple illustration of its bilingual menus emblazoned on a T-Shirt, tote bag, and mug. The T-Shirt incorporates Tonii’s signature rice noodle dishes displayed on the back in bilingual format while the tote features a selection of their traditional breakfast items, or ‘cha chan tang’ in Hong Kong (茶餐廳). The mug pulls directly from their drink menu and the yellow handle and interior mimic the restaurant’s yellow walls.
We hope you like this collection as much as we enjoyed bringing it to life. As always, 100% of profits from each merchandise collection goes back to the business, so we thank you for continuing to help us help Chinatown!
