Me & My Itoshiroyohinten Vol.4 -Yuri Fujisawa (Studio Denden Representative)-

We will ask long-time customers of Ishiteshiro Clothing Store to tell us about their favorite items and their own activities.

Name: Yuri Fujisawa

My favorite item: Black merino sweater (for women)

Years of use: 1 year

Height: 156cm

 ---Please introduce yourself and tell us about your work and activities:

I am the representative of Studio Denden. I started my own design office in Tokyo, but fell in love with the townscape of Gujo Hachiman in Gifu Prefecture that I encountered during a trip, and moved there. It has been six years since I started working on vacant house countermeasures. I work in two locations, traveling between Gujo Hachiman and Tokyo. While living in Gujo Hachiman, I was impressed by how the architecture of machiya houses creates people's lifestyles and community wisdom, so I created "Keyaki no Oto Terrace," a lifestyle-type rental house that incorporates the lifestyle of a machiya house into an apartment in Tokyo, and it won the Good Design Award Best 100 and the Residential Architecture Award. I feel the same way about Ishitoshiro Clothing Store, but I believe that the future of Japanese life lies in inheriting the wisdom of our ancestors, and with the motto of "conveying Japanese traditional architecture and lifestyle culture to the next generation and the world," I design, real estate, and manage the machiya inn "Art & Hotel Kinohari."

---Favorite items:

This is a black merino wool sweater I bought last year. I fell in love with the perfectly balanced design, with a clean neckline and a nice length that covers the stomach but isn't too long, so you can just wear it as is. What surprised me was how warm it was; when I work on design projects, my hands and feet always get numb from the cold even in winter, but last year, this sweater and the matching socks were so warm that I didn't even notice the winter on-site, and I was so impressed that I bought a second color. I wore it a lot during the winter, and I can't imagine being without it this winter either!!

---How did you find out about Ishiteshiro Clothing Store?

Ever since I moved to Gujo Hachiman, I had heard stories from various sources. In the snowy region of Itoshiro, where God resides, women are handcrafting traditional clothing for the local community. I was impressed by how powerful it is to hear that they make their own indigo vats, grow indigo, and create jobs for the women. But when I first met the store owner, Hirano Kaori, I was surprised at the contrast with my image of her as a gentle person (laughs). Seeing them dyeing fabric with their own hands in the middle of nature from plants in the surrounding area and making clothes from that fabric, I thought how rich it must be, and how happy the clothes made here must be.

--- A message to Ishiteshiro Clothing Store:

The Echizen shirt loungewear from Itoshiro Clothing Store is popular at Kinohashi Inn for its soft feel, relaxed fit, and lovely design that can be worn outside as well. The handmade coasters are also very cute and are a popular item at the Kinohashi Shop. We are very grateful to Itoshiro Clothing Store for beautifully decorating the first inn we are running! We respect and support their many activities that connect the wisdom of our ancestors to the present and make use of them.

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