PODCAST distribution starts The idea behind the birth of HOKKAIDOGRAPHY and the origin of the brand

BETWEEN NORTH AND WORTH - Episode 1 Transcription

Hello, I'm Shimomura Satoshi from HOKKAIDOGRAPHY.

This is my first time releasing a podcast. It's a new challenge for me, but I hope you'll enjoy listening to it.

In the first episode, we first talked about why we started a podcast.

I have been running an apparel brand called "HOKKAIDOGRAPHY" since 2020, and up until now I have mainly been posting information on Instagram. However, I wanted to connect with everyone in a slightly different way, so I decided to start a radio-style podcast, which I love.

To be honest, there are still some things I'm not very familiar with, but I would appreciate it if you could watch over me kindly.

Self-introduction and background of the brand launch

Let me introduce myself briefly again.

I was born in Asahikawa, Hokkaido in 1981. I lived in my hometown until I graduated from high school, then I went to college and started working in Sapporo. I lived in Hokkaido until I was 27 years old.

Currently, I mainly work on the management of "HOKKAIDOGRAPHY", but before that, I worked for the sports company NIKE JAPAN for 17 years. I worked in the Tokyo headquarters for the latter half of my career, but I started out as a salesperson at the Nike shop in Sapporo's "4-chome Plaza", also known as "4-pla".

I feel nostalgic about the 5th floor of Plaza 4.

After that, I moved to the Nike outlet in Chitose when RERA opened and served as the store manager. Many people came to the store at that time, and some of you reading this blog may have met me.

Nowadays, ``4Pla'' and ``Rela'' are no longer available, and you can really feel the passage of time.

After that, I was transferred out of Hokkaido and had many jobs and business trips all over the country, and even traveled abroad, where I was inspired in many ways.

As I traveled around Japan, I found myself to be a bit of a stranger, being from Hokkaido. However, I met people who were interested in Hokkaido and had visited the island many times, and I realized once again how much Hokkaido is loved by many people.

At the same time, I became proud to be from Hokkaido and began to learn more about my hometown.

In fact, it was only after I left Hokkaido that I was able to rediscover my identity.

Additionally, when I was abroad, I saw people who were proud of their hometowns and the towns they loved, and spoke of them with confidence. For them, this was not something special, but a completely natural attitude. This was common in both Europe, America and Asia.

In the midst of all this, I began to think, "I want to do something that will allow me to express myself and my hometown more."

Wouldn't it be nice if Japan had more products with designs that had a stronger local flavor?

This feeling, along with an underlying love for Hokkaido, shaped the brand concept.

Although this new challenge faced many conflicts and obstacles, I started at my own pace and have come to this point.

The brand celebrates its fifth year

This year marks the fifth year since HOKKAIDOGRAPHY was launched.

It's a constant process of trial and error, but we work hard every day with the aim of creating products that will make everyone who purchases them think, "I'm glad I bought it."

Until now, I had been working hard to sell products from the company I worked for, but now I am selling products that I have created.

It is a 100% pure "your own product."

That's why the joy you feel when you make a purchase is so much greater.

It is by no means a cheap item, and because it is made to order, it will take approximately one month to deliver.

That's why we work hard every day to ensure that you get even 1 more yen of value out of your purchase.

I just want to say thank you to everyone who supports the brand—everyone who buys from us, follows us on Instagram, and supports us.

Thanks to all of you, we are able to continue operating.

Thank you very much.

The future of podcasts

As this was the first episode, I talked about myself and the brand.

In the future, I would like to share the inside story behind our products and our daily lives.

The ideal update frequency would be once a week, but we are aiming to update every other week to begin with.

And for those of you who have listened to this podcast, please let us know your thoughts, what Hokkaido means to you, and your thoughts about life.

People who live in Hokkaido, people who call Hokkaido their hometown, people who have visited Hokkaido and are captivated by its charms.

It would be great to hear the stories of many different people and create a space where people who love Hokkaido can gather.

If you have any messages for the podcast, please go to the "CONTACT" menu on the HOKKAIDOGRAPHY website or send them via DM on Instagram. Of course, you can also leave a comment on this blog!

We look forward to seeing you.

lastly

Thank you very much to everyone who purchased the products we sold in February.

We will create it carefully and deliver it to you, so please wait with confidence.

Since the brand started, many people have purchased our products.

Until now, we have only been selling our products online, so I haven't had the opportunity to express my gratitude to them in person, but I'm really happy to be able to express my gratitude through this podcast.

I hope that this gratitude reaches as many people as possible.

This was Satoshi Shimomura from HOKKAIDOGRAPHY.

Thank you for listening until the end.