An Interview With Kyoko Bowskill, Founder Of Link
このインタビューでは、Linkの創業者ボウスキル京子さんのコミュニケーションにおける成功とチャレン
Don’t you LOVE furoshiki? So many great designs and you can use them in multiple ways.
I was fascinated when I heard Kyoko Bowskill speak about her furoshiki business at a
FEW (For Empowering Women) event in Tokyo. She combines international designs with traditional Japanese craftsmanship in her furoshiki creations.
We caught up by video conference to talk about the communication lessons she’s learned through her business and her stay in London.
What kind of communicator do you want to be?
I think about who I’m talking to. I always try to talk about my professional knowledge. Otherwise people don’t want to listen to me – I’m just a mother of two boys. But when I talk with other mothers, I want to be a friendly, easy person, so I don’t talk about my business.
What is one communication success that you can share with us?
I’m a very positive person – especially in Japan. I talk too much! But when I was in London, I felt like a different person for maybe half a year. London is so mixed – so many races. It was difficult to live there at first. I didn’t know how to behave and struggled with what my personality was.
I had an exhibition, and it was a really good experience. When I spoke about my textiles and products, it was so easy to share. I wasn’t so nervous when I started to talk about my furoshiki business. People also wanted me to talk about Japanese culture.
Having those topics of my business and Japanese culture was very good for me and gave me confidence.
What is one communication failure you can share with us?
When I’m in Japan, I’m not so shy, but when I was living in London, I couldn’t be myself. I lost my identity and couldn’t communicate like I did when I was in Japan. But I noticed why I couldn’t be like me. The first reason was the language. The second was the culture. Then I learned about the cultural differences and understood. I was very surprised that it took longer to understand the cultural differences than I’d imagined.
I noticed people’s different clothes and hairstyles. As women, we can start to communicate through the way we look – our fashion or image – because people see the clothes and accessories first and they can become a talking point. I realized I should wear my furoshiki scarf or my favorite colored coat, for example. This was different from Japan where we don’t have so many different races and individuality.
If I hadn’t started to express myself through my fashion and image and start communicating in that way, I would probably have tried to hide and not been the same personality as in Japan – I would have been hiding, doing Internet all day!
What is most challenging for you in communication right now?
Thinking about my business, on my Etsy site my customers are from all different countries. Because of my experience in London, I think about their background first. I need to understand the cultural differences before starting the business.
I learn about behavior in different cultures by visiting different places. This summer, I went to Hawaii. I didn’t have any interest in visiting really – I didn’t like the beach – but most people like visiting Hawaii and I wanted to know why. I’m very curious and always want to know about people (by the way, after visiting Hawaii, I now LOVE beach holidays!).
So if customers are Australian or Chinese, I think about their behavior. It depends on the personality of course, but there are usually similarities among Asian countries. The Taiwanese are similar to the Japanese. They use emoji. But maybe Australians or Americans write very simple, short emails. The British are very longwinded – even for wholesalers. Do they want to order or not? I’m not sure. I think, “What does this English mean?!”
Sometimes the Japanese and British are almost too polite. Everyone writes in English, so it’s interesting to compare the simple English versus very polite English.
What communication skill, resource, or advice would you recommend to our readers?
Maybe I have a very Japanese mind, but I think about other people first. It’s not only Japanese people I know, but growing up in Japan I got used to thinking about others first. Sometimes it’s annoying, but sometimes important to keep good communication.
And also a positive mind is important – not too shy. Just go! Otherwise, we can’t start anything. Like this interview, for example. We don’t have any confidence first. Or maybe a presentation. I should say, “Yes, I can do it.” Then we can start anything – a new experience. It’s so scary and difficult, but experience is very important.
Also, I think more than 50 percent of our communication now is by email or social media. So maybe we should learn how to be good communicators in that way. I’m still learning, but I think we should have a worldwide mindset. The world is getting smaller, so we should learn about cultural differences. Social media has no country barriers.
What else do you want to tell us about?
I’m thinking about other new projects, especially more efforts to promote and encourage Japanese craftsmen because they’re struggling. I work with international designers and Japanese craftsmen. I hope people will recognize the value of handmade over mass-produced products. I want to promote the Japanese craftsmen, otherwise they will die out in the near future.
We’ll be launching a special new furoshiki late this year, so please look out for that!
Also, I’m opening a studio in Jiyugaoka and to hold workshops in wrapping with furoshiki. At the Jiyugaoka studio, I want to find new way of communicating – not just focusing on the Internet or social networking world. I’d like to invite people from all around the world and make a place to meet each other face to face through the connection of our furoshiki.
This is completely opposite from the way of communication that I’ve been focusing on for the past seven years in my brand. I’m very nervous and thinking about too many ideas everyday! But…. yes, I can do it!