About Us
Creating businesses together with creators
EBRU Co., Ltd., which operates EARMIND, is run by three people who graduated from the Department of Crafts at Kanazawa College of Art.
The three members, who have been active since their university days as the art unit "EbRu" that uses a variety of craft techniques, all went on to pursue different fields after graduating, such as fashion, special effects makeup, and ceramics, through further education or employment.
He uses his experience working in manufacturing and familiarity with arts and crafts to develop sustainable products by connecting the perspectives of makers and users.
Three co-founders
EBRU Inc. was founded in 2021 as an unprecedented joint venture by three people with an equal relationship. Three people with a shared passion for culture and the arts started the company to push the business forward without being bound by hierarchical relationships.
The world is marbling
"Marbling the World" The three have been creating works since their university days, combining various colors and materials, with a focus on the traditional Turkish marbling technique. They are running their business by redefining marbling as a technique to "mix diverse cultures to create new value."
History
2013: Formed the art unit EbRu
The three members of EBRU met as first-year students in the craft department at Kanazawa College of Art. They began their activities as the art unit "EbRu."
2017 EbRu ceased activities
Graduated from the Department of Crafts at Kanazawa College of Art. EbRu stopped performing due to employment and further education.
2020 EbRu resumes activities
They reunited in Tokyo and won category awards at the international fashion competition "International Talent Supports 2020"
2021 EBRU Co., Ltd. was founded
The three co-founders started business operations as EBRU Co., Ltd.
2023 EARMIND Launch
Sales of "EARMIND," jewelry that plays music and wireless earphones, have begun
Kissho Kaden Launch in 2024
We have started selling "Kissho Kaden", a greeting card that connects kimono fabric to the future.
Rei Sato
Sato Rei
Founder
Born in Iwate Prefecture in 1991
Graduated from Kanazawa College of Art in 2017 with a degree in dyeing and weaving.
2018 Graduated from Accademia Costume e Moda MA Accessories
Things I like and things that influenced me
Art and crafts people: Gustav Vigeland, Katsura Funakoshi, Takeshi Kitamura, Hiroshi Aramata, Kyoichi Tsuzuki, Takeshi Yoro Techniques and styles: Kinkarakawa, Raori, Grotesque style Items collected: Cloth, buttons, books, paper Book stores: Kosho Onohakan, Yomitaya, Bohemian's Guild Era: Late 1800s - early 1900s Music: Hiatus Kaiyote, Rei Harakami, KRAFTWERK
--What was your childhood like?
In her nursery school days, she would play by herself, drawing pictures. When her nursery school teacher and grandmother saw her drawings and praised her, she realized that drawing made people happy, and she became obsessed with it. She was no good at sports, but determined to be better at art than anyone, she spent her days drawing nonstop in elementary school. She was obsessed with American comics. She loved Rat Fink, a green mouse. She became obsessed with the author, Ed Roth, and copied his works. At the same time, she discovered something called Fashion Press in a rural bookstore. She was fascinated by this fascinating world, and became interested in fashion. In elementary school, she was a girl who loved braids, overalls, and camouflage patterns. In her elementary school yearbook, she wrote that her dream for the future was to become a designer.
--Memories from my school days
After such elementary school days, while in junior high school, he joined the art club and became interested in fashion. He discovered a book by Andy Warhol in the art room, and then he was drawn to American pop art. At the same time, he became more interested in designer brands. Since he wanted to be a fashion designer, he had to learn to draw first, so he applied to a high school where he could study art, but when he found out that there was a drawing test for the high school entrance exam, he spent his days sketching. In Iwate, he watched "Wednesday Dodesho," which was broadcast at night, and he ran through his exam period with his best friend. Thanks to that, he passed the exam on recommendation. In the end, he didn't take the general exam, but the teachers at the cram school he was attending at the time liked "Wednesday Dodesho," so he drew a sumi-e of Yo Oizumi and wrote a painting of his gratitude to the cram school, and graduated. Iwate Prefecture was too large for him to commute to school, so he lived in a boarding house and spent a deep high school life competing with unique people. He loved record jackets, which were his parents' hobby, and decorated the walls of his boarding house with them. While studying design and ceramics, she hopes to go to Bunka Fashion College in the future to become a fashion designer. In her third year of high school, she made it to the final round of a national fashion contest that she had sent in without permission, but did not win a prize. It was an incident that made her realize that even if she could express two-dimensional design drawings, she lacked the ability to express them in three-dimensional solid forms.
Vocational school and ronin period He entered Bunka Fashion College, which was his dream, but soon after entering, he felt a gap between his ideal and reality, and decided to drop out after the first year. At that time, the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred. While waiting in the school cafeteria, he saw the area around his mother's workplace on the TV. He was unable to contact his parents for 3-4 days, so he drove to Iwate with his friends and older brother to check on their safety. When he reached Miyagi Prefecture, he received a satellite call and found out that they were still alive. His parents told him that there was confusion at the site, so he returned to Tokyo. Seeing the situation immediately after the earthquake, he was conflicted about living in a field that was not absolutely necessary for life, such as art and fashion. Luckily, he and his relatives were safe, so he told himself that he was being told to pursue that path, and began his ronin period. After taking the entrance exam twice, he entered Kanazawa College of Art. Undergraduate and graduate student period At that time, art schools were a utopia where you could create 24 hours a day, so he brought tatami mats and basically lived at school except when he went home to take a bath. It was the best environment to study in and out of the box. That's where EbRu was born in the summer of my first year of university. In my fourth year of university, my graduation project and the final judging for the Kobe Fashion Contest overlapped, and I managed to get through the difficult situation of having to do both my graduation project under extreme circumstances. My graduation project tied for first place, and I won a special prize at the Kobe Fashion Contest, earning me the right to study abroad in Italy. After graduating, I went to Rome to study accessories such as shoes and bags. The best thing I gained from studying abroad in Italy was that I was able to deeply feel that "sensitivity and culture can freely cross borders." Also, being in Rome taught me to cherish and play with the history that has been accumulated. Every time I handed out business cards printed with letterpress that I had dyed myself on handmade Japanese paper, the Italians told me about what they liked about Japan, and I realized that Japanese culture is loved overseas, something I never realized when I was in Japan, which led to my business today. After graduating, I returned to Japan after interning at a local textile manufacturer. --After becoming a working adult I looked for a job in Japan once, but then I thought, "Why not do it on your own?" He was encouraged to go to India, and together with his co-founders, he started preparing to start a business and entered a fashion competition in Europe at the same time. His startup studio made it to the final stage and he launched his own business. He also won an award from watchmaker Swatch for his wireless earphone art piece at the fashion competition. EBRU Co., Ltd., founded in 2021, is a company that explores possibilities in the cultural and artistic fields from all angles, and is working on its first product, EARMIND. Currently, the company is focusing on the Japanese craft industry.
