"I want to be able to make something." Looking back, this was the simple thought I had when I entered the jewelry industry more than 20 years ago. I only learned about clothes while I was in school, so when I became an employee, I was quite ignorant and only knew about diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and 18-karat gold, spending my days learning the basics one by one so that I could become a craftsman. Looking back now, I think I was very fortunate to be in that environment. After about five years, I felt that I had mastered the ABCs of jewelry making. After a while, I came to know about Chrome Hearts. As I was making similar jewelry every day, I still, to this day, vividly remember the shock I had when I saw its innovative design for the first time. Gradually, silver accessories became popular in Japan and many brands were born. My previous employer was a manufacturer that mass-produced products for other brands, and there I worked in sales. The jewelry industry was affected by deflation after the economic bubble in Japan (1986-1991) with many desiring for lower prices, and sales shrank. However, once the recession began to settle, an upward trend continued from 2008 to 2015, partly due to the popularity of silver accessories. I was busy every day. The people I met, the successes I had, and the failures I made during those years have become such valuable assets that words cannot begin to describe, and these connections for me are still alive to this day. Then, about 10 years ago, I started my own business as an OEM manufacturer with the idea to "make those who wear jewelry smile." I bought inventory from my former employer and obtained a large loan from the bank, but most importantly, the birth of my son made me desperate at the time. However, as I had no peace in my heart, I took on too much work that could not bear fruit in a certain amount of time, causing losses to my customers with my work becoming less than half of what it had been at one time after three years. As a business owner, I was completely inexperienced. I gave my family, especially my wife, a very hard time at the time. Naturally, the decrease in work gave me time to think about various things. First, I felt that I had to somehow give back to my family, who always supported me, and to my customers, who continued to order from me even though I had caused them a lot of trouble. At that moment, I remembered the reason why I started a business, which I had almost forgotten. “Who do I want to make smile?” "Who do I make jewelry for? I realized that it was family, friends, customers, and end users who purchase my products. To be honest, I jumped into this industry with the simple thought that "I want to be able to make something." As long as I could make something, I was fine with other brand products, even OEM work. However, I started Masana in March 2018 with a strong desire to carefully create jewelry while drawing closer to the end users. While I was able to create, I had never sold before, so the last four years have been really a trial-and-error process for me. For the first two years of business, I focused on increasing the number of products, created an online store, and exhibited at various general exhibitions to get to know the area. After the third year, we opened stores at fashion buildings and department stores during events to gain recognition and increase opportunities to meet with customers. At first, I tried to become a craftsman, so customer service was not my forte. When I speak to customers, I tend to stutter, and when I appear on Instagram Live, I get so nervous that my mind goes blank and I can't speak well. However, by talking to customers, I got to understand what thoughts, ideas, and situations they have in mind when they purchase our products. And that experience was irreplaceable. I would like to strive to make more jewelry, keeping in mind our wish to “make those important to us wear beautiful things” and "make those who wear jewelry smile". Thank you for taking the time to read this rather lengthy story and we hope that you continue to support Masana.