Our Story

What’s in a name? Two of our favorite things — eating and sleeping!

10 years ago, Jane had just moved to Seattle and was looking for a match with some new clients when a meeting was set up with Ayako and the recruiting agency she was working for. They instantly clicked and a half hour “get to know you” meeting turned into a 60 min talk about food. What to eat, where to eat, when to eat (ALWAYS hungry), and before the meeting was over, they had plans to meet up for treats.

Since their first meal together they have gone on many food adventures. During these meals, Jane and Ayako talked about passion projects and creating meaningful work outside of their 9-5.

In 2020, Ayako had her first child and found herself purchasing many, many, many books. Reading was a special time for her and her daughter and she decided that this was what she wanted to create. Ayako sketched out the concept and featuring food was a no-brainer. Traveling was also easy because it’s something Ayako loves to do, as she has been to 40 countries. Still an avid napper, Ayako and her brother were champion nappers growing up. As a mother, she also saw the value of a kid napping (some quiet ME time!) and thought it would be fun to incorporate nap and bedtime routine into the books. And Nosh & Nap? Ayako had a kind of secret Instagram account featuring her meals traveling around for the last few years pre-covid and already had the name. It was perfect.

Ayako shared her sketches with Jane and asked if she would be her partner and illustrator, because Jane’s drawings are her favorite and the answer was a resounding YES! The opportunity to work together was also a no-brainer. They both believe that kids and families around the world would love them too!

Seattle is their current home and they wanted to share it as their first book. Hawai’i is special to Ayako because it was the first place she lived outside of Japan when her mom moved their family on the way to the mainland.

We hope you enjoy going around the world with us! Stay tuned to find out where we go next!

Love, Ayako and Jane