Sustainable costume jewelry BLOSSO, a metal rose that makes happy memories forever.

Why are Japanese small factories now working on their own product development? Challenge to the eternal rose, the BLOSSO.

Myuteck35, sheet metal processing company for prototype, supports the R & D department of a major precision equipment manufacturer. Their strength is that they process small lots of sheet metal at the fastest speed. "Fast and high quality" is a very important factor for the R & D department of the manufacturer and is essential to becoming a leading company in a rapidly changing market.

They have received inquiries about sheet metal processing from all over Japan but have been working on the product development and sales channel development of the eternal rose (metal rose) "the BLOSSO" for consumers for the last five years. In-house product development of small factories which have such strengths is now a trend in Japan. What is the background?

Secret of speed-precise sheet metal processing of Myuteck35

80% of their work is new projects. The average production lot is less than 30 pieces. They specialize in sheet metal drawing of weak electrical parts with complicated shapes without dies, and finish at the fastest speed. High accuracy as well as fast. Depending on the process, accuracy is assured ± 0.02, bending ± 0.05, welding ± 0.1.

What is the secret of doing such a variety of new items with high accuracy and speed every day? Of course, they have the latest equipment and a production management system. They share information such as process management and delivery date using a cloud system. However, what they value more is to train staff members to find the best answer in the shortest time. In order to accurately process new items with short delivery times, this personal skill is critical. So, increasing the sense of responsibility for work is the basic concept of their management system.

Example of a system that fosters people who think spontaneously

- A database of the factors that cause distortion for each process can be referenced.
- Profit and loss can be handled for each product
- Share customer feedback with workers

As mentioned above, they have the feature of quick delivery of precision sheet metal processing, but since around 2004, they have developed the BLOSSO, an original accessory, utilizing their thin metal processing technology. We interviewed Ms.Taniguchi, the representative director of Myutech35 Inc.

The history of the BLOSSO development - I want to create our own brand.

When many people saw this metal cicada, they said, "You can sell it", or offered us a new job then we received a great compliment unexpectedly.

Until now, as a subcontractor, we had the pride of responding to the high demands of our customers, but we had never considered making our own products, setting prices and selling them. But I decided to make our brand to get out of subcontracting, then I felt I wanted to make something with Japanese vibe and I started looking for a theme that combines sheet metal and Japan.

When I had time, I went to museums and department stores, and walked around searching for a theme that combined "Japanese vibe" and "sheet metal." It took more than 5 years to find a theme. But I couldn't find it.

What is the theme that combines sheet metal and Japan?

When small factories think about making their own products, I think it's common to try to combine it with the Japanese vibe. When it comes to symbols of Japan, we can come up with Mt. Fuji, Ukiyo-e, lacquer etc. I never thought of the theme, so I thought about cutting metal to make Mt. Fuji or painting metal with lacquer.

When I consulted with my staff, I was scolded that "lacquer is a material originally created for the preservation of wood, but what do you do by painting it on metal! Many staff members had knowledge of woodworking as well as manufacturing. Their opinions made me realize that I had to be patient to find the theme.

One day, during the training I attended, the adviser said, "I think the high quality is also Japanese vibe" which was a breakthrough for me. I never thought that high quality would be a feature of Japan. We don't really understand ourselves.

When I was feeling that I could make anything because we were good at "high quality", my daughter said to me, "My mom is still working all the time!." Even now, she is an adult, but she says, "I was lonely because Mom didn't come to the nursery to pick me up." This day, I replied "I was busy at work, but I've done a lot for you. Do you remember about one? And after thinking a little, she said, "Nothing!"

And yes, everyone forgets good memories. I thought.

It occurred to me that when we look back at our lives, we remember well sad and painful memories. But we forget what we enjoyed and what we were happy about.

I decided to make such a product that reminds me of the heart-warming and fun memories that I've ever had. What we can imagine as a happy memory is a gift with a rose. That's why, we begun developing "eternal rose", metal rose that keep memories forever and keep you happy.

The concept the BLOSSOM, the metal rose.

