niime 百科

Encyclopedia of niime

This is the first cover interview for Ms Tamaki and Mr Sakai at the ‘tamaki niime’ CEO office.
There is a new open wooden room facing the south balcony, located near the back of the tabe room. You can see inside the Lab from the window. There is a water tank for ｍedaka and a hut for three Silkies, where I can see that one female is warming eggs and two males are standing. The toy poodle named Remo is on Tamaki’s lap, and two sheep are happily eating grass on the balcony.
We heard a big and sudden announcement in the room, where there is this sense of togetherness that ‘tamaki niime’ has created. Where there is no barrier between animals and humans, and they said, “We announce niime’s ‘fabric store’!”. What is this new project? Let’s have an energetic discussion about their plans.

Tamaki

This time, a ‘New Film team’ member, Fujiryu (Ryuta Fujimoto), went to interview for Mr Hirofumi Nishikaku, a Banshu-ori craftsman.

—— Yes.

Tamaki

I haven’t posted on the ‘tamaki niime’ YouTube channel yet, but I checked the contents for editing. And I found out Mr Nishikaku’s very last answer for our interview, asking him about what he wants us to do. He said that he simply wants us to sell fabrics.

—— Simply?

Tamaki

In his answer to my question as to why, he said he doesn’t have time to sell his fabrics. Even though he could make as much as he wants, he doesn’t have time to make them if he goes out to sell. If he asks customers to come to purchase, he spends all his time serving them. Since he works by himself, it’s tough to balance making and selling.

—— I see.

Tamaki

He loves creating exciting fabrics, and he would instead focus on making them. He said it is worth the sales charge’s cost because it will promote his business if we sell his products. His request was to have us open a ‘fabric store’.

—— I see.

Tamaki

I thought he would be able to find other local stores to sell his products, but they are not offered on the market as much as he wants to sell yet.

—— He has been joining the shop event “Kobe Marche”.

Tamaki

I have a clear vision of my wish for a fabric store.

—— I see.

Tamaki

It would be good if I could open the store that I want.

—— Ms Tamaki, you have made it possible to create items from a woman’s perspective, which usually are ignored, but those items are essential.

Tamaki

Yes, I work for them.

—— That’s why passionate fans loved your shawls.

Tamaki

In my case, I studied fashion at a university and went to a vocational school. At that time I had to buy my own fabrics.

Sakai

Yeah.

Tamaki

I bought the fabrics for making clothes at regular stores, but I couldn’t find cute ones at all.

—— I see.

Tamaki

I had an image of cute fabrics on my mind, but I had to buy the one at the store and used it unwillingly.

Sakai

Yeah.

Tamaki

As a result, my finished creations were not very cute; of course, it was because of my developing pattern and design skills at the time, though, but basically, ‘materials’ can be a decisive factor. There was a considerable gap between my image and those materials. Comparing my product with the ones made by apparel companies, mine looked inferior because I couldn’t use the most recent trends in fabrics.

—— Hmmm.

Tamaki

But it’s essential to make high-quality clothes while they are students. They learn to have an expert eye by knowing if their works are at the same level as professional brands or if they need improvement or are better by judging through their results. If the ‘materials’ match your creativity, it is essential. It is painful that you have to choose from a limited selection.

—— It makes a difference on the starting line of choosing fabrics.

Tamaki

You are right. They only get materials bringing lesser value. It was impossible to make your favourite fabrics by yourself at that time.

—— I see.

Tamaki

On that line of thought, I am sure fashion students want to challenge making clothing using their preferred fabrics. Because there are many materials not in stores, if we work on product flow, many customers would come to purchase, like ‘B to C’. When they do, we can take their requests, leading to making more exciting fabrics. Artisans or anyone who wants to buy would gather and discuss, making it possible to make fabric development suggestions.

Sakai

‘B to B’ can be also possible.

Tamaki

They will develop to flow ‘B to B.’ Because students become professionals, I hope they learn about fabrics while still students, and I hope they expand to create exciting ideas. Artisans can follow their beliefs.

—— Hmmm.

Tamaki

Students can get ideas, and craftsmen create what students asked for. It’s crucial to develop fabrics that matched to ideas. For artisans, they are lonely making fabrics limited to their ideas. By introducing information, they would encourage him to make what others suggest, just like what Mr Nishikaku and I did. The interview with Mr Nishikaku reminded me of old memories with him.

—— Just like those days of you and Mr Nishikaku, it was a chance to collaborate with designers and artisans.

Tamaki

We couldn’t have a better time to get a phone call from a local high school teacher, who asked us to have a fabric development project with students.

—— That’s wonderful.

Tamaki

We replied, ‘We will do it.’ But we don’t want to do this as a business, only as volunteers. It may sound impolite, but financially we can’t do the fabric development project with the reward money. If we let students do the things that even professional workers can’t do, they would misunderstand and treat making fabrics with such contempt.

