We have now reached the Shoman period of 2024.
This is Sakemaru.
What is "Shoman"?
It is a time when all life comes to life.
Basking in the sunlight,
It is the season when everything grows vigorously.
And here is the photo evidence.
The other day, I was mowing the corner of my garden...
Under the sakaki tree, there is grass that looks like a large, outstretched hand.
When I got closer and looked...
There's no doubt about it, it's Ashitaba (tomorrow leaf)!
What's more, new shoots are emerging!
Ashitaba is a wild vegetable found on remote islands such as Hachijojima.
Why it's growing in a corner of my garden is a mystery.
It is beginning to be filled with all kinds of life!
So...
New items full of life have arrived!
Step ribbon braid hat!
First, black.
What is a step ribbon?
It refers to the three-fold ribbon wrapped around the hat.
The black comes with a regimental pattern of red and navy on a beige background.
And natural.
This ribbon color is
Green and khaki regimental on a gray background.
The inside is leather slippery on both sides,
There is also a grosgrain tassel fastening at the center back.
A classic high-end men's hat look.
In fact, the project for this hat involved
There is an original source.
This is it.
I've forgotten the title of the movie though...
He plays the role of a crooked warden at a certain American prison.
Bullying prisoners,
A bad guy who skims off subsidies from the government.
But the hat is cool!
Why is this hat so cool? We've thought about it carefully.
First, this hat ribbon.
The hat ribbon used as a prop in the film
Probably rayon grosgrain tape.
The ribbon on the hat is
It is required to stretch to match the hat body, which expands and contracts with body temperature.
Therefore, the materials available are limited to rayon and silk.
Such a vibrant grosgrain tape,
First of all, I can't find it in Japan...
The only option is to order an original product.
However, yarn-dyed grosgrain tape made of silk or rayon is
Since we have to start by dyeing the yarn,
The minimum is tens of thousands of meters.
As a small manufacturer,
An absolutely impossible minimum.
However.
I was planning a jacket and checking the lining,
Suddenly, an idea struck me.
For example, if you use "striped sleeve lining" for the lining of a jacket,
Could it be reused?
The material is cupra,
Like rayon, it is a recycled fiber.
It is a satin weave to improve the smoothness,
It can also produce a glossy finish similar to grosgrain tape.
And above all,
We also have the background of a group of craftsmen who can make step ribbons!
When this step ribbon sample was completed,
I was overjoyed.
There was also something that caught my attention while looking at the hat in this movie.
The shape of the hat body is
This is a shape we have never made before.
Maybe you can tell by looking at the photo...
Almost straight up from the ribbon to the top.
Normally, the top should be gradually narrower here.
This is due to the difference in the skeletal structure between Mongoloids and Aryans.
Differences in hat body lasts.
So I asked them to start by finding a hat like that.
And finally I found it.
A Showa era legacy,
We asked them to find the closest shape from the many hat bodies stored in the factory.
This is the silhouette of the hat that was molded using this.
Almost straight up from the ribbon to the top.
It's just so incredibly cool.
Although it's a scene from a movie,
I learned a lot from making this new piece.
Even though we have been a manufacturer for 35 years,
There are new discoveries every day.
Well.
The Ashitaba mentioned at the beginning.
I tried harvesting it.
The most popular dish is "Ashitaba Tempura"...
I can't bear to fry food at home just for this.
So I quickly boiled it and mixed it with wasabi and mayonnaise.
It was only a little bit,
It's incredibly delicious.
Wild vegetables that can be harvested at home,
I have one more thing to look forward to.
See you later.
