JOURNAL

2021.08.02
Nice to meet you!

Hello, I'm Yasue Tsuchihira of .URUKUST.

I have just launched a website about leathercraft. I'm planning to provide various content on leathercraft to help you make your own leather items at home. I'll also write articles on various craft topics in the JOURNAL.

For my first post, I will explain the idea and origin of this website.

I have always loved DIY since I was little. When I was in elementary school, I enjoyed doing embroidery and making clothes for dolls. In junior high school, I started doing leathercraft along with making clothes and simple furniture by myself.

My mother also liked dressmaking and often made clothes for me, so making things has always been a part of everyday life in our home.

My interest in all kinds of craftsmanship never faded, and I chose to study architecture and furniture design in school.

After a few twists and turns, I started working as a bag designer for an apparel company.

I was always the type of person who wanted to be independent, and I knew that one day I would start my own business.

I thought hard about what it is that I am good at and that I like to do?

Then I came up with "leathercraft kits."

I have dabbled in doing all kinds of crafts, but leathercraft has always been one of the things that I kept doing.

When I was in design school, I made bags and sold them at events.

I started doing leathercraft at the age of 13, and I still loved it. I knew I would always love it, so I decided to start my own business in leathercraft first.

However, there are many different leather brands. I had to think about how I could make my own products stand out, and DIY came to mind. I thought it would be nice to have products that can only be completed by the customer's own handiwork.

So, in 2011, I launched a leathercraft kit brand under the name of .URUKUST.

.URUKUST is the Japanese word tsukuru, which means "to make," written backwards.

Sales of the kits were alright, but thankfully I started receiving requests to teach workshops and classes, which gave me a lot of teaching experience.

Over time, we started a series of regular products, and now ten years have passed in a blur.

As we celebrate our 10th anniversary this year, I began to think again about future plans.

For the past ten years, I have been focusing on just moving forward with my business, but at the same time, I felt that I was getting a little far away from the "DIY" concept that I wanted to pursue in the first place. So I'm going to go back to the basics and focusing on "leathercraft" once again.

So I'm going to post leathercraft content that only we can provide by utilizing my experience in material making, lecturing and .URUKUST's design.