Bringing Japanese manufacturing to the world. He talks about his commitment and experience in product development. - Staff Ryohei Takasugi Theories by TOKYO CRAFTS

Originally, when I was a student, I often held drinking parties, and we often ended up having barbecues as an extension of those parties.

I often hosted barbecues myself, so I was busy buying all the necessary things to have a comfortable barbecue, such as a bonfire stand, chairs, and tables, and naturally my house was full of camping equipment. lol

I had most of the camping gear, but at that time I had never done any overnight camping. Since I was still a student, I didn't have money to buy a tent.

As I became a working adult and had more money to spare, I bought a tent and went camping for the first time.

Surrounded by nature, you can have drinks with your friends and wife, start a bonfire to keep warm, or cook a sumptuous meal...

The extraordinary experience I had at that time was really comfortable, and I fell in love with camping all at once.

I originally worked for a general contractor, but as I was looking at a lot of camping experiences and gear,

“If it were me, I would make it like this.”
“I want to make something like this.”

That feeling started to come to me more and more, and even though I had no experience, I decided to enter the camping industry.

The reason I joined TOKYO CRAFTS was when I came across the `` bonfire stand McCrite .''

The bonfire stand I was using was quite old and very heavy, so I had been looking for a lighter and larger bonfire stand for some time.

At that time, I happened to come across Makrite from TOKYO CRAFTS.

At the time, I was thinking that I wanted to change jobs to the camping industry, so I thought this might have something to do with it, so I applied to TOKYO CRAFTS, which was recruiting at the time.

In this process, I empathize with the feelings of the members of TOKYO CRAFTS. I joined TOKYO CRAFTS thinking, ``I want to work here too,'' and here I am today.

When choosing camping gear, I try not to compromise. Of course, I think the camping experience itself is wonderful as well.

However, I feel that the time spent choosing gear and having an exciting time can make camping even more enriching.

When choosing tools, I don't choose based on price;

“I want to have this kind of experience.”

And

“I want something like this.”

I choose products based on my own values, and I always try to buy them and try them out.

I believe that there are always some factors behind what you want or what is selling well. Whether it's the appeal of the product itself or the marketing strategy that takes advantage of it.

We analyze them and use them to create TOKYO CRAFTS products. Of course, while choosing gear, there were some that didn't suit me.

"Why didn't it fit?"

We try to summarize those factors and derive needs from them.

I had no experience in the camping industry or the manufacturing and sales industry, so I had to learn a lot every day and it was very difficult.

In addition to simply making products, I am also responsible for everything from marketing to customer support.

I'm involved in a wide range of work, so I'm learning a lot, and most of all, I feel fulfilled because I'm doing what I love.

There are many things we want to achieve when developing a product, but if we include too much, the cost will increase and it may even become less user-friendly.

Also, there was a gap between the factory technology and the design we wanted to achieve. In fact, it's often difficult.

In order to convey the concept of the product to the fullest extent possible, we make many prototypes, meet with team members, and revise the design.

During our meetings, we try to strike a good balance between cost, appearance, and functionality.

The strength of this product is that it has a design that pursues functional beauty that satisfies the desire to own a product.

Among them, the Makrite that led me to join TOKYO CRAFTS is lightweight and sized for both family and solo use.

In addition, it is highly functional, has high combustion efficiency, and can be folded compactly, so I feel that it is a product with great strengths.

The recently announced tent, the Diafort TC , is a comfortable tent with quite a large living space for a solo size, like a tent and a tarp attached together.

I think they are particular about the design and have a shape that you don't often see with other tent manufacturers.

There are gimmicks that get the members excited together, and innovative designs. We are currently developing many such products.

I would be very happy if through our products they could feel a sense of satisfaction that cannot be put into words.

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