niime 百科

Encyclopedia of niime

Challenging new possibilities for Banshu-ori, ‘tamaki niime’ has aimed for creations that consider earth’s environment and sustainability since they invented one-item shawl.

They have been increasing the circle of people who have the same values, aiming to create a vibrant lifestyle not only for clothing, but also food and housing.

Their mission of ‘adjusting the distortion of the Earth’ has helped decide the direction of the ‘niime village creation’. With such intent, 2022 begins with each team’s daily effort.

I interviewed Masanao Yamashita and Mio Fujita, who are assigned as the project leaders to promote initiatives while connecting teams and promoting staff harmony.

The interview was done online, connecting with Yamashita at Shop & Lab in Nishiwaki and Mio Fujita, who works at ‘tamaki niime Tokyo Machida’.


—— The interviews of the last and before last were ‘niime: A Year End and A New Beginning’ that I had Ms Tamaki and Mr Sakai speak about the events of 2021 and thoughts for 2022. This time I would like to hear from you two who boldly head ‘tamaki niime’ as project leads.

Mio

Yes.

—— At the end of last year, according to the ‘niime village concept’, WA team showed suggestions with clear pictures that you have been taking a customer-facing approach so far, but from now on you want to work with your customers as ‘villagers’ in the niime village. Would you like to share your thoughts on that?

Yamashita

Our thoughts? Ok, then, can I speak from my perspective, Mio?

Mio

Yes, please.

Yamashita

Well, I have started attending more meetings and become involved closely with other staff.

—— You are originally from the knitting team before.

Yamashita

Yes, I joined their meetings. I aim to strengthen organisational power in 2022 and think about ways to improve it. I wondered if we are really enjoying our tasks in daily work. Not only manufacturing but also sales, we can’t make customers happy if we are not enjoying our jobs.

—— I see.

Yamashita

The essential point to influence customers is how happy we are. If we could give customers our happiness and strength, they would become happy. So I hope that all staff of ‘tamaki niime’ will genuinely enjoy the works that we are doing now.

—— I see, thank you very much. You want to strengthen teams with harmony, improve organised power, and influence customers with staff strengths and happiness. Well, then Mio, can you explain, please.

Mio

What he said is true. Since the pandemic began, I found in the conversations with our customers that many are depressed. However, the words I heard most from them are joyful when they wear ‘tamaki niime’ outfits. In sad times when trying to feel happier, they could cheer themselves up by wearing tamaki’s clothing.

—— I see.

Mio

Knowing what they said, they wear bright colours to raise their spirits. I knew that we could help them cheer up better by wearing ‘tamaki niime’ items every day for a whole year.

—— During this pandemic, the true nature of ‘tamaki niime’ items which are energetic and high spirited, to influence others, has been revealed.

Mio

The customers feel spirited from our messages through LINE, SNS, or our staff themselves.

—— Yes.

Mio

Since last July, I have been working at ‘Machida’ to look after customers or take charge of events. Thinking of customers’ thoughts and enjoyments, I work at the store and share the feeling with our staff that we must not betray customers’ trust. And ask the team not to forget to make customers happy. Keeping that in mind, how we speak, our countenance, and the little things would completely change.

—— I see.

Mio

Even though it’s just a vague concept, I told my staff about my vision: making the Machida store like a theme park. By keeping that phrase in mind, we could make customers happy. I think that is most essential overall.

—— Wow, a theme park! Mr Fujimoto of Public Relations mentioned that ‘tamaki niime’ is an entertainment industry that looks like a manufacturing company.

Mio

Our company’s strength is that our customers enjoy our brand together, being curious about it, which I think is best for us. Having Mr Sakai’s created phrase, ‘We Enjoy Everything Everyday’, as our mutual understanding for working guidance, and everyone is working well.

—— I see. That’s the phrase that conveys the essence of the matter.

Mio

I think we would be having more fun if we practised more specifically this year…

—— Yes, Thank you very much. As Mio said, because ‘tamaki niime’ items possess power, I believe that your customers have been gaining strength so far. You would be increasing such capacity, and as Mr Yamashita said, each staff genuinely enjoy working and such feeling is possible to convey to the customers. From now on, all staff’s happy feelings and charms need to spread…

Yamashita

Yeah…

—— I understand you two are making an effort on that. As one of the ‘villagers’ in the ‘niime village’, you interact more with customers. The ‘organisational power’ Mr Yamashita talked about is the power of the whole company, correct?

Yamashita

That’s correct.

—— Including manufacturing and sales.

