A member of the Manufacturing department. She rotates through the cotton-filling process of pillows, pillow mouth-stitching & ring sewing machine, and the quilting process of shikibuton.
My few daily processes
In the Manufacturing department my daily rotation includes — the cotton-filling of pillows (filling the pillow core with cotton), pillow mouth-stitching & ring sewing machine (sewing the pillow mouth and threading the ring), and the quilting of shikibuton. These look repetitive, but not one of them allows a moment’s slack.
With devotion, one piece at a time
Making futon, the daily reminder to me is — “I want every customer who buys one, each day, one piece at a time, to break into a smile.” That feeling of “making for a particular person” is the craft attitude the workshop taught me. I want this one to let its buyer sleep richly — that is the drive behind every shift.
A “family-like” team
The bond among colleagues here is special — “an environment where we work kindly and harmoniously, like a family.” When trouble comes everyone thinks it through together; when a challenge comes everyone “unites as one.” In a past training activity we did the marshmallow challenge and our team set an astonishing record of 84 cm — cooperation like that is not put on; it is built up in the everyday.
Sleep is one third of life
I am also preparing for the Certified Sleep & Bedding Advisor qualification — I want to try the next exam. “One third of life is sleep” is a line I learned — since we spend so much time on sleep, the quality of bedding is worth our care. “Nerushiru®” (the workshop’s own sleep-journal app) has also let me begin to understand my own sleep. All of this adds a sense of responsibility as I face each process.