Home Visit Diary: Creating the same environment as adults

Name	Dear I
Your product	Storage shelf for bags and clothes/Rolling animals, etc.
Residence	Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture
Family Composition	Family of four

This time, we asked I-san to be the interviewer. Whenever he comes to visit our Kobe store with his family, we always have a fun time talking to him. I'm looking forward to seeing how he actually uses the products at home.

Making the most of children's independence

After the greetings and pointing the camera at the furniture and toys in the room, the wife, Shizuka, and husband, Toshiyuki, urged them to "tidy up and show us." Shy children tend not to behave as adults tell them to in front of people other than their family.

Nakayoshi Library Customers' Voices — Fumiya, 2 years old

My 2-year-old son, Fumiya, who cooperated as a model on this day, showed me how to do it as if to say, "Okay, leave it to me." I thought he must be used to people because he must be in nursery school or kindergarten. But when I asked him, he said he hasn't been there yet.

He can clean up after himself, and he plays with all kinds of "real" things. By the way, the frying pan he uses for play is the one we actually use in the kitchen. Suddenly, I was filled with curiosity and wondered, "What kind of parenting are they doing?"

How did you find out about Nakayoshi Library?

Not yet

I understand that the first opportunity was Fumiya's first birthday. Why did you choose wooden toys (Nakayoshi Library)?

I family

Originally, my husband and I had been planning crafts for children at events since we were in college, so we were very interested in making things. So when we were looking for a toy to give to Fumiya for his first birthday, we found Nakayoshi Library in Kobe and immediately went to the store. When we saw the feel and quality of the products, we thought it was a perfect fit for our sensibilities.

Not yet

We opened a brick-and-mortar store because we wanted to increase the opportunities for customers to touch the actual products. We are very happy to have customers use our store in this way. However, wooden toys are difficult to buy for a one-year-old due to their price. I think there are. Especially when it's the parents who are buying it, their values are important, right? Is there anything you keep in mind when raising your child?

I family

We both think that we should respect our children's desire to try things. For example, we let them use scissors from the age of two, and we don't have any baby gates or partitions in our house. Our children are free to move around, so when I'm cooking in the kitchen, Fumiya says, "I want to try it!" At that time, I let him actually try it. So, we use toys from Nakayoshi Library for playing house, but the frying pan is actually the only real one. Fumiya said, "This is good," and it's now his favorite.

Not yet

It's true that there aren't any partitions like you usually have in your home. I thought the stairs might be dangerous, but Fumiya kept climbing them. What do you pay attention to when creating your room environment?

I family

We want to encourage children to develop their own interests. Children have a wide range of interests, so every day there are so many things they want to do - "I want to open the drawer!" "I want to get the thing on top!" "I want to press the button!" However, constantly telling them this or that is not allowed is stressful for both children and parents, so we try to limit the restrictions in their environment as much as possible and make it possible for them to live the same life as adults.

Not yet

We often find ourselves telling them that they can't do this or that, but by giving them an environment with fewer restrictions than adults, children are able to act on their own initiative. On the other hand, I thought it would be hard for the parents if they didn't limit their children's freedom, but in reality, they help out and play by coming up with their own ideas, so it might be good for them to have freedom within their reach.

I family

I think Nakayoshi Library's furniture is great for encouraging children to do what they want to do. The drawers are light and easy for children to carry, and the height is not too high for children, so it has made parenting so much easier.

Children's furniture has become a part of our daily lives.

Toshiyuki's magazines are stored together with Fumiya's picture books and teaching materials. A slightly larger picture book stand in the center of the living room is lined with many of Fumiya's favorite picture books.

The "Changeable Chair" is a very useful tool to bring out the "I want to try!" in children. They can turn on a switch, use the microwave, or help out in the kitchen. Normally, you use it while sitting like this, but it's also convenient that you can carry it around by yourself.

In the room on the second floor, there are wooden toys from Nakayoshi Library. There are so many of them. I was surprised. For example, there were only a few limited edition items from Monogatari Theaters for sale. I am grateful that they often check our website. This one is custom-made and comes with accessories such as a house and a forest.

