#002 Make my name a brand name| KENTO HASHIGUCHI

This is Hashiguchi.

Today 8/4 is the anniversary of the start of bag production.

Today we are celebrating the 6th anniversary of the start of bag production.

Thanks to everyone who has been involved so far.

And please continue to favor us.

The story of the beginning of bag making is in the previous article.

The heat of Kyoto continues to exceed 35 degrees Celsius every day. The atelier I just moved to is on the 3rd floor of a steel-framed 3-story building, so it's really hot. We are devising countermeasures by installing a shade on the outdoor unit and partitioning the atelier with a vinyl curtain or cloth. It seems best to put insulation in the attic, but it costs a lot, so I'll wait and see with DIY.

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Well, today about the brand name. The brand name is my name, so it has no origin. However, in fact, when I first started making bags, I was working under a different brand name. I felt that the brand name I gave at the very beginning did not fit in with my activities, so I decided to change it, but I couldn't come up with a particularly good name, so I decided to use my personal name as it is. Rather, the expression "I lost the brand name" may be more correct. People in it have different feelings about the brand. The idea that you make another shell outside of yourself and that shell is a brand It's in a different place from your existence, and that's the idea of a brand Or the idea that a part of me is a brand I think there are.

If you brand by your personal name, you are your brand. Even with a personal name, a brand that is too big may be another dimension, but at least in my case, brand = myself. Ceramic writers and painters often use their own names as they are, but I feel that they are close to that. In other words, since the brand is 100% myself, I cannot think separately from myself. It's a different feeling from the possession of Shaman King and that of Evangelion. If the brand's arm breaks, you can actually break your own arm. Maybe. Therefore, I think that I always think "Is that really the case?" For each activity and move carefully. We don't make choices simply because the brand develops. I think I saw somewhere in the past that "branding is about deciding what to do", but I feel that there are too many things to do, and sometimes it is a hindrance to the development of the brand.

However, even if the result is not what I envision, the gap between the brand and myself will increase, and I am sure that both the brand and myself will collapse. So there is no such thing as "I am like this, but my brand is like this". That doesn't mean you don't want to develop your brand. It's like playing a kind of tied up game, keeping the shape you believe in and going as far as you can go. We believe that this will create a unique KENTO HASHIGUCHI character and add meaning to the brand's activities.