As part of her support for the reconstruction of Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture, designer Tae Ashida has collaborated with sewing technicians living in temporary housing in Minamisanriku to create the "MINA-TAN CHARM," a keychain with a mascot attached. The charms will be available at Isetan Shinjuku and Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store from December 10th.
This is the second time the Mina-Tan charms have been on sale, and they come in six different designs: Keira the horse (15,000 yen), Leah the Pegasus (18,000 yen), Mina the cat (15,000 yen), San the giraffe (13,000 yen), and Rick the dog (14,000 yen), as well as the first-ever appearance of Elizabeth the sheep (15,000 yen), George (with scarf/14,000 yen), and Sara (12,000 yen). All six are handmade and available. At Isetan Shinjuku, the charms will be sold in original Isetan tartan (Macmillan Isetan) packaging.
The Support Tohoku Eternal Project (S.T.E.P.) was launched by Jun Ashida Co., Ltd. in July 2013 with the aim of supporting Minamisanriku Town's long-term recovery through the sale of these charms. The company supports the project with design and technical guidance from Tae Ashida, as well as by providing leftover high-quality imported fabrics and scraps from the product production process. Sales revenue from the charms, minus sales expenses, will be paid to sewing technicians as wages.
The "MINA" in the name of the Mina-Tann Charm comes from Minamisanriku, and the "TAN" comes from the "TA" in the "TAE ASHIDA" brand. It also evokes the "TAN" in the name of Sen no Rikyu's grandson, Sotan. There's a fascinating story behind Sotan. The head priest of a certain temple had a young monk deliver a single white camellia flower that had bloomed in his garden to Sōtan, but the monk fell on the way and the beautiful petals scattered everywhere. However, Sōtan made use of the branch and petals that had lost their blossoms, arranging the bare branch in the alcove of the tea room and letting the scattered petals give the tea room its distinctive elegance.
In this way, the restoration project is based on the idea that "even if something that was once beautiful and prosperous loses its value, it can be restored to its former glory by infusing it with human sincerity, and all that is involved can be put to good use." Even if something that was once valuable as fabric or parts for clothing becomes leftover fabric or remaining parts after the production of clothing, the project is said to be imbued with the hope that it will be reborn as a "Mina Tan Charm."
This Mina Tan charm will be on sale at Isetan Shinjuku, next to the TAE ASHIDA shop on the 4th floor of the main building (until December 25th), and at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, at Lightwell on the 3rd floor of the main building (until December 16th).
