You are certainly aware of my love for brushes and for craftsmanship, today I wanted to share a little bit more about the microfiber towel “To the Moon and Back”. It may answer some of your questions regarding the reasons why I did them and about the people behind the projects.
My motivation is always to do my best in order to create something that feels special, that resonates with you. I am not driven by the business side of this journey, what drives me is the story, the relationships and you all.
The Microfiber towel “To the Moon and Back”
First of all, a microfiber cloth is an essential accessory for the brushes, there are so many of them and you don’t need to buy an expensive one to get the job done, that’s for sure. I also could have released a much more affordable microfiber cloth, it would have done the job the same way, but there is a reason why I wanted this cloth to be dual sided and another reason why I wanted to work with this Company.
I actually really love handkerchiefs and little towels, it was important that the microfiber towel had also this “handkerchief” side in cotton. Handkerchiefs take me many many years back and it has nothing to do with the brushes, they remind me of my grandfather. He raised me, he would wipe my face or nose with his handkerchief every day, it was a routine and he would always joke about it.
I had the most amazing childhood, my memories are so fresh that it’s difficult to believe he is gone. I have kept his handkerchiefs preciously, they remind me of our happy moments, not that I wouldn’t remember him without them, I cannot picture him without his handkerchief in his pocket.
Combining a cotton side with a microfiber side was important to me as I have a sentimental connection to handkerchiefs but as it happens, they are also quite useful!
I was looking for a company who could help me do this. I found a fantastic Company leader in this field in Japan, I had to convince them to work with me. That ended up being quite a surprising and unforgettable process.
For my first meeting with this Company in Tokyo I was sitting in front of 3 people, it was a very Japanese style meeting and very formal. I had the feeling they weren’t interested, or maybe they just didn’t understand me… Towards the end they asked me why I wanted to do this project and I told them I had a huge collection of their products, showed pictures, and I also mentioned my story about my grand father, how much he meant to me. As I was remembering all those memories my eyes were tearing up, I felt very embarrassed, I was extremely tired and that mixed up with emotions, it made a mess. We finished our meeting and I left very confused, thinking that it went very very bad. Surprisingly, later that day I received a message from them, telling me that they loved me and that they would be honored to work with me. And here we are today.
I met them several times, learned about their processes and I wanted to make sure I could trust them, they were very transparent and we built a very special relationship.
When I told my mum about my first meeting with them, how it went, she sent me biscuits from Spain so that I could take them with me to Japan and give them to my contacts as a thank you present 🙂 We took a pic for my mum of course…
Working with amazing people means everything to me. I want to meet the people I work with, I want to get to know them, be able to ask any question and feel comfortable with them.
A project like this sounds like something that should be cheaper, but it depends who you work with and who you are. When you are a small OEM company you’ll have more costs associated with the project. If you go to larger companies, the ratio “cost per item” can be much reduced. I agree it’s definitely not cheap for a little towel, but it reflects the actual costs and not some kind of greediness.
The illustration on the handkerchief side (the cotton side), represents little rabbits hopping towards the moon and back, with the moon, clouds, sakura flowers, traditional Japanese elements that I adore. It took time to get to that design, but it had to trigger a strong emotional response and I did not stop until it did.
It really is about the story, about the connection with the people that I work with and all of this is only possible if I have a sincere connection with you in the first place. I always said I could never thank you enough and that is a fact.
If you have any questions about the usage or the process, or anything else, please do not hesitate to ask! Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your trust, also for your precious support and for your patience!
There is another post regarding this towel with even more information here!
THANK YOU !!!
9 comments
Hi Sonia, thank you for this informative blog. Your grandfather sounds like a wonderful man & I know that he must have been proud to have you as a granddaughter. Your generous spirit shines through & the attention you give to your customers/admirers/followers is unparalleled. Thank you dear sweet Sonia
Thank you Debra, he was indeed, I feel blessed to have been raised by such a wonderful man, if that shines through it’s the best feeling in the world, so thank you for saying this, it means a lot. I don’t know if he was proud but he used to say I was so kind and so evil at the same time 😀 a “sweet kind of evil” -hence the name of the blog. It’s my pleasure to share these stories with you and thank you for taking time out of your day to read and comment! Sending you lots of love <3
Thank you for sharing such personal stories and your process with us! I already appreciate and admire your products, but knowing the back stories make me treasure them because they were not easy to make into reality. It seems that every step of the way, they could have almost not happened!
Hi Yelena, actually you are right saying that they could almost not have happened 🙂 that wasn’t far from that I admit.
Thank you so much!! means so much that you are reading, love the Fude community!!
Dear Sonia
Thank you for your wonderful blog post – I have been reading your blog for some years and recently purchased your Pro and Sky eye brushes this year. I ordered the cloth from Beautylish and cannot wait to use it – what a beautiful and unique artisan piece. Excited to see what you have in store. I have a severe nut allergy and cannot purchase the walnut holder because of that. I am wondering if the new Holiday wooden handle brushes are also walnut or any other nut tree wood please? Thank you again
Emma
Thank you so so much for inviting us into your world.
Thank you so much for sharing your genuine thought processes of your brush journey and interactions with your artisinal suppliers.
I hear there is a holiday version of your brushes coming out in December. Tell us more!
Also, what does the symbol on your brushes mean?
Thank you so much for providing such a thoughtful and detailed blog post! It was a joy to read. I love that you, like me, appreciate craftsmanship and tradition. So often, the old ways are being replaced by cheaper and mass-produced methods and the beauty is lost.
I am really looking forward to Beautylish restocking the walnut holder, and I am excited to see the crane and Mt Fuji design as well! For your next project- perhaps you can consider working with your artists and creating a stand or box or some sort of display to hold our precious kinoko brushes.
Take care!
Holy moly I’m in tears! I can’t believe the lovely story behind this cloth and I’m even more happy to have it in my collection! Thank you for sharing this and OF COURSE they were going to love you!!! Your passion alone is something people want to support!
What a beautiful story behind the brush towel, I felt an emotional connection reading your story. I bought 2 towels, and I love them!