Yamashita

You are right. It includes everything. In fact, we are chased by the jobs we need to get done, having so much work to do. So I think if the staff voluntarily offer ideas what they want to do, the company as an organisation would work better going forward.

—— Ms Katake of the sewing team also said that after deciding on a mission vision and action guidelines, they could unify themselves by having more opportunities to discuss each other. It also made it easier to have more opinions. I heard that they started to get active by being aware that they could make products with their ideas.

Yamashita

Adding to that, after each team gets a mission vision and action guidelines, it would be better to share them with all groups, not ending it within each unit.

—— I see.

Yamashita

If we could work with one plan to combine each team’s program into one throughout this year, we would have a good year. I think our organisational power would increase.

—— Mr Yamashita, the reason you are visiting each team is to combine each team’s efforts and synergise them well, correct?

Yamashita

Yes, that’s my goal right now, but at this point, I try to see the part I haven’t been aware of in each team and explain what they could use from my experiences.

—— Mr Yamashita, you have had many experiences and knowledge about the apparel industry. You understand weaving, knitting, sales and other various categories. You are the right person and must be wishing to provide advice to them.

Yamashita

Other than that, it would be good for us if each team thinks about other groups to help each other.

—— It will lead to ‘one village’.

Yamashita

I think so.

—— How about you, Mio?

Mio

On raising the worker’s awareness of action guidelines for the sales staff on the Machida store or department store events who regularly don’t attend company meetings, I have been focusing on how they should specifically work. Or how I should take the initiative to show the ways of the ‘tamaki niime’ movement. From the opening in July to the end of the year, I could set up primary means, but I still need to work on them. Working here in Machida, I honestly have not yet rotated the company balance well.

—— I see.

Mio

I have to raise our team power into a big group by linking each team together. This is the issue of 2022. I will work harder on this.

—— How do you work with Machida? It must be the place to introduce tamaki niime’s ‘niime village concept’ on the front lines in Tokyo. So I understand how much Mio has been working by trial and error.

Yamashita

As I mentioned earlier, we want to make our staff, customers… and others happy. We have been keeping that in mind and doing, but moreover, we move on gathering ideas and various plans and want to realise them.

—— Do you have new ideas on this plan?

Yamashita

The 2022 spring and summer plan has already been done to create new items. On reviewing previous years, we now understood the things demanded now, so we try to make it real.

—— You challenge to make new items.

Yamashita

Yes, we will. Besides that, we want to build up the unique way of ‘tamaki niime’; even though we have been trying to find our way, it is not much different from other apparel companies.

—— Oh, really?

Yamashita

I mean, as far as manufacturing, it’s different. But talking about planning, we doubt if our present way is right for us. So considering it all, we want to make it accurate in discussing with everyone for the best path forward.

—— You don’t mean the efforts with one-item products or manufacturing considered earth environment that links to the ‘niime village concept’.

Yamashita

No, not that. I wonder if we are really using the excellent environment for manufacturing that we have.

—— That must be your core part. Would you share, please!

Yamashita

That would probably influence sales. In our manufacturing, the people who make products have to work desperately, and the people who have to sell need to sell as well. So I have wondered if this is good for our customers and us?

—— Hmmm.

Yamashita

If we look again at the environment of what we have and what we sell, we will make it real to accomplish our goal ‘We Enjoy Everything Everyday.’ for making customers and ourselves happy. Speaking about manufacturing, I want to consider it to make the most use of our environment.

—— You have the confidence to pursue further and further in that, right?

Yamashita

I think so.

—— Mr Yamashita, from your professional view, with your grasp of manufacturing to sales, having team plays and picking up more unique ideas are…

Yamashita

Yes, that’s right. As Ms Tamaki has been saying for a long time, if we make a current to make it real that you can make it and sell it right away, or brand-new items sell very fast, the people of both sides of making and marketing are so happy and get excited. So I want to make a system that everyone gets excited and happy.

—— Mio, what do you think about his idea?

Mio

Well, are the sales staff understanding their role to enjoy selling the unique items of ‘tamaki niime’? For regular apparel products, they would go like, “we could get ready to sell”, “go-ahead to sell them, “all right, let’s sell”, that’s all. But for our products, sales staff could influence product sales. When the sales season starts, the sales staff could catch customers’ voices and share them with manufacturing in the factory, which is our company’s advantage to flexibly adjust the number of items.

—— It’s possible because the Lab and Shop are next to each other within a single building.

Mio

I think we still need to share opinions to make good products. If we could improve that, we would be much better. For example, staff weave cloth in our company while creating designs, which is the peculiarity of ‘tamaki niime’.

