The Road to Becoming a Leather Artisan | Episode 10

After graduating, I joined a manufacturer that my teacher had recommended me to.

Back then, though, people who went to a vocational school after finishing university,

and then joined a bag manufacturer from there, were almost unheard of.

Perhaps because of that, I never really fit in at the workplace and ended up leaving after about a month.

Well, unlike today, it was also something of an old-fashioned apprentice-style environment,

and the main reason was that I just couldn't handle it mentally.

Then the second company turned out much the same way.

Looking back now, I do feel sorry toward the manufacturers that hired me.

But at the time, even though I had the desire to "become an artisan,"

I think I still didn't really understand what it actually meant to work as one.

Getting a job, not making it work, and quitting.

After that happened twice, I started to think, "In that case, why not try starting out on my own?"

From there, a lot more happened, and it all led to the work I do today.

Looking back now, I think that time, failures included, was a necessary experience.

And from here, little by little, I began moving in the direction of "making it on my own."

To be continued.