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Craft Cafe is a web shop based in Kyoto that introduces items that are overflowing with the originality and ingenuity of their creators and that have the taste and warmth of handicrafts. Currently, we are focusing on products and works that can be used in everyday life, such as jeans and shirts that are particular about fabrics, sewing, and processing, hand-dyed and hand-painted T-shirts, accessories, watches, and bags. I am receiving it. I started this business when I was a student, when I was conducting interviews with craftsmen and writers involved in traditional crafts and arts in Kyoto. The stories of the people who were there were very interesting and moving, and before I knew it, I was talking for hours, and before I knew it, it turned into a drinking party. I think it was because I was not satisfied with writing papers and reports, and felt that I would like to work with these people someday. |
 Kyo Yuzen hand-dyed T-shirt production scene |
After graduating from school, I worked at a venture newspaper company in Kyoto, covering entrepreneurs active in various fields, and craftsmen and writers working on new challenges while making the most of tradition. Through my work as an interviewer, I was able to meet a lot of amazing people, but I personally felt very regretful that I would have a once-in-a-lifetime relationship with such people. I started my current job. There are many things that are tough, but I have a close relationship with the creators, and I enjoy working with them. |
| At the craft cafe, we aim to go beyond mere sales of products and works by creating contact points between customers and creators, and between creators and creators, and creating a place where new craftsmanship is born. (This is also reflected in the current company name). I usually visit the production site as much as possible, meet the creators face-to-face, feel their commitment and thoughts, and at the same time I try to convey the requests from the customer. Also, based on the idea that "if this person and this person meet, something interesting will surely happen...", collaboration items were born as a result of the exchange meeting (or rather, drinking party) held with the creators. I am |
 Te-zome shop x graphzero “Te-zome-ZERO” |
 Taken at the Red Brick Warehouses in Maizuru City, Kyoto |
In addition, since the creators are allowed to handle items created with their own tastes, ideas, techniques and creativity, we take time and effort to create product pages based on the principle of one page per product. (…if I say so myself). I really don't feel like creating a product page with a few product images and a few lines of description. It may not be very efficient to provide a detailed explanation of each item, or post many photos of examples of wearing and details of each part. However, by doing so, I think that the thoughts of the creators can also be conveyed to the customer. In addition, we believe that customers will feel a sense of security as if they were actually holding the product in their hands and shopping. |
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It's been a long time since we've been called an information society, but I personally feel that there is still little information about people who are pursuing their own manufacturing through trial and error, and about their products and works, and I would like to know more. I often want to To be honest, we have a lot of incomplete parts in terms of information dissemination, but there are good things in various parts of Japan, such as craftsmen and writers who are active individually, and brands in production areas with a history and accumulation of manufacturing. While introducing more about the people who make this, I would like to deliver wonderful products that are full of commitment and passion. Craft cafe representative Kazuhiko Tabata
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| Representative Kazuhiko Tabata Biography |
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Born in Maizuru City, Kyoto Prefecture in 1976. My family is a carpenter and an agricultural family. Graduated from the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities, Shizuoka University, and completed the master's course at the Graduate School of Sociology, Ritsumeikan University. When I was a student, I was involved in industrial research and conducted interview surveys from large companies to craftsmen. In particular, I am interested in the "independence" career of craftsmen involved in traditional crafts and fine arts. The world of traditional industries, which continues to shrink, is supported in no small part by young people who want to become independent. know that there is a possibility of So, in my master's thesis, I was told by my teachers and seniors that I should do something with welfare or other needs, but I completely pursued my hobby. Summarize the results of the interview survey in a thesis. After graduating from school, I interviewed venture companies at the venture newspaper company. Seeing and listening to lively entrepreneurs, despite the rigor and difficulty of starting a business, strengthened the desire to "do something myself." . After leaving the newspaper company, he was involved in the process from launching a new online shopping business to getting it on track at a mail-order planning company that he met through interviews, gaining valuable experience that leads to what he is today. In July 2005, I established Craft Cafe Co., Ltd. with the support of various people. Up to now. …I wrote it in a sloppy way, but in a nutshell, it's a job I started for fairly hobby reasons, "because I like it" and "because it's fun." If there are people who say, "I want people in the world to know and use what I have created because I think it is good," and if there are people who are looking for such things somewhere, the work I am doing now I'm sure there must be a meaning... I'll do my best to believe. |
