PROFILE
Born in 1976. Born in Chiba Prefecture. After working in a wide range of fields including select store production, store direction, branding, buying, and space design, in 2013 he started "alpha PR," which provides PR services for various brands in Japan and abroad, and in the same year he launched "FreshService," a mobile concept store inspired by a fictional shipping company. In 2015, he opened Graphpaper, a curated boutique that also functions as a gallery, and in 2018, he opened HIBIYA CENTRAL CENTRAL in Tokyo Midtown Hibiya. HIBIYA CENTRAL MARKET" in Tokyo Midtown Hibiya in 2018.
PROFILE
Born in Shiga Prefecture. Representative of Buddy Co., Ltd. which operates various brand stores based in Kyoto. Between you and me, it is a secret that he was a customer of Graphpaper and frequented its Aoyama store.
I wanted to put my brand out in Kyoto since I started.
How did Graphpaper Kyoto come to be?
South:This year will be my 5th year, and I rent a house in Gojo (Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto) and travel back and forth between Kyoto and Tokyo. I have always wanted to open a store in Kyoto since I opened the Aoyama store in 2015 and started my brand (Graphpaper) a year later. So I had been looking for a place (property) for a long time before I opened this store. About 4 years later, I was finally able to open the shop.
You have had the idea for this for a long time.
South:Yes, I am. Actually, I had plans to open a store in front of this location. An acquaintance happened to introduce me to a good, inexpensive property, so I decided to rent it as my base in the west for the time being. I decided to use it as a base to go out to buy things, have meetings with craftspeople, and make new connections. That was about four years ago. After a number of things happened, we decided to rent the first floor of an acquaintance's office in Kyoto and open a store there. The plan was to have coverage from Tokyo as well.
Just then, when it came time to do the interior work, the landlord gave me an NG. He said, "I said you can do whatever you want, but not the store. Apparently, this is a common practice in Kyoto. So I had to carry a large amount of inventory that I had prepared for the opening, and once the company went into a tailspin (laughs). That was about three years ago.
That must have been tough.
South:Later, a business partner in Hiroshima Prefecture said to me, "Minami, you said you wanted to open a store in Kyoto, right? I can introduce you to a good person. That is how I met Mr. Dosaka. When I asked him about his business, he said, "I often go to a store in Aoyama. He then asked me to look for various properties. I had several candidates, but he said, "Let's do it here! He said, "Let's do it here! That was last December, I think.
It took a lot of twists and turns, didn't it? What was this place originally?
Dobaka:He had a restaurant. I was impressed by the delicious loco moco.
South:It looks so different that I can't imagine it now, and I could say that everything has been rebuilt except for the beams. But now that I think about it, there is no better place to live. I had been looking for a long time, but I knew that a person from Tokyo who went to a regular real estate agency would never find a good property. I felt that firsthand. This property was not on the market, was it?
Dobaka:Yes, I did. Before I left, I heard about it from an acquaintance, so I went to see it right away. I went to see it right away and was impressed by the fact that the warehouse was still there. I immediately consulted with Mr. Minami, and the process from there to the decision was quick.
South:After all, you can't match the strength of the local market.
When did you find this place?
Dobaka:It was found last year, but the contract was signed in January of this year.
So you proceeded with the construction.
South:It is an old townhouse, so we had to make drawings once we had only the beams, and it was very difficult to come up with the design. And the staff from Mr. Dosaka's company did the dismantling (laughs).
Dobaka:That's right. Our policy is to do what we can do ourselves! We don't get attached to the finished product if it is just handed to us. We don't get attached to the finished product if it is just handed to us, so we basically do the dismantling, as is the case with other stores.
What is your main business, Mr. Dosaka?
Dobaka:I guess it is about establishing my favorite brand in Kyoto. Originally, I was running a vintage clothing store and a select store, but they were all too superficial. So, I decided to give each brand more depth and convey its appeal and world view to the public.
South:Nowadays, there are many people on this Rokkaku Street, but back then it was very difficult because there were no people at all.
That's surprising. I thought it was what you call a fashion district.
Dobaka:The main fashion district is Shijo Street, which is home to major brands such as Fujii Daimaru. Teramachi-dori is a street that is rooted in the local community, with stores such as "Loftman" and "Rogers". Sanjo Street, where Shinpukan and ACE Hotel were recently built, is another example. Rokkaku-dori is now a busy street, but in the past there were no apparel stores at all, and it was only 4 or 5 years ago that people started to gather here.
South:You could say that Mr. Dosaka created a new fashion district. So if I were to open a store, I would like it to be near Mr. Dosaka's store. I would like to gather many stores and create a single street.
I heard that June 20, the opening date, is one of only two lucky dates in the year 2020.
Dobaka:Yes, we had originally planned to open in April, but due to the new coronavirus, we had to postpone the opening, and we decided to re-schedule the opening for June, and we decided to open on June 20, which is the day of Tenkanbo-hi and Tenko-hi, which happen only twice in 2020. It is a very good day to start something. As with all of the stores I have worked on, I am opening on this date (laughs). It's a kind of good luck charm.
South:I didn't know that (laughs).