I can't use the top shelf yet. I just got this cypress chest last year. When you open the drawer, the scent of cypress fills the air.

It seems that Fumiya has decided on a certain place for storing his own clothes so that he can store them by himself. The items he uses most frequently are stored at the height that is most convenient for him. The inside of the drawers has also been polished, so Fumiya can easily pull them out.

Even so, there are quite a lot of wooden toys. Isn't it difficult to clean up?

I family

No matter how many toys he puts out each day, Fumiya puts them away by himself because we have decided on a place to put them away. In particular, the picture book stand makes it easy to take out the contents and put them away. With a normal bookshelf, books tend to fall over or are difficult to find quickly. That's why his favorite books are in the most visible place ♪ It's helpful that he's naturally becoming tidy.

Reasons to choose Nakayoshi Library among various wooden products

There are many wooden toys and furniture out there. We asked them why they continue to use our products.

I family

That's right. I think it's mainly because I get to see the face of the maker. The product design, the feel, the text on the website, and even the information in the actual store make me feel like I'm connected to people. Also, Nakayoshi's toys are fun to look at even for adults! There aren't many toys that adults can play with together. I also like the design of both the toy furniture.

Not yet

When we visit our customers, we can use what we learn in our designs and production. We can think about things like, "Wouldn't it be easier to use if this height was lower?" or, "Wouldn't children play better if we made it a size larger?" We'd like to add something extra that customers hadn't imagined.

I family

We want to buy not only Nakayoshi's products, but also any products we think are good by visiting the local store as much as possible, or by visiting the store if there is one. We can also buy them online, but buying with just one click feels a bit lonely. In particular, at the Kobe store, you can buy while talking to the store manager, Mr. Kawazoe, which makes it even more satisfying (^^♪

Since she started using Nakayoshi Library products at home, her eyes naturally turn to toys and chairs when she visits childcare support centers. She says she sometimes feels that products are made with an adult perspective in mind, with surprisingly few products that fit her perfectly, such as "It looks like it's hard for him to sit," or "I wish it was a little lower."

Mr. I said that he had never realized the importance of children's furniture until he encountered Nakayoshi Library. He now feels that children's products are useful for his family.

Family introduction

Toshiyuki, Shizuka, Fumiya, and Tomoya are a family of four. In 2019, their second son, Tomoya, was born, making them a family of four. Both Toshiyuki and Shizuka have loved making things since their student days, and they found the Nakayoshi Library's philosophy resonating with them in many ways.

After the visit...

Now that we can get products from all over the world on the Internet, it feels like the importance of the actual experience of "going to the store" is fading. It is certainly convenient to buy products that can be delivered immediately or mass-produced products that are [in stock] or [available for same-day shipping].

Contrary to that, as a made-to-order company, we believe that the most important thing is the process that customers go through before purchasing the product, and the enrichment and convenience that customers get from using it. Just as Fumiya showed us his daily life, the toys and furniture we make are useful in people's lives . It's moments like these that make us happy as a manufacturing company. That's also the benefit of direct sales.

My mother (a toy consultant) says, "Wooden toys are really good because children can use their imagination to create their own play." Toys that play music when you press a button repeat the same movements. It's hard to create something new.

However, with wooden toys, for example a toy car can sometimes become a train, or fly in the sky, or you can imagine yourself riding in it and move it around, or put it in a garage, and the play possibilities are endless, depending on the child's imagination.

During the conversation, Mr. I said, "I'm not confident that I can teach children what is correct and what standards they should use to make decisions in this information society. But I think that in order to develop the intuition to discern things and events, they need the experience of touching the real thing. "

"I would like to help hone children's intuition by creating an environment where they can eat and use vegetables from known producers, and read and watch things that come from reliable sources," she said.

What they have in common is that they do not treat children like children, but rather they learn that it is important to raise children by having them touch real things in the same way as adults and to nurture their rich sensibilities. This interview was also very fulfilling in that it allowed us to reaffirm how we, as a manufacturing company, are specifically helping our customers.

Mr. I is giving each toy to his son with the hope that "I want children to expand their imagination and creativity." I think this is because he believes that letting children live freely through play at this time will lead to their future. We will continue to spread such examples, however small our contributions may be.