In a quiet area of Tokyo called Koto-ku, there is a building that enjoys a beautiful scenic view. It is on the fifth floor of this building that "i ro se" has set up their show-room and craft center. It just so happened that on the day of my visit, they had not only displayed their signature works of the "seamless series", but also other special products for a pop-up show that would be happening that weekend.
Those specials consisted of three nude colored products from the seamless series. A long wallet, a mini wallet, and a card case, but adorned with a special embossing. Although embossed items often have an old-fashioned air around them, the designs for these items somehow felt new and fresh. The shape of their embossing stamp is handed down by a old leather company from 20 - 30 years ago. It is very expensive to reproduce a stamp for embossing. Even so, the people at "i ro se" tried it out in order to add some extra spice to this special lineup, and the results speak for themselves. With this technique, the amount of wasted leather can also be reduced significantly. This is because the embossing process covers up the scratches and wrinkles on the leather products that would otherwise be thrown away.
The motto of Mr. Takahashi, designer at "i ro se" is; "I will not make products that don't make sense". A product is not yet finished when only its design and decorations have been taken into consideration. There are thought-out reason and functionality behind the shapes and details of his products. That is the core thought with which all the products of "i ro se" have been designed.
Many would find the subtle scratches on the leather products of "i ro se" to be tasteful. Yet others would take care of their favorite leather items by occasionally oiling the surface of these products gently with a soft cotton cloth. If one really doesn't want their leather products to get scratched up, the product should first be treated with a waterproof coating before use.
Not all products of "i ro se" are made of leather. Larger products such as the clutch bags are made of synthetic leather because the size of these products would make them very heavy and expensive if they were made of actual leather. This would make them rather inconvenient for use as a laptop case. Moreover, the inside of the synthetic leather is very soft to the touch, which makes it perfect for protective cases for items such as eyeglasses and laptops.
The products of "i ro se" are always very practical.