Hello. I am Takada, a new craftsman who joined the MITUBACI team this April.
I am learning the skills of a craftsman little by little by taking charge of workshops and being taught by senior craftsmen. I hope to write a blog about what I feel and notice through my daily work from the perspective of a newcomer.
In this issue, I would like to focus on the craftsmen who work at MITUBACI and their "manufacturing outside of their MITUBACI jobs.
Craftsmanship is a part of daily life
Because when I joined MITUBACI, I noticed that the artisans here really love making things. Of course, as craftsmen, it is only natural that they love to make jewelry. But not only that, many of them are making something with their own hands outside of working hours and on their days off.
One person has been making accessories at home by combining metalwork and embroidery. One person says, "If I don't have something, I'll make it before I buy it! and DIY various tools to make them easier to use,
The creation of things transcends the boundary between work and private life and takes root in a person's life in a very natural way. This is something that has made a deep impression on me since I joined the company.
I myself like to create something with my hands, not only jewelry. I do handicrafts and crafts in my free time, and I try to make small adjustments to things around me. As a craftsman, I still have a lot to learn, but I can relate to the joy and fulfillment I feel through "making things" every day.
That is why I was so fascinated by the way the artisans at MITUBACI work with their hands and enjoy expressing themselves in their private lives as a matter of course. It is wonderful to be familiar with making things outside of work and to have handmade things as a part of one's daily life, isn't it? I felt that I could learn more about the craftsmen's attitude as makers by coming into contact with this aspect of their work.
And by introducing such a figure, I would be happy if everyone could learn more about us, MITUBACI.
Mr. Huang, another new craftsman.
Now, as the first of these, I would like to introduce Mr. Huang, a new craftsman who became a member of MITUBACI at the same time as I did.
Mr. Huang is a craftsman from Taiwan. While majoring in oil painting at an art college in Taiwan, he has tried a wide range of genres, not only painting, but also metalworking, embroidery, and art works using scrap wood. Although Huang was originally interested in conceptualizing art and working on artistic expression, he gradually became more interested in creating "something that can actually be held in the hand" and "something that can be handed down to people as a product," and his interest shifted to the more practical world of craftsmanship.
Huang was also fascinated with embroidery when she was in college. She has experience making her own embroidered accessories and selling them at a store in Taiwan. As she continued to make accessories, she felt that she wanted to try different materials in addition to fabric and thread, and she was attracted to metal as a material, which led her to jewelry making.
What brought him to Japan was the strong impression he had of Japan, which he had visited several times with his family when he was a child. In addition, her family encouraged her to work in Japan, and after graduating from university, she studied at a Japanese language school for a year before becoming a member of MITUBACI.
Currently, Mr. Huang is in the process of honing his skills as a craftsman while also being in charge of workshops at MITUBACI. Even in the midst of these days, he continues to create embroidery and metalwork, and we recently had the opportunity to see some of his work!
The combination of fine embroidery and metal texture in the small brooch makes it seem as if it is filled with a little story...!
I thought it was very cute and very typical of Huang's work, and I was very moved by what I saw.
In addition, Huang had arranged the novelty tote bags that were distributed to commemorate the opening of MITUBACI's new store by embroidering them herself to make them pretty. The beaded embroidery is a nice touch to the MITUBACI logo.
We hope to continue to introduce you to MITUBACI's craftsmen and their craftsmanship little by little. We would be happy if we can convey anything at all to those who love craftsmanship and are interested in the appearance of the makers.
