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 “I want every day to feel like the leisurely morn-       the scent of freshly washed clothes with the lingering
                                                          aroma of soap. It makes her feel truly happy. “Those
 ing of a holiday. That’s why I named it ‘LAUN-           little  everyday  moments  like  this  enrich  our  daily
                                                          lives. I want every day to feel like the leisurely morn-
 DRY HOLIDAY’ because I hope to turn the ev-              ing  of  a  holiday.  That’s  why  I  named  it  ‘LAUNDRY
 eryday chore of laundry into valuable time.”             HOLIDAY’ because I hope to turn the everyday chore
                                                          of laundry into valuable time.” Naomi said.
                                                              After  the  renovation,  the  laundromat  received
                                                          feedback  that  people  are  delighted  to  have  a  place
                                                          where they can easily drop by and take a break. Ad-
                                                          ditionally, while there were many people who used
                                                          to come alone for laundry in the past, the inclusion
                                                          of  the  ice  cream  shop  and  converting  the  laundry
                                                          folding  table  into  a  ping-pong  table  has  attracted
                                                          more  families  and  children,  making  laundry  an  en-
                                                          joyable outing for them.
                                                              The  architecture  company  SUPPOSE  DESIGN
                                                          OFFICE responsible for the renovation is of course
                                                          behind  the  success  of  LAUNDRY  HOLIDAY.  The
                                                          company  is  based  in  Hiroshima  and  Tokyo,  led  by
                                                          architects  Makoto  Tanijiri  and  Ai  Yoshida.  It  has
                                                          made a name for itself nationally and abroad, most
                                                          notably for commercial interior and residential pro-
                                                          jects. There’s  that  quote  on  the  SUPPOSE  DESIGN
                                                          OFFICE website, “Just the stars, Even if each one of
                                                          them has no meaning or function, But when they are
                                                          connected, they are called ‘constellations,’ They give
 Twenty-five years ago, Naomi Shinonaga’s fam-  risen  in  recent  years.  Many  individuals  are  now   in New York, USA. After returning to Japan, she at-  birth  to  new  meanings.  Each  tree  has  a  different
 ily opened a coin laundry in Shikokuchuo City, and   seeking  a  rich  lifestyle  while  balancing  work  and   tended  the  MBA  program  at  Waseda  University  and   shape, But when they come together, they are called
 they decided to renovate and open LAUNDRY HOL-  household  chores.  As  a  result,  coin  laundries  have   graduated.  She  has  been  involved  in  launching  and   ‘nature,’ beautiful landscapes.”
 IDAY in 2022. The store officially opened on May 22,   evolved to provide added value, such as incorporat-  managing apparel brands(Koe, Koe green, hotel Koe   Naomi believes that one of the distinctive fea-
 2022, since then, their sales have increased by 140%   ing  cafes  or  co-working  spaces,  making  the  time   Tokyo,  and  Koe  donuts)  as  the  Brand  Manager  and   tures of SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE is their ability to
 compared  to  before  the  renovation.  The  corporate   spent  there  more  fulfilling  and  adding  design  ele-  Creative  Director  of  a  major  Japanese  apparel  com-  add a sense of familiarity to sophisticated spaces and
 philosophy  of  LAUNDRY  HOLIDAY,  is  to  create  a   ments. They have transformed into small, multi-func-  pany (STRIPE INTERNATIONAL INC.). Additionally,   go above and beyond expectations with their designs.
 place like a town’s veranda, where people naturally   tional facilities within the community.  she  has  experience  in  planning  and  operating  new   They have had a good relationship since Naomi en-
 gather,  play  ping  pong,  have  some  coffee  and  ice   Prior to the renovation, the laundry experience   businesses such as cafes and hotels. Similarly, she is   trusted them with the design work for the opening
 cream,  enjoy  conversations  with  friends,  and  add   in LAUNDRY HOLIDAY often involved waiting in cars   currently  a  freelance  brand  producer  in  Tokyo.  She   of  hotel  koe  tokyo  in  Shibuya,  Tokyo  during  his
 color to the everyday lives of people, much like the   for the laundry to be completed, which could be quite   assists in building brands, primarily in the B2C sector,   previous  position  at  an  apparel  brand.  Being  from
 warm atmosphere that Setouchi offers, even without   dull.  “Our  coin  laundry  was  becoming  outdated,  we   including apparel, food and beverage, and hotel busi-  the  same  Setouchi  area,  they  share  a  common  lan-
 the need for laundry.   were considering whether to close it down or contin-  nesses. She leads a dual lifestyle with bases in both   guage  when  it  comes  to  the  local  atmosphere  and
 ue its operation. During this deliberation, I had the   Tokyo and Ehime, where the laundromat is located.   ingredients.  “The  fact  that  they  have  consistently
 Native Power on Natives  idea  of  completely  renovating  it  if  we  decided  to   During  her  time  living  in  New  York,  she  was   delivered  results  that  exceeded  my  imagination  in
 continue.” Naomi said. At that moment, she came up   struck by the sight of people of all ages, backgrounds,   past  projects  was  a  deciding  factor  for  choosing
 According  to  the  observation  of  Naomi,  origi-  with  the  idea  of  incorporating  an  ice  cream  shop,   and  genders  enjoying  ice  cream  at  ice  cream  shops.   them.” Naomi said.
 nally,  coin  laundries  were  considered  part  of  the   which  he  had  been  contemplating  for  a  while.  She   Their  enthusiasm  and  the  way  they  savored  the  ice   According  to  what  I  mentioned  at  the  begin-
 essential infrastructure for Japanese daily life, shift-  wished to turn the waiting time into a more enriching   cream left a lasting impression on her. “I was inspired   ning, their sales have increased by 140% compared
 ing from a function that primarily washed everyday   experience and considered adding additional content   by the idea of running an ice cream shop, something   to  before  the  renovation.  This  validates  the  con-
 clothing to one that accommodated larger items like   to the laundry business.  I had wanted to do for a while, and thought it would   clusions noted in the report “Entrepreneurial Eco-
 bedding. However, with the changing lifestyles due   The idea has to do with Naomi’s upbringing. She   be  fascinating  to  combine  it  with  the  laundry  busi-  systems: The Foundations of Place-based Renewal”,
 to the increase in dual-income households, the need   now  is  the  CEO  and  Creative  Director  of  COSMOS   ness.” Naomi said.  which says entrepreneurship has a key role to play
 for  the  convenience  of  time-s aving  in  laundry,   TRADING INC., the company that operates YOSHIO   Naomi  loves  to  think  about  that  moment  when   in  innovating  the renewal  of place  and  the  value
 whether  for  everyday  clothing  or  larger  items,  has   ICE CREAM. She gained experience in marketing while   you wake up slowly on a holiday morning and catch   creation of entrepreneurs takes precedence.


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