What inspired me to start "ShiiShu - Embroidered Smartphone Cases"

Someone once told me, "Why don't you try blogging?"
I was so excited that I declared, "I'll do it!", so I got started.
(I'm new to blogging, so I'll work on the content from now on)

First, let me give a brief introduction about myself.

My name is Hamada. My nickname is "Hama-chan."

I am 30 years old and was born in Osaka City.
The family business is a small embroidery business run by my parents.

We just had our first daughter last September, so we are a family of three.

The first one is "Embroidered Smartphone Case -ShiiShu-"
I'd like to write including some parts that make you wonder, "What is this?"

First of all, what is "ShiiShu"? I am often asked this question.

First of all, it is pronounced "Sheeshu."
The reason we chose this name is because we wanted to create an easy-to-remember brand by playing on the word "embroidery."
"Shisyu" → "Shisyu" → "Shishu" → "Shiishu" → "ShiiShu"
After much trial and error,
"ShiiShu"
I think it was the name that looked and sounded the best.

For some reason, my father, who is an embroidery craftsman, still calls me "Shinshu" or "Shishu."
The correct word is "sheesh".

Why did I start this brand?
It all started when I got involved in the family business and learned about the business model of the embroidery industry.

To put it simply, the embroidery industry is a subcontracting industry (a made-to-order industry).
It is difficult to post embroidered designs on social media.

Let me start by telling you why I wanted to post this on social media.
My parents' house had a family embroidery studio on the first floor, so I've been doing embroidery since I was little.
Every day I passed by a work site lined with industrial embroidery machines.

▼Industrial embroidery machine


Meanwhile, as time passed and I entered the workforce and became somewhat of a businessman,
I began to become a little interested in the family business, something I had never had any interest in before.

So I thought I would have a chance to learn something from the family business, so I applied for a side job while working as a company employee.
I thought to myself, "I'd like to try being the public relations officer for the family business!"
Even to an amateur like me, the embroidered designs have a very luxurious and three-dimensional feel.
I was fantasizing that it might even be possible to take "Instagrammable" photos.

But the reality is
Far from being Instagram-worthy,
It turned out that there was "0" designs that could convey information through embroidery.
At that time, I was completely ignorant about the embroidery industry.

The reason is simple: we do not own the "copyright" to the design.
(I know I don't even know that, but please forgive me.)

To briefly explain what this means,
In the embroidery industry, we basically embroider "designs that are copyrighted by other companies",
The relationship became "embroidery design = property of another company"
The structure was such that disclosing information about our own technology was not permitted.

I was looking for something else to share,
Some of the embroidery was done in-house in the past.

However, although the embroidery technique itself is beautiful, the design is...
This also has the feeling that it was made by an old man.
It was very difficult to come up with the content we would like to focus on from now on.

At this time, I realized that compatibility with design is important for embroidery, and I wanted to create a service that would also be enjoyable from an objective standpoint.

So I decided to use the technical skills I had cultivated in my family business to
By allowing individuals to request designs they would like to embroider and proactively disclose information, we felt that we wanted to preserve Japanese craftsmanship together with people who need embroidery.

That was around the fall of 2022, and at that time I entered the " 3rd Atotsugi Koshien " without my parents' permission.
-Currently employed at a company
・No industry experience
・No company website
・Minimum enterprise (self-employed by both parents)
・Only ideas thought up by complete amateurs
I was in a situation where I was wondering "Why did I enter?"
Miraculously, this idea passed the document screening, and I was surrounded by people who were famous on social media and those who were looking to take on new challenges, so I took on my first ever pitch contest.

▼ The 3rd Atotsugi Koshien (@ Grand Front Osaka)

Although we didn't make it to the finals, we were able to take a small first step.
We were able to grasp the possibility of "technology branding" even in the embroidery industry.

And above all , seeing people "seriously talking about the future they want to realize"
I also realized that society has more to offer than just rationality.
I remember that during the contest, I had tears in my eyes many times.

And, as I declared here, "I want to make the moving experience of embroidery accessible to everyone."
To achieve this, we launched " ShiiShu " in December 2023.

In the future, regarding the "Leather Embroidery Smartphone Case -ShiiShu-",
I plan to share a variety of information, so I hope that as many people as possible will be interested.

Next time, I would like to write from the perspective of "Why embroidery on a smartphone case?"