Featured Seller – myfuroshiki

My wife had a stall at Keighley Arts Market in Yorkshire last weekend (I tagged along for moral support) and we met this weeks featured seller, who also had a stall. I really had to show you her work, environmentally sound and really vibrant! It really is one of those occasions when the photo doesn’t do the product justice (please don’t take that the wrong way Mich, it is supposed to be a compliment!!!)…If you are looking for a fantastic alternative to gift wrap that can be used time and again, and then can be turned into a shoulder bag(!), let me introduce you to…

Myfuroshiki

Introduce yourself?

Hello, my name is Michiko Yasue (generally known as Mich) and my sister Olivia and I form myfuroshiki, dedicated to the design and production of fabric wrapping cloths and accessories. I live in beautifully green (aka rainy) Yorkshire with my partner and son whilst Olivia is sunning herself in Perth, Western Australia, with her partner, daughter and bump / baby to be. We’re looking forward to a big family reunion this Christmas when our children will meet for the first time.

How did it all start?

On holiday in Japan last year, I came across a shop in Tokyo station selling little gifts and lovely little cotton squares, known as furoshiki, to wrap them in. Very simple by themselves but so much more in combination; not only was the wrapping part of the gift, but there was no waste. Furoshiki are said to have been first used in fourteenth century Japan by people going to the bath houses, to wrap up their clothes. I was very taken by the idea of helping to spread the use of furoshiki as things which are beautiful in their own right, multi-purpose and environmentally sound.

Once back in the UK I enlisted Olivia, who has a background in design and retailing, and myfuroshiki was born!

Have you always sold online?

Yes, furoshiki are ideal to sell online and we started off thinking that all we had to do was post a couple of items on an auction site and we’d be away. However we soon realised that that was fairly soulless and did not reach to the audience we wanted and luckily then found our way to sites such as Coriandr, of which we’re delighted to be part.

We’re on a massive (and enjoyable) learning curve as to the possibilities of the internet and I’m constantly amazed on discovering new ways to promote our products and really appreciate the creativity and friendliness of others who are out there doing the same thing.

I’ve also now got the market bug, having had a fantastic time at my first one last weekend, and Olivia is building up her direct selling, doing seasonal mail shots to her neighbours offering furoshiki wrapped easter eggs for example, which are taking off well.

What inspires you?

Furoshiki themselves – I just love the idea that one square of fabric and a few simple knots are all it takes to wrap a gift, make a shoulder bag, a handbag, lunch box carrier and place mat, a wine bottle carrier, a book carrier, a portfolio, a wall hanging etc etc – and that you can then just undo the knots and make something else. There are so many ways I want to try using them: with an inner waterproof furoshiki as a beachbag / mat; with a large furoshiki and some smaller ones as a picnic bag / tablecloth and napkins; as a baby’s change bag set. I was ridiculously excited to see someone in the supermarket, the day after I’d done my market stall, wearing one of our furoshiki as a bandana!

Everyone should have one!

If you had to pick a favourite from all your creations, what would it be?

Our first furoshiki were Olivia’s cute animal and fabulous floral screenprints and I love their bright colours and simple designs, particularly the orange dragonfly and flower. Looking at my creations, I’m particularly proud of my idea of reusable felt gift tags; it didn’t seem right to be offering reusable gift wrap which would be used with throwaway tags.

What music is playing in the background right now?

Just the dawn chorus – it’s rather early!

Do you have a favourite seller or item on Coriandr at the moment?

There are so many varied and lovely things on Coriandr that it’s really difficult to choose. One day I’ll have a room of my own (a space currently only accessible through a hatch in the ceiling of my partner’s study) and am already mentally decorating it with:

• Millalove’s garland of paper flowers hanging from the beams;
• On my desk one of Laurenceramics’ pen pots;
• A few of FeatherG’s hand painted silk cushions strewn on the sofa for inspirational lolling;
• On the walls, a nature painting from Fionn Simpson and postcard canvas from Chinese Attic; and
• On my “happy” shelf some of CuteDesigns’ amigurumi characters (very kawaii), Dig The Earth’s carousel cards and an inspiration ninja from Tiny Pretty Things…

What does the future hold?

Gosh – there are so many things I’m itching to try…

… making furoshiki from recycled materials (I’m currently unpicking some old shirts)…making patchwork furoshiki from the offcuts of bought fabric left from the ones I’ve already made… as our volumes grow, investigating the use of organic cotton, bamboo fabric etc for our screen printed designs…

… working on my shibori techniques to be able to produce items as beautiful as the silk belt that forms part of the kimono my grandfather gave me when I was a child … and on developing our range of gift tags and gift and bag accessories (kanzashi flowers would look wonderful)…

…selling our beautifully packaged and branded furoshiki through other shops … providing furoshiki to stores for them to use instead of their own plastic bags … offering gift wrapping services / ready wrapped gifts… producing books and dvds of furoshiki tying techniques…

… frequent trips to Japan for new inspiration and ideas … and, of course, some sort of time altering machine so I can fit all this in!

If you could have a new feature on Coriandr, what would it be?

I need to take some time to figure out how to make my photos clearer – they seem to lose some definition when compressed – and if there’s a way to see at a glance how many times my items have been viewed without having to click into each one. I’d also like to be able to use Google Analytics to see where the viewers have come from and in what they’re most interested. Oooh, and to be able to search by seller.

For me though the most important things about Coriandr are that the layout is attractive and easy to follow, the look of the front page (and the fact that it changes regularly!). I really appreciate that Mookle and the editors are involved, listen and respond and I’m sure with that approach, the site will go from strength to strength.

Thank you so much Mich! You can read all about the featured products by clicking any of the images above, or you can visit myfuroshiki’s shop here.

That’s all for this week…

Kev

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