Tokyo: People Tree Shop - 10 Years Old Today!
Illustrator, Chris Haughton and me.
We opened a shop 10 years ago because I was fed up and embarrassed opening the front door to customers in my pjs and scrambling around for change - people wanted to buy stuff at my home and office - so we decided to open a shop.
Problem was, my illustrator and activist friend, Yoh Shomei showed me a *huge* shop next to his gallery in Jiyugaoka (literally translated that means "Freedom Hill"), a nice nieghbourhood in Tokyo. It would take 10 times more product than we had to fill it.
Nine years later it got rather too full and last year we ummed and ahhed about spending money on refitting it - friends like Chieko Terashima, who has done shop interiors for a lifetime, looked at our tiny budget, went a little pale, and rose to the challenge.
Then, Chris Haughton came to put on the final touches - working all night, like truly creative people do - according to Chris, they don't eat much either when working, and then eat as though it were Christmas between projects... I am certainly not that creative!
The People Tree Shop is the biggest Fair Trade store in Japan and has a fabulous range of Fair Trade foods, handicrafts, and clothing. Sales have grown over 10% last year which just shows that people care about people and the environment - and put their money where their mouth is. And they bring their friends along too. If you would like to help People Tree launch its first store in London, please contact me.
Great products! Great people!
Fair Trade never looked so good @ the People Tree shop.