—— It indeed is.

Mio

If the sales staff understand their strengths a little more, they can use what they feel and connect with the manufacturing staff, we could make better products and better artistic items for our customers. We can be happier and the customers as well. That’s what I am hoping to do.

—— Hmmm, as well as having customer opinions, the sales staff who speak directly with customers can spice up their opinions to let creators know, and they can start discussions…that must be good.

Mio

When we didn’t have enough staff, we considered customer opinions too much, and at times we were trying too many things. (laugh)

—— Oh, is that right? (laugh)

Mio

I think it could be better if we could discuss better and make the most of customer opinions.

—— Making the most of customer opinions, you follow the way of ‘tamaki niime’…

Yamashita

It’s essential to make into a foam by adding spicing up our ways and making the most of customers’ opinions.

—— I see. The sales staff involve the manufacturing staff, and the manufacturing staff also handle sales. Then, as Ms Tamaki explained, the staff go to the business partner stores and work there to sell the products of ‘tamaki niime’, which is ‘TenTen’, and she really likes that.

Yamashita

I went to ‘TenTen’ and learned a lot. I saw different types of customers and opinions from those in Nishiwaki and Machida. Some styles of sales are also different.

—— Oh, I see. Each store has its uniqueness.

Yamashita

That’s right. That’s why it’s so good to go out and understand the differences we can feel.

—— Mio, you work for ‘TenTen’ even though you work at Machida.

Mio

I am in charge of events for ‘TenTen’. We take home products we couldn’t sell for our own company events, which is standard, but I feel the people in partner stores work with tension about borrowing our products. So I have learned the importance of choosing good sale items and selling them with a good sales attitude at events.

—— I see.

Mio

In having meetings with the people of ‘TenTen’ partners, I feel fortunate to choose such good stores. Each store has a different character, but each has its way of nicely introducing ‘tamaki niime’. That’s why we purposely send the manufacturing staff to specific stores to have them involved with certain staff members.

—— You plan in consideration for the interaction of the manufacturing staff.

Mio

Every week we send three staff twice a week to the stores in Osaka. So, that causes shortage problem for manufacturing. But Ms Tamaki thinks it’s worth sending them. We always ask the staff who came back from the stores about their thoughts. Each seemed to learn something significant. Every time we felt we did the right thing for them. The priority is to make plans to serve the partner stores, but our staff can learn a lot, so this project has benefits.

—— Everyone, including customers, can enjoy this project.

Mio

We want to increase doing ‘TenTen’ to have more stores to work together. We have a plan to go to ‘Unagi no Nedoko’ in Fukuoka prefecture this year.

—— You and ‘Unagi no Nedoko’ collaborate on the ‘monpe’. Watching the videos introducing ‘TenTen’ on LINE, I saw the workers of the partner store enjoying working with ‘tamaki niime’, which is a little different from the ‘tamaki niime’ original store in showing products and their charms. So I think that’s good as well.

Mio

Introducing our products with each partners’ strength makes it possible to have various types of customers wear them. I think it’s fun to do ‘TenTen’ in many places.

—— In fact, in many places, new charms are revealed, which is the depth of ‘tamaki niime’s products. Mr Yamashita, have you asked your staff what they think?

Yamashita

They said they are thankful for serving customers and getting hints for new manufacturing items from customers. I heard them say the enjoyable work is the best of all.

—— I see. 2022 has started interacting with teams, staff, partner stores, customers, and many others. Well, would you conclude your comment as a project leader?

Yamashita

Well, repeating what I said, though, I want to strengthen the company’s organisational power and make a system so that everyone could have fun and be happy, and I hope that customers feel that and we make them happy. I work harder to help people understand ‘tamaki niime’ and increase our customer base. We also want to move to an action plan, which is daily improvements in each team’s work, and I hope we can go on to the next step of our mission vision and action guidance.

—— What do you think, Mio?

Mio

As well as strengthening organisational power, we try to help people understand us better as we are the ‘extending team’. That includes ‘TenTen’. I am sure such efforts are accepted and working in the partner stores. If we could get more involved with the partner stores and customers, 2022 would be an enjoyable year.

—— I see. Thank you very much. According to Ms Tamaki, she would like to see the next generation take charge, allowing herself and Mr Sakai to rely more on their staff in 2022. I am excited to see ‘tamaki niime’s’ development and would love to cover that. I look forward to working with you!

Yamashita & Mio

Thank you very much!

Original Japanese text by Seiji Koshikawa.
English translation by Adam & Michiko Whipple.