Revive antiques, used items, and scrap wood,
By adding new ideas and designs,
Creating value and stories,
We propose “upcycling” to pass them on to new owners.
Prologue Encounter with Upcycled Products
Stockpile Ecolio" is an interior store in Kasuga-machi, Oita City, based on the concept of "upcycling," in which old and discarded materials are collected and purchased, and recycled with new ideas and designs while utilizing the history and atmosphere of the materials.
The store is filled with vintage furniture and antiques, from vintage knick-knacks to store display fixtures, and even if you are not a DIY enthusiast, your sense of adventure will be stirred before you know it. Even if you are not a DIY fanatic, your sense of adventure will be stirred up before you know it.
No matter how many times you go around the store, you will always find something new, so diverse and numerous that you will always find something new. and encounter new items. Some of the items are so valuable that they could be displayed in a museum or historical building, such as vintage Western organs and Edo period Japanese-style dances, but surprisingly, most of these items were originally intended to be thrown away.
Mr. Touyama, the representative director (left in the above image), originally ran the company as the seventh generation of a long-established company engaged in collection and transportation of industrial waste. He launched a new business, "Stockpile Ecolio," because he felt strongly about the fact that some of these items were being disposed of without being recognized for their value, such as items that are still useful, have historical value, or are valuable.
In this report, we asked Mr. Touyama about his feelings through store operations, his thoughts on "upcycling," and his commitment to product maintenance. We also introduce some of our recommended products in the report, so please take your time to read it through to the end.
Store Warehouse SizeA stylish space that makes the most of
In front of the entrance of the store are barrels of various sizes, lumber, driftwood, and other DIY materials that can be transformed into anything depending on the creator's ideas, such as shelves and tables. Small pieces of driftwood and wooden boards can be used to display accessories and other small items, or as a display for photographing handmade works in various situations.
Upon entering the store, tall trees are placed on both sides to take advantage of the high ceilings and spaciousness of the two-story warehouse. The contrast with the sundries and furniture of various ages and shapes creates an unrealistic space and a unique atmosphere that is unique to this store. The first floor space is also used for classical piano and violin concerts once every six months.
1st floor: full lineup of products from tableware to furniture and musical instrumentsえ
The displays, which differ according to the theme, show not only the staff's sense of style, but also their love for the "things" lined up in the store.
Beautifully decorated cups and cute chicken figurines with dashing expressions may seem difficult to combine, but they are tastefully coordinated with the colors and patterns of the tablecloths and retro glass bottles. Just looking around the store is a good way to get a good idea of how to coordinate.
Some of them are rare business supplies, such as vintage shampoo chairs and stamen storage containers that were used in beauty salons. Sake bottles and dried flower bouquets will instantly add a stylish atmosphere to a room just by casually decorating it.
Old sewing machines, clocks, and typewriters make me suddenly wonder what kind of people used them in the past....
There is a wide variety of products that are perfect for recreating the world of Hollywood movies as it is, as well as accessories that will create a slightly stylish manly space.
The colorful lockers seen at the back of the image were painted and adjusted to work by the staff to bring new life to the old ones!
Second floor: antique furniture in a forest-like space.line up
When you go upstairs, the world changes completely, with more luxurious and stately furniture and other items. It is as if you have snuck into a wonderful medieval European mansion that suddenly appeared in the middle of the forest. The secret lies in the elegance created by the authentic antique furniture and the woodchip and plank flooring.
These wood chips are recycled after extracting aroma from camphor trees, and they are not only pleasing to the eye, but also serve as a moisture and insect repellant. Laying out the woodchips alone is a difficult task, but they are all replaced when their functionality fades. Even in such a stylish presentation, the eco-friendly spirit and meticulous care are hidden, further demonstrating their love for their products.
In addition to furniture, there are Japanese and Western antiques, lamps, clocks, and other items that all have a sense of historical romance and stories. Some of these items are valuable cultural assets and are not for sale because they cannot be priced, and one is impressed by the wide range of products Ecolio handles.
Recommended Products Pick Up
All prices are exclusive of tax.
The beautifully decorated interior looks as if it came out of a medieval European castle. The mirrors are not scratched and the chairs, desk legs and drawers are well maintained for use.