Eri Sakiyama
Eri Sakiyama
CO Founder
Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1994
Graduated from Kanazawa College of Art, Department of Ceramics in 2017
Graduated from Amazing School JUR in 2018
Favorite things/influences: Music: Oingo Boingo, Melanie Martinez, Evanescence, Lady gaga
Movies: Fight Club, The Rocky Horror Show Manga: Works by Kazuo Umezu, The Royal Crest, One Piece
Others: Akira Uno (illustrator), Les Twins (street dancer), Rachel Brice (belly dancer)
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (sculptor), Rin Fujiki (novelist)
--What kind of child were you?
As a child, I loved to exercise, draw, and read books.
He grew up spending summer vacations at his grandmother's house in Kobe or Tokushima, playing freely in the mountains and the sea.
In the sixth grade of elementary school, he moved to Bangalore, India, due to his parents' work, and spent three years there until he entered the second year of junior high school.
I was shocked to see that in India, teachers play their favorite music (Bob Marley) in the classroom during art class.
As part of extracurricular activities, I joined the art club, chess club, and horse riding club, and gradually learned enough English for everyday conversation.
After returning to Japan, he enrolled in a junior and senior high school that accepts returnee children.
--Student memories
She couldn't imagine herself becoming an office lady, and since she was good at drawing, she thought it would be easier to make a living doing what she was good at, so she aimed to go to art university.
He decided to major in crafts because it seemed interesting to him, seeing works made by seniors he met at an art college preparatory school and learning about both two-dimensional and three-dimensional art.
After a year of studying for entrance exams, he enrolled at Kanazawa College of Art in Ishikawa Prefecture and chose to major in ceramics.
As he continued to create his works, he gradually felt that he wanted to work with a wider variety of materials other than just ceramic clay, and he became interested in special models.
After graduating from university, he enrolled in the Amazing School JUR, a training school for special effects makeup and modeling in Tokyo, where he spent one year learning about various materials, including resin and silicone.
--After joining the workforce
After graduating from the training school, he worked as a freelancer in various creative fields, including as a production assistant for contemporary artists, shooting music videos and films for TV commercials and music artists, contracting with modeling companies for large theme parks, and a soft vinyl production company.
At each work site, I enjoy the work but also encounter various problems as I spend my days doing the work in front of me.
When they decided to restart the marbling unit "EbRu" that they formed at art school, they entered it in a fashion competition, and after many twists and turns, the three of them founded EBRU Co., Ltd., which they continue to this day.
Kimi Tanabe
Jumi Tanabe
CO Founder
Born in Tokyo in 1991
Graduated from Kanazawa College of Art, Department of Ceramics in 2017
Worked in planning and design for a tableware trading company until 2021
Things I like and things that influenced me
Muse: Bjork
Books: "Wild Animals I Have Known" translated by Yoshiharu Imaizumi, "Wheat-Fumiko Kutse" by Shinji Ishii, "The Guardian Series" by Naoko Uehashi
Bird: Oriental Turtle Dove
--What kind of child were you?
I lived in Russia for a year and a half when I was a child because of my father's work. Apparently I played house in temperatures of minus 30 degrees, but I don't remember it being cold. I only remember having fun sledding and playing with stray dogs.
I was the youngest of three siblings and was raised with the most freedom. My father started his own business, although it wasn't a big one, and that background may have led to where I am today.
There was a plum tree in the garden and wild birds often came to visit, so I named them "Hatokichi" and always went bird watching.
From a young age, I loved using my hands and enjoyed doing crafts and needlework, but I was by no means very dexterous. I was the kind of child who enjoyed writing most and daydreaming about stories.
--Memories from my school days
I didn't originally want to go to art school, and I wasn't good at socializing, so I ended up here while searching for an environment where I could make the most of my unique style. I was aiming for Tokyo University of the Arts, but after failing three times I ended up not being accepted, so I went on to Kanazawa College of Art, which has a thriving crafts program. I majored in ceramics because I felt most comfortable with the feeling of directly creating shapes with my own hands.
My relationship with Sato started when we were seated next to each other in the roster. It was a small university, so there was no one between Sato's "sa" and Tanabe's "ta". I never expected to be friends for over 10 years...
During my university days, I was a member of the Wild Bird Society of Japan, and although I am nowhere near the level of the veteran members, I continued to observe birds.
--After joining the workforce
After graduating, I worked for about four years as a planner and designer for a tableware trading company. I visited Toki and Mizunami in Gifu Prefecture, a major ceramic production area, and actually made prototypes on a plaster potter's wheel. In this analog environment, I also ran exhibitions and managed products.