In the year of founding my company, amidst the unstable monthly sales, my wife and I conducted numerous cold calls in an attempt to create feasibility, partnering with several traditional craftsmen who we acquired. Unlike my proficiency in digital marketing, I only possessed amateur knowledge about traditional crafts. (Laughs) Solely driven by my passion—’to promote Japan’s traditional crafts overseas, preserving the pride of Japan’s long history of traditional craftsmanship, and to have it utilized by a larger global audience’—these partners graciously gave me a few hours for interviews at that time. Even now, each time I reminisce, my heart warms up with immense gratitude.

Amidst this, after several years, a significant order for a large quantity of items came from a Michelin-starred restaurant in the United States, which had previously purchased Japanese traditional crafts handled by our company! The joy from this is truly indescribable… While presently focused on restructuring the business foundation of our consulting and outsourcing operations, it’s challenging to allocate time to the traditional crafts business. Yet, I feel the urgency to somehow manage to expedite the efforts of spreading these crafts.

If any readers of this blog are interested, please feel free to contact us regarding traditional crafts!

Masaki “Mark” Iino
Founder & CEO
SOPHOLA, Inc