SiKiTO Staff Talk: Two Buyers' Fireside Chat

SiKiTO handles not only branch plants and in-house developed products, but also a wide range of selected products that allow customers to enjoy the four seasons in their daily lives.

This time, we had a leisurely chat with the members mainly responsible for SiKiTO's product selection!

Yurie (left in photo): Joined in May 2024. With extensive experience in the interior industry, she currently works at a custom furniture company while also excelling as a buyer for SiKiTO. She is also a mother of two boys, a diligent person who wears many hats.

Yume (right in photo): Joined in April 2024. A qualified nutritionist, she is a promising newcomer who transitioned from completely different fields such as orthopedic clinics and beauty clinics.

 

How did you encounter SiKiTO?

Yurie:
Yume-san, this is your first time working in interiors, isn't it?

Yume:
That's right! I used to work as a trainer and in cooking-related jobs, utilizing my nutritionist qualifications.

Yurie:
How did you get into your current job from there?

Yume:
My family home always had plants, so they've always been close to me. When I was thinking about getting involved with plants professionally, I found a job opening at SiKiTO.

I was hired as a branch plant subscription service staff member, but despite my lack of experience, I was also put in charge of product selection. Now I juggle both customer support and product selection.

Yurie:
This is my first time doing product selection too, so every day is exciting!

When I think that the products I select might make customers, business partners, and SiKiTO happy, being a buyer seems like a wonderful job.

Yume:
It's not product selection, but choosing the tree ornaments for SiKiTO CAFE last year was fun too, wasn't it?

Christmas tree installed at "SiKiTO CAFE" in Makuhari.

Yurie:
I was so happy to hear that the social media response was good too. We found those ornaments by visiting various interior shops, didn't we?

They really matched the handmade cotton flower ornaments, which left a strong impression on me.

Yume:
It's easier to confidently propose items to the company when we've seen them in person at exhibitions or shops. It's hard to do that if you've only seen them online.

Yurie:
The other day, I got so excited about an item I found at an exhibition that I ended up presenting it with such high energy that I think I scared everyone a little (laughs).

 

Many products hold special memories!

Yume:
The product that holds special memories for me is... the Lino e Lina apron!

Yurie:
It's an apron with lovely colors and texture, isn't it?

Yume:
My mother has been using it for six or seven years, and when I moved out, she gave me the same one, and it's incredibly easy to use.

Since it's made of linen, it dries in just a few hours in the summer even after washing. I use it not only when cooking but also when watering plants.

Yume:
There's a wide variety of colors, so I'm sure you'll find your favorite. My mom has been using the same one for a long time and it hasn't deteriorated at all, so its durability is guaranteed.

Yurie:
I can feel the strong emotions coming from both a mother and daughter who love this product! (laughs)

Lino e Lina | Comfortable Linen Full Apron

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Yume:
The cross from the same brand also dries easily, and because it's a large size, I use it to wipe my hands and dishes, and it's also very useful as a dish drying mat. I have about five of them at home (laughs).

Lino e Lina | Comfortable Linen Kitchen Cloth

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Yurie:
I brought the Paysan Farm's herbal tea. It's a blend of naturally grown herbs cultivated by the farmer themselves.

I tasted so many different herbal teas and visited many cafes before finally finding this one, so I can confidently recommend its deliciousness!

Yume:
I remember you having many meetings with the farm staff and putting a lot of effort into your internal presentation.

Yurie:
Thank you. I chose this one because it also reminds me of how my world expanded through this job.

Natural Herbal Tea | Freeze-dried to lock in freshness

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Also, I was really surprised when I discovered NIOCAN, which we recently started handling. It really eliminates odors in just a few seconds.

It was a category of product that SiKiTO didn't have before, but because scent is such an important element for experiencing the seasons, I proposed it to the company as a way to address bothersome odors.

It's 99% natural ingredients, so it's safe to use even if you have pets.

NIOCAN | Essential Oil Ingredients Instantly Cancel Odors

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Do you remember your first impressions of each other?

Yume:
My first impression of Yurie-san was always "delicate and beautiful." Her clothes and belongings are always refined, simple yet distinctly Yurie-san.

Do you have any specific preferences when shopping?

Yurie:
As I get older, my body shape changes little by little, so I've started to properly try on clothes in stores and choose items that fit well. 

My first impression of Yume-san was that she had good taste, was cheerful, a great cook, and someone everyone loved. Is that good taste inherited from your mother?

Yume:
My mother also loves clothes, and she dressed me in a lot of different things.

I was tall from a young age, so my clothes were probably more on the sophisticated side rather than cute.

 

Is plants your motivation?

Yume:
Do you have any motivations for working at SiKiTO?

Yurie:
Being able to come to the office and talk with the other members is my biggest motivation!

Yume:
We have so many branch plants, and on days when I can take home the branches after a photoshoot, I'm even happier than usual (laughs).

An office adorned with branches everywhere

Because of my childhood home, which had many plants, I now have vases placed all over my current home, and the time I spend thinking about which one to arrange the flowers in makes me so happy.

The Balloon vase, which is also available at SiKiTO, has a unique silhouette that is not easily found elsewhere, and I love how it looks good even when simply placed there.

Balloon | A lovely, plump branch vase

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Yurie:
I'm still not very knowledgeable about plants, but it's fun to learn about branch plants and other plants at SiKiTO.

Before working at SiKiTO, whenever I received plants, I used to pull out a vase from the back of the shelf, but now, thanks to the branch plants, the vases are always out, which is a welcome change for me.

 

We want to shape SiKiTO's identity through product selection.

Yurie:
We want to continue visiting various shops and exhibitions to find wonderful products, don't we?

Yume:
Yes, exactly! Right now, we're looking for products based on the criterion of "what is SiKiTO-like," but eventually, we hope that the products we confidently select will define "what SiKiTO is."

Yurie:
That's a wonderful goal! We want to look for products from various perspectives, and we'll keep working hard so that our customers always feel like "there's something I want every time I look at SiKiTO."

 

This project started with the desire to let our customers know who selects SiKiTO's products and with what passion, so that they can be happy with them.

We hope that through their conversation, you'll feel a little closer to SiKiTO.