—— I see.

Tamaki

I don’t want them to misunderstand that it’s easy to do. While they are still students, I don’t think we should let them quickly draw designs and make fabrics, for which even professional designers need lots of money. If we accept this project, I think it would be worth using this time to teach them what kind of fabrics are new or cool or how their designs go from a process into materials. I will do it if they agree with my ideas. They understood after saying I wouldn’t do it if they asked us to accept payment.

—— You would do it without compensation. You don’t want them to view it as transactional.

Tamaki

Actually, such projects cost millions of yen. You cannot see artisans, but they do complex works behind the scenes. This project would take away time and labour. If we want to make good deals for both of us, we must learn from it meaningfully. Artisans should listen to students’ opinions to refresh their minds or make the time to improve their talents. This opportunity should not be in vain.

—— You think this exchange between artisans and students is meaningful.

Tamaki

That’s the essential part.

—— You remove the standard of monetary compensation.

Tamaki

I don’t think we can. Because getting ideas also costs money. I told them we would sell fabrics at our fabric store instead. Of course, we will provide students with 20 meters fabrics. Instead, we want to sell the material the students made at our store. That’s the deal that would benefit us both. And we want them to use their developed fabrics for making clothes. We would have the Jacquard fabric, which may be challenging to use as a ‘tamaki niime’ product. If they complete the material, they could come to see it at our ‘fabric store’ to be open in the future if their fabric was sold or not, right?

—— Hmmm, I see.

Tamaki

They would be so excited to see, saying, ‘Wow, that customer bought my fabric!’

—— I see.

Tamaki

They can learn by observing the process until the sale to see how their work pays off. We explained to them that we could help them learn while they are students.

—— It sounds like a ‘tamaki niime’ creation class in high school.

Tamaki

There are 40 students. I want them to learn about our creations. For example, after graduating from high school and going on to college, I want them to continue studying out in the world. And I hope they wish to come back to ‘tamaki niime’. I would find nothing more exciting than that.

—— Like baby birds, come home to roost.

Tamaki

I wouldn’t have any complaints if they come back to us after learning all there is to know.

Sakai

Yeah.

Tamaki

That would be a good ‘investment’ for me.

Sakai

It would be good for the city of Nishiwaki.

Tamaki

They have high presentation skills, but they specifically focus on making clothes and know little about Banshu-ori even though they live in the production area. When they work at other places, the greatest strength is how much they know about fabric creation. So I want them to know more about it while they are in school. That’s why they have started studying hard with our ‘Weave team.’

—— Already! That’s wonderful. Suppose they thoroughly study Banshu-ori in person while they are students. In that case, they may keep connecting with ‘tamaki niime’ and come back after graduating and working for other places.

Sakai

They shouldn’t be ‘a frog in a well’. There are tons of excellent people in the world. It’s essential to meet them.

—— I think so.

Sakai

It’s good to see the world at least once. There are many amazing people in Japan. It’s important to know there are people with unique senses.

Tamaki

It’s essential to see various things or have many experiences.

Sakai

Some people dare not show off their talents but are extremely good. In developing their senses, they may notice such people; I hope they study here and meet various people outside, and I wish they come back to work here.

—— By that, ‘tamaki niime’ is blessed by being surrounded by nature, having exceptional staff with different talents in different areas. There are vegetable and rice fields and animals in this ‘niime village’. It looks like its own little society.

Tamaki

In the video for Mr Togo of ‘Koeroku’ that we shot in this room, we couldn’t have a good conversation with him well because a Silkie was crowing. I asked people for their impressions about the video; all they talked about was the Silkie. (laugh)

Sakai

That’s right, but some said it was fun listening to.

Tamaki

Many people shared such comments. For many listeners, the Silkie had more weight than us. He has no bad intentions. He was not crowing to please people but to express himself. That captured people’s hearts because he was not trying to plot or anything.

—— He was crowing a lot, right?

Sakai

He crows without any choice.

Tamaki

His way gets more attention in people’s heart. Don’t you think?

Sakai

Only calculating ends up in more calculations.

Tamaki

Our focus should be on making things that naturally help people; things happen (laugh) or make them excited?

Sakai

Even kids make trouble and annoy adults by screaming without caring about the people around them.

Tamaki

Yeah.

Sakai

We could act like that before, but as we grow up, we learn many concerns, understand others thoughts, or read between the lines.

Tamaki

You are so right!

Sakai

We are now…

Tamaki

That’s the problem!

Sakai

I do agree with you.

Tamaki

I can read between the lines, but I don’t think we have to go with the flow.

〈continued〉
As the conversation about the ’fabric store’ derailed, they started talking about the Silkie. Their discussion continued on about how exciting their childhood had been.
So, how will their discussion evolve?

Original Japanese text by Seiji Koshikawa.
English translation by Adam & Michiko Whipple.