PATCH&PLAY (パッチ・アンド・プレイ), an embroidery and mending shop in Harajuku, Tokyo, will start offering a new line for "nui-katsu" (ぬい活) fans, "&NUI." (アンドヌイ, pronounced "and nui"), at its Harajuku flagship store from Friday, October 30, 2026.
"Nui" refers to plush toys, and nui-katsu is a growing culture of taking a plush toy out with you, photographing it, dressing it up and enjoying it as part of everyday life. At the shop, visitors can bring their plush toy, talk with the creative staff, and make an accessory that suits the plush or a matching item to enjoy together.
The shop's display shelves will also carry products from the handmade plush brand "Oshi-nui" (推しぬい) by Kiyohara (清原株式会社).
&NUI. at a Glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | &NUI. (PATCH&PLAY's nui-katsu line) |
| Start date | Friday, October 30, 2026 |
| Venue | PATCH&PLAY Harajuku flagship store (Harajuku Belpia 104, 6-6-2 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo) |
| Hours | 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM (irregular closures) |
| What's offered | Display shelf with products on sale / consultation about your plush and making matching accessories / workshops |
| Admission | Free (individual products and services are paid) |
Details of the workshops will be announced on PATCH&PLAY's Instagram. Please note that what is available on the day may change without notice.
Background: The Growing Nui-katsu Market
Nui-katsu was among the nominated terms for the 2025 New Words and Buzzwords Awards (新語・流行語大賞), and it has drawn attention in the context of oshi-katsu (supporting a favorite character or idol) and character merchandise, especially among younger people. According to a survey by the Japan Toy Association (日本玩具協会), the domestic plush toy market in fiscal 2025 was worth about ¥62.4 billion, or 138.2% of the previous fiscal year.
The ways of enjoying nui-katsu go beyond bringing a plush home. They now include choosing outfits and accessories to express a plush's personality, and going out together in items that match your own. &NUI. is a customization line launched by PATCH&PLAY for this growing market.
PATCH&PLAY has built its approach around mending clothes and customizing them with embroidery, under the idea of "not restored to how it was, but restored to how you are" (元通りより、あなた通りに。). &NUI. extends that idea to plush toys. Visitors bring their plush, talk it over in the shop, and make an accessory that suits it or an item they can wear to match.
The line is aimed at people who enjoy life with all kinds of plush toys, starting with Oshi-nui.
What You Can Do at &NUI.
1. Display shelf
Products for nui-katsu, including Oshi-nui items, are lined up in the shop.
2. Plush consultation and matching accessories
Bring your plush and talk with the staff about what kind of outfit would suit it. You can then choose and make a matching accessory to enjoy together.
3. Workshops
Workshops on making matching accessories for you and your plush will also be held. Dates and contents will be announced on PATCH&PLAY's Instagram.
About Oshi-nui
Oshi-nui is a handmade plush brand run by Kiyohara that lets you combine your favorite items to make a plush of your own. It is supervised by popular plush pattern maker 平栗あずさ, whose book series 『てづくり推しぬい』 has sold more than 100,000 copies in total.
Since its launch in 2023, the brand has offered about 225 types of items, including bodies, fabrics, patches and embroidery thread, to make "my own Oshi-nui" possible. It has shipped about 2.35 million items in total and has sold more than 150,000 plush toys, mainly through craft stores.
How Oshi-nui and &NUI. Relate
Oshi-nui is Kiyohara's handmade plush brand, while &NUI. is the nui-katsu customization line run by PATCH&PLAY.
In the shop, Oshi-nui products are placed on the display shelf. Oshi-nui also appears in PATCH&PLAY's posts on Instagram and other channels, as part of an initiative Kiyohara and PATCH&PLAY are pursuing together. Depending on customers' wishes, PATCH&PLAY's creative staff may also help with making things using Oshi-nui products in the shop.
By combining the fun of making a plush, which has grown mainly in craft stores, with the fun of customizing through conversation in the shop, the two aim to give nui-katsu fans more ways to enjoy their hobby.
Comments From the Two Companies
西川 知幸, General Manager of the Hobby Life Division, Kiyohara
Oshi-nui has grown together with everyone who enjoys making plush toys at craft stores. As nui-katsu spreads and there are more ways to enjoy it, such as taking a plush out or dressing it up, we are drawn to PATCH&PLAY's &NUI., where you can customize in the shop while talking it over. We hope people will learn about the &NUI. initiative and discover a new way to enjoy Oshi-nui.
細川 拓, Representative Director of STORY&Co.
Under the concept "not restored to how it was, but restored to how you are," PATCH&PLAY has been mending clothes and offering embroidery customization. As more people welcome a plush into their lives, carry it around and dress it up, we wanted to create a place where you can think together about what suits it and make it. &NUI. is a line that extends PATCH&PLAY's way of thinking to nui-katsu. Together with Kiyohara's Oshi-nui, we want to offer an experience that makes plush toys and their people want to go out together.
About PATCH&PLAY
PATCH&PLAY is a mending shop based in Harajuku, Tokyo, that opened in November 2025 to bring "the option not to throw it away" into everyday life. In addition to mending, it offers more than 500 types of patches, including original designs by creators. In spring 2026 the shop was rebranded, with its logo, concept and services expanded, and it started new experiential services under the new concept "not restored to how it was, but restored to how you are," including one-of-a-kind embroidery customization created through conversation. PATCH&PLAY Shinjuku opened in Tokyu Stay Shinjuku in September 2026.
Rather than treating clothes as mere "consumables," PATCH&PLAY sees them as things to grow attached to while layering your own personality and memories onto them, and it aims to update the relationship with clothes from "consumption" to "co-creation."
- Shop name: PATCH&PLAY (パッチ・アンド・プレイ) flagship store
- Address: Harajuku Belpia 104, 6-6-2 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
- Hours: 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM (irregular closures)
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patchandplay_tokyo/
