There is a general goods brand “Kurashiki Isho Keikaku-shitsu” in Okayama. As that name which means “Kurashiki Design Planning Room,” they deal with many kinds of goods like boxes and accessories, collaborating with a lot of factories and artisans. Moreover, they have also published their original catalog books in order to notify you of the thoughts of the makers.

It means they regard sensitivity as very important. So I interviewed with Tanabe Shinsuke, the brand organizer, and asked him how we should live with sensitivity under capitalism.


■ So glad to meet you. First, wouldn’t you explain what your brand,“Kurashiki Isho Keikaku-shitsu” is?

Tanabe Shinsuke: In short, it is a general goods brand. I used to manage a company of design and printing onto something like paper and cloth. However, printing gradually got to be on the increase and design was on the decrease among the working. Feeling something was wrong, I established the new brand to sell what I planned.


■ Did you have any know-how about wholesale trade?

T: No at all. There wasn’t internet at the time that I hadn’t gone out from Okayama. So I desperately looked for some good-looking wholesalers in Tokyo on phone books and dived into them. Some of them got interested in our goods. Then, several times I had displayed at trade fairs, but I quitted after 7 or 8 years. One of the reasons is that they desired what seems to do down well.


■ Something convenient or high-impact…?

Tanabe Shinsuke Living in Okayama. Established a printing company in 1981. Renamed into "Kurashiki Isho Keikaku-shitsu" in 1989. In 1992, started to deal with what he planned. In 2012, their first company shop “atiburanti” was opened.

T: Right. They hardly took a look at the sensitivity or the idea of the creator, however. So I desired to send our products first to those who felt sympathy toward ours. Our general goods are, therefore, mainly lying in select stores who feel sympathy.


■ Now I am in your first company shop “atiburanti” in Kurashiki city, Okayama. Is this the flagship one?

T: This seems so. I was not originally going to open this only company shop. Until the open in 2012, we were hardly recognized correctly although our name was several times introduced upon magazines which featured general goods. So I believe it is good for us to show here what we deal with clearly.


■ At first, were not you eagerly?

T: I, a small-scale company, hesitated because it is necessary having some employees for managing a shop. We still, including all employees, keep about 15 persons. However, we just had a little number of our customers, retail shops, inside Okayama since most of them were outside. I considered that this shop was the last chance to work for my hometown. Being close to the retiring age, I decided to open this shop.



An Outlook Of “atiburanti”