"BLOSSOM" means that flowers bloom. I created BLOSSO by eliminating the last M, which means that flowers continue to bloom, eternity. This idea is because fresh flowers die, but metal flowers can maintain their beauty semi-permanently. When you are happy, why don't you buy the BLOSSO as a reward for yourself or give it to others as a present. Every time you look at the BLOSSO, you will recall the happy feelings at that time, and the memories that will not fade will keep you shining.

How to make the BLOSSO's shine

Ion plating

Ion plating is a type of plating developed in space technology. Since the film is fixed to the metal in a vacuum environment, a thinner and glossier film is formed compared to conventional plating, and the surface durability is excellent. It is a coloring method often used in watches and takes advantage of the texture of the metal.

Powder coating

After spraying powder paint, bake with the heat of about 200°C. Powder paints are evolving every day because they are also used for car bodies, and can therefore, visualize a variety of textures. We are making various prototypes with new powder paints and studying the colors that match the flower motifs, including the processing method.

Baking finish

After buffing, it looks like a mirror, burn each one with a high-temperature burner. The interesting thing about baking is that the color of the metal changes depending on the baking time. You can't see the color while you're baking, so after you finish baking and let the heat cool, you'll know the true color. The color development test is repeated under various conditions to create the shine of the BLOSSO.

These deep brilliances are created by careful processing of the metal substrate and surface treatment technology on it applied to make the texture of the metal visible. The new radiance developed from the industrial field makes your memories always recall.

How to use the BLOSSO. A day to live with memories, a day to create memories.

The BLOSSO is a magnet-type accessory that can be used as an interior at home. In everyday life, you will be surrounded by memories with BLOSSO. When going out, you may think about which memories to take with you today?...This will become another memorable day as well.

There is a cotton ball in the center of the BLOSSO's rose (bottom left in the photo), soak in perfume or aroma to enjoy your favorite aroma. I wish you have a wonderful day with the perfume that scent toward your face.

Has anything changed since working on the BLOSSO?

Yes, it had a very positive effect on recruitment. Typically, many people who want to work in the manufacturing industry like manufacturing, but not only that, we have applicants who want to get involved in the BLOSSO! As for our own product development, we are free to experiment with our ideas and technologies, which has led to hiring new people who find such things interesting.

I have such experience. An employee's child found the BLOSSO appeared in a magazine and said. "This is similar to my dad's company's item." And he noticed it was the BLOSSO. He bought the magazine and took it home. I was very happy to hear this. In-house product development is difficult, but I'm very happy that employees have one of the prides of working.

In addition, employee training is conducted once a month, and there was a workshop to talk about the private future. So there seemed to be some employees who talked about the BLOSSO and I was very happy. If their future overlaps with the work even a little, it's really a happy life.

We have also new customers. I feel that Japanese manufacturers are now very demanding of "challenging factories". Manufacturers have a sense of crisis that the processing industry is steadily declining in Japan, and I feel that they want to secure any challenging processing factories from now on. This is a problem for the entire processing industry. We must try new things, enhance our ideas and technologies, and build on our ability to overcome the tough times.

The future of the BLOSSO

Starting with metal roses, the BLOSSO jewelry has expanded to earrings and necklaces. And now, we have just started chrysanthemum flowers in the sense of Japaneseness. Chrysanthemum is a special flower for Japanese. The cover of the Japanese passport also has the "chrysanthemum" emblem, which symbolizes the imperial family. And chrysanthemum is regarded as the national flower of Japan along with cherry blossoms.

My aim is to enhance the quality of Japanese industrial products to "art" and spread it to the world as a new form of Japanese manufacturing. The design can be imitated, but if high quality parts are the features of the product, it will be difficult to imitate. The BLOSSO uses gentle handwork to remove burrs and add hairline to each piece, making it a soft jewelry that cannot be seen as an industrial product.

By adding more manual work to industrial products, it takes advantage of the chance and becomes art. I hope that it will be recognized by the world as new Japanese manufacturing, and I will aim for it.

Profile

Author of this article：Haruyo Ono

Haruyo Ono
Web Rocket Inc. Small Business Consultant
I love Thomas Edison since I was a child and I love the challenging life of creating new value in the world with my own ideas.

• In-house development
• Sheet metal processing