▲Antique rose-patterned dresser, chair set, 28,000 yen
Chandelier: 38,000 yen
The organ is a cultural asset. The wooden decoration gives it warmth. The condition is quite good with few scratches and sound.
▲1920's English antique organ (vertical, sounds) 420,000 yen
Japanese antique organ (sounds) Not for sale
Furniture from the late Edo period onward, medicine cabinets, and safes are sometimes rented out as sets for movies and stage productions. All have been adjusted so that both drawers and cupboards are usable.
Vintage medicine cabinet 48,000 yen
▲Late Edo period safe 32,000 yen
▲Record player rented as a filming prop. The dignified safe is not for sale, only for display.
Vintage flooring and pillars from an old private home built over 170 years ago. The massive atmosphere that is created by the longevity of these materials over the past two centuries is an atmosphere that cannot be created by new materials. They have been beautifully polished and can be reused in this way. A wide and long piece costs about 5,000 yen.
Kusunoki chips (500 yen), the same as those laid on the floor of the second floor. The rich aroma of kusunoki (camphor tree) wafts through the air.
Bamboo charcoal chips (500 yen) have the same deodorizing effect as Kusunoki chips. Oita has a lot of bamboo, and bamboo is used for various events. This bamboo charcoal is made by reusing bamboo bonbori (which used to be disposed of) used in a festival called "Chiku Yoi" in Usuki City.
▲Old sewing machines come in a variety of ages, shapes, and colors and are still in use.
Example: Singer foot-operated sewing machine: 15,000 yen/16,000 yen Admiral foot-operated sewing machine: 18,000 yen
A unique lamp that is a collaboration of a vacuum tube and a micrometer. 22,000 yen
School chairs used in schools 2,000 yen
It brings back innocent memories of my elementary school days. They can be purchased as is, or ordered with different colors or remade into shelves.
DIY Materials Corner
Flooring and scrap wood from old houses, lamps and boat parts from fishing boats, oddly shaped screws, metal fittings, ironware, and other core parts that are hard to identify at first glance. and core parts that cannot be identified at first glance.
Fire King is a representative of American vintage kitchenware. It has many collectors worldwide and is a popular item in Japan as well. Since Fire King imports directly from the U.S., there are many rare and popular turquoise blue products, and it is rare to find such a large number of these products in stores in Japan.
Light blue mug 13,000 yen
Interview Stockpile Ecolio Representative TouyamaSeiji.
Seiji Touyama, Representative of Stockpile Ecolio
Q: How did you open the restaurant?
Originally, I took over a family business that had been in existence for 130 years and was in the industrial waste collection and transportation business. Since that time, I have seen many chairs and other items brought in from closed classrooms and wondered, “What a waste, they are still usable, but can't they be used for something? I wondered if they could be used for something else, and I decided to start a recycling store. Since some of the items we handle are large, we needed a certain amount of space, so we looked for a place for more than a year and finally opened our shop here about three years ago.
Q: So the products you handle were waste materials to be disposed of?
Ninety-five percent of the time," he says. We collect and purchase such items, and some of our customers donate them to us because they have fond memories and cannot throw them away. The luxurious Western-style furnishings that are on display today came from the demolition of a mansion that was once a glorious and prosperous place to live. Of course, not everything can be displayed as merchandise, and as a result, some items are disposed of, but before throwing them away, we take a step back and look at them to see if they really can no longer be used, and if they can still be used with care, or if only parts or pieces that can be used are left, we try to reuse them. I try to keep only the parts and parts that can be used and reused.
Q: What is the concept of your restaurant?
We are not just a simple recycle store, but we take it one step further by offering “upcycling” services. For example, we combine usable parts of sofas and chair legs with other parts and foundations to create a new form, or we combine leftover table legs with our own table tops to create new furniture. This is called "upcycling. Upcycling is the reuse of garbage back into resources, but it is not the same as recycling. It is a method of reuse that uses the original form and materials as much as possible, such as remaking an old tire into a fashionable bag, and reincarnating it as something more valuable than the original without using any energy. I didn't know this before I started the store, but after coming into contact with various types of waste, I gradually came to understand what "good things that can still be used" are. I used to be a garbage collector, and I used to think that I would use mass-produced furniture and dispose of it when I got tired of it or it broke. On the other hand, Japanese houses and Western-style buildings built in the good old days have splendid large trees used for pillars and precious stones for ornaments, which do not decay easily. Both long-lasting items and items that can be replaced with new ones as the mood strikes have their own advantages and disadvantages, but I hope that by promoting the concept of upcycling, people will learn how to deal with such things.
