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The minä perhonen covers have been some of the most popular ones in our lineup this year. Thank you.
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| Okabe |
I’m so happy to hear that.
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| Kaneko |
Yes, the pleasure is all ours.
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Now then, let’s talk about the Hobonichi Techo covers. What’s the story behind the “sometimes lucky” textile?
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| Okabe |
The designer, Minagawa, worked at an art studio that had a field of clovers outside. He would often search for four-leaf clovers, and actually found them pretty quickly. He wanted to take a slice of this everyday happiness and turn it into a textile, and so the “sometimes lucky” cover was born. The design is filled with three-leaf clovers, and hides one four-leaf clover in the mix.
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So its name comes from the one four-leaf clover in the design.
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| Okabe |
Right. We’ve got dresses and skirts that have lots of clovers all over them, but even those only contain one four-leaf clover on the entire piece. It actually gets really hard to find. (laughs) We think customers will be able to remember what they were doing or thinking when they first found the lucky clover.
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I can see that being very special for the person who wears it. Now, how about hana hane? |
| Okabe |
Butterflies are a very precious motif for us at minä perhonen—our name includes the word for butterfly. Our goal is to design clothes in the same way butterflies have an endless number of designs on their wings. We’ve even made children’s rompers and baby blankets with bright color varieties of the design. |
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The hana hane techo cover coupled with children’s clothing of the same design seems like it would make a wonderful gift set.
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| Kaneko |
We can see how the sometimes lucky and hana hane designs would both be popular with uses of all ages.
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Yeah, we’ve gotten comments on our review page that say, “I can see using this when I’m an old grandma someday.”
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| Kaneko |
We love when customers see our products as something they can use forever.
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What can you tell us about the bright “tambourine” zippers covers?
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| Okabe |
The tambourine design was initially released in more subdued colors than our other designs. So when we refashioned it into neon colors for the techo cover, it shocked even a lot of our staff, who wanted one for themselves when they saw it.
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We haven’t used neon colors in any of our clothing items.
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| Kaneko |
I think it’s also the handy size of the techo that makes the striking neon colors so appealing. I think the colors might be too much for people if we used them in clothing. (laughs) But now people can carry the cover around as a nice accessory to their outfit.
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Which techo cover is your personal favorite?
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| Okabe |
I’m entranced by the neon colors in this one, so I really like the Cousin size tambourine. The A5 Cousin is nice and roomy, so I can fit everything for work in one place. Plus the zipper design keeps so much more in the cover, it’s more like a handbag. I like how it can be more than a planner, and safely fits money and important things to replace a wallet. I can see this coming in handy during meetings and everything, like an all-purpose case.
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Yes, it looks good on you. Do you have accessories you’d like to carry with you?
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| Kaneko |
I’d love to see people couple the covers with one of the themed items from the latest seasonal collection. It’s called the quartz pouch, and it’s modeled after six-sided crystals. They use cloth and leather, and make great pen cases.
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Is the quartz pouch on sale in minä perhonen shops?
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| Kaneko |
Yes, we sell it both in the store and online.
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| Okabe |
Customers who stop by check out our clothing line and all the displays we’ve set up with the latest seasonal designs. The staff here all work together to come up with the displays.
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I see the designs this season were modeled after the “crystal” theme.
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| Kaneko |
Yeah, we’ve dotted the shop with all kinds of little touches that follow the crystal theme. Here’s some rock-shaped chocolate we got to fit the theme, as well. Please, help yourself.
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Thank you! Wow, it looks exactly like rocks, but this is definitely chocolate. That’s neat. (laughs)
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| Okabe |
We serve customers with seasonal tea along with these sweets in hopes that customers can comfortably relax and take their time in the store.
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That’s a wonderful draw for people to come by. Do you ever have Hobonichi Techo users stop by?
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| Kaneko |
Actually, there are plenty of customers who learn about minä perhonen through the Hobonichi Techo, and then stop by to see us here. We even had someone come from far away to tell us how they won the lottery sale for the “piece,” cover. We’re incredibly grateful for how many people have come to know our brand thanks to the techo covers.
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| Okabe |
When we see customers use minä perhonen Hobonichi Techo covers from previous years, we’re delighted to see how they’ve continued to keep it by their side after all this time. It feels good to see how our product became an intimate belonging in their life.
(Thank you, Okabe-san and Kaneko-san!)
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The gentle yet bold aura of minä perhonen was even present in these two young women we talked to.
We hope you enjoy making your 2015-edition minä perhonen cover a part of your life!
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