Q: Where do most of your customers come from?
Most of them are from Oita, accounting for 80 to 90%. There are many people in Oita who are involved in manufacturing and DIY, and there are many marché-type events. There are some top-level DIY creators in Japan, and we appreciate that they bring us DIY information from all over the country. Recently, thanks to SNS information sent out by our customers, we have many customers from outside the prefecture.
Q: If you handle so many products, isn't it hard to change the display?
Some products are replaced quickly, while others stay for a long time, so I try to check the displays in each corner frequently. It is sometimes the case that something that should have been placed there is changed by another staff member to a different location, but just by changing the way it is presented or displayed, the atmosphere of the products looks strangely different, so all staff members always have their antennae up so that they can use their inspiration at that time. We also change the overall layout of the corner every two weeks. Even if I have no idea how to use a product at first, changing its location inspires me to use it in a new way, and that inspires me to be creative (laughs). (Laughs) Changing the display takes time and effort, but I also think it is an important process that generates new ideas for us.
Q: How did you learn product maintenance techniques?
I taught myself little by little. I put a lot of effort into maintenance, because it is important for me to keep the items as clean as possible and put them out on the store floor. Also, since we are dealing with old items, some of our customers are concerned even in the sensory field, which is invisible to the eye, so we make sure to perform offerings to purify the items before putting them in our hands. We always begin our work by frequently changing the air first thing in the morning and carefully fluttering and cleaning the products. I try to be equally attentive to both the actual products and the sensory, unseen areas."
Q: I have heard that your staff has a variety of skills.
Each of our staff members is a creative individual who pursues what he or she loves to do, whether it be tile art, leather goods instructor, or traveling café. Those who have children are sometimes allowed to study in the office. Since everyone is expanding their network in their field of expertise, we naturally attract such people, and from there, business connections and encounters with people are born, which has a very positive impact on the company. Also, by bringing together people who are active in many different fields, ideas that did not exist before are born in an interesting way. Since our company is a workplace that requires a variety of perspectives, Ecolio itself must be a "place to create what we imagine. To that end, I believe my primary mission is to create an environment where all staff members can work comfortably, so I welcome both work and childcare, as long as it is beneficial and necessary for the company."
Q: What is your vision for the future?
Currently, the store has a strong aspect as a total store that handles products in various fields such as antiques, antiques, and American sundries, but we would like to be more closely attuned to customer needs such as "I want to find materials for DIY," "I am looking for rare American sundries," "I want European-style antique furniture," etc. "We would like to make it easier for customers to find what they want, In order to make it easier for customers to find what they want, we would like to clarify the concept of the store and create a specialty store that specializes in that product. We also believe that there is a need for Japanese antiques overseas rather than domestically, so we would like to expand our sales channels by sending out information to overseas markets and selling on the Internet.
Q: Thank you for your time.
Epilogue: After the interview
The idea of "upcycling," which I heard for the first time, was like a shock to my eyes. Although various environmental issues are being raised these days, I felt that there was not much I could do in my daily life. However, I realized that when I want something, choosing not only new products but also upcycled products is a small but significant "eco" action that I can take as an individual.
Through the interview, I also sensed Mr. Touyama's honesty and sincerity in dealing with his products, and was convinced by the beautiful appearance created by his carefully maintained products. Furthermore, I was impressed by his flexible approach to his staff members, who not only work lively in the store, but also have established their own lifestyles through their own craftsmanship. The connections between people create various chemical reactions, creating a space that inspires each other. It seems that each time I visit, I am inspired with a different idea. It was the kind of place that makes you want to return again and again, filled with anticipation for what kind of thrill it will bring you next time.
Access 5 min. drive from Oita Interchange
Approximately 5 minutes by car from the Oita Interchange. There is a parking lot in front of the store.
STOCKPILE ecorio
Address: 14-3, Nakakasuga-cho, Oita City, Oita Prefecture
Phone: 097-513-3620
Business hours: 10:00-18:30
Closed: Thursday (Wednesday and Thursday from March 2020)
WEB:http://ecorio-oita.com/