For a more whimsical take on the past, cross the river to the Oltrarno quarter, where locals outnumber tourists and where Japanese jeweler Aika Fushimi opened her Quarant'otto boutique two years ago. Ms. Fushimi's signature piece, the Una Storia ring (about $2,050), mimics the arches of the hushed courtyard A man and a woman stand between tiny gold columns. It could be a tryst, it could be a first encounter. Or maybe they're just two more tourists, falling in love with Florence. Via Maggio, 6,

For a little more history with a difference, visit the
Oltrarno district.
and cross the river to the Oltrarno district
where more people live than tourists
.
There is a jewelry store, quarant'oto, founded by Japanese jewelry designer
Aika Fushimi
.

Ms. Fushimi's masterpiece
Una Storia is modeled after the pillars of
Basilica di Santa Croce
(Church of Santa Croce)
facing a quiet courtyard, and
between the small golden pillars in the ring
a man and a woman face each other.

It looks as if
they are meeting for a date or
meeting for the first time.
But maybe they are
just two travelers who have fallen in love
with Florence, and they are just two
of the travelers who have fallen in love with Florence.

A man and a woman face each other in a church cloister, a short distance apart.

~ Is this a meeting? Or... ~ A man and a woman facing each other in the cloister of a church.

The ring
Una Storia Firenze [A Story] is accompanied
by these lyrics: "I want you to wear it as if it were a story.

He is responsible for the design of
quarant'oto, a jewelry brand
that he launched
with the hope that people will wear it as if it depicts a story
.

The store at
GINZA SIX
, which opened in April, is
lined with creative jewelry
with motifs such as gas lamps, Latin words, and bees
.
One by one, passersby
enter the store as if they were being sucked in.

It is not well known. It has a short history.
It does not follow trends.
Despite this,
sales per tsubo in the month of opening
were top class among all 241 stores.
It was a surprise to everyone.

Since he was a child,
he loved to draw pictures and stories.
Although he gave up art school due to his parents' opposition, he
attended painting school even after he became a working adult.

In the midst of all this,
he started making jewelry on a whim and
was drawn into it.
He studied engraving while continuing to work, but
before turning 30, he went to Florence, Italy.

In 2007,
he opened a store
in an alley in Kobe, which doubled as a workshop.
It was an unfamiliar place and the streets were sparsely populated.
He spent his days meeting people
who wandered into his shop.

One day three years later,
Akemi Tatsuhata, 63, who was working at the Daimaru Kobe store,
was attracted by the cafe-like appearance and
suddenly stepped into the shop.

I thought I had found a treasure," she said. I thought I had found a treasure," she recalls.
He soon decided to open a store.

The store soon expanded to Tokyo and
opened a store in Florence last year.
A coincidence greatly changed his destiny.


In an age of overflowing goods, people are looking for meaning and added value.
Quarantotto has warmth."
Daisuke Fuchida, 45, a husband and
gemologist who is responsible for management and quality control, says,
Daisuke Fuchida, 45, a gemologist, is responsible for management and quality control.

In order to confirm the feel and texture
when it touches the skin, he does not stop at making drawings, but
even creates three-dimensional prototypes.
The finished product is titled with lyrics.
He also works on the paintings and interior decoration of the store
and repaints the antique furnishings he procures himself
.
The designer's breath is in everything.

Because of the importance he places on
drawing out the inner thoughts of the person, he spends a lot of time with customers.
For those who believe in the power of words,
quill pen necklaces and bookshelf rings.

For those who want to cherish each moment of each day,
a number or clock motif.

For those who want to have a sense of
security in events that never change like celestial bodies circling
stars and moon motifs.

When an experience or event and jewelry
fit together, it is said to "open one's eyes
.

I project the path of life onto jewelry and weave a
story.

I am the star of my life.

To freely
depict the story called life, I gently lean in close.


- Things seem to be going well.

For three years until last year, I was
mentally trapped.
Because of too many stores
I had extremely less time
to stand in the store and create.

Creating something based on marketing does not create
something from scratch.
With that in mind, I never looked at other brands
and put meaning into my jewelry
, but it was painful
to hear about price ranges and trends
.

I even thought about getting out of being a
designer if I had to make something just based on my sensibilities and
cause trouble for those around me.

- Did you get over it?

I decided to take the plunge and organize some
stores.
By going back to the beginning and painting,
I became convinced that making jewelry like a painting is
my greatest feature.

The world is a big place, but
we are all the same human beings, so
what is important in our hearts should not be much different.

I thought it was a reckless dream, but
I decided to open a store in Florence, the home of the brand.
Gradually I got myself back
and now I have a very good balance.

～I'm very happy to be able to share my thoughts and feelings with you.

- I use both Japanese and Italian
techniques.

Japan is superior in elaboration and diligence of craftsmen
and Italy is superior in design and sense
.

Japan has special tools for each process,
while Italy uses bicycle spokes,
broom handles, dried squid,
and other familiar objects.

Italian craftsmen are not so precise, but they value experience
in terms of the sound of the fire and the amount of pressure on their hands, so
the finished product is very tasteful.

Based on the prototype I made
, Japanese and Italian craftsmen work separately to finish
.
I call this method
"Made with Italy"
to take advantage of the best of both worlds.

- What is the traditional technique of Florence?

It is a technique that uses a variety of engraving knives to
create expressive effects on metal, such as openwork, silky luster,
and subtle sparkles
.
The unique texture that can only be expressed by hand engraving
is appealing.

- How do you convey the customer's thoughts
to the craftsmen?

　Craftsmen stay in their workshops and don't know
the outside world, so we sometimes have them participate in
events at the store
.
　Then, I add to the instructions what the customer who
purchased the product was thinking
when they chose it and have them read
it before starting
work.
By imagining the other person,
I feel more strongly about it, or
I make fewer mistakes.

- What kind of study abroad experience
did you have?

I didn't have much time or money, so I worked at three different studios
and studied engraving, stone setting, and design
.

I rented a desk in a workshop and continued to work in my spare time.
I even got tendonitis.
We shared a room without partitions
with three people.

We ate only cheap tomatoes and cauliflower
but I was more than happy
to devote myself to creating.

- Why jewelry.

I had been painting for a long time, but
painting was hard for me because it revealed my inner
self.
I wanted to make something more gentle
.

I was also attracted to the fact that I could wear it every day and that it would
last forever.

The idea of jewelry comes to me like a
fountain, so I have never felt
any pain.

~ Something I buy for myself.

- I have many female customers.

The starting point was to make
what I wanted to wear.
My first piece of jewelry was a
diamond pinky ring that I bought as a reward
for myself in my first year of working, and
the joy I felt at that time was my starting point.
I believe that it is something that you buy for its own meaning.

- What do you keep in mind when creating?

I value the
margins so that it can stimulate my imagination.
I have the parts ready for you, so
I want you to choose the rest and construct your own story
.

I try not to rely too much on tradition
and to incorporate the latest techniques
.


Our goal is to make the wearer
happy, even if only a little, so we are careful
not to become complacent.

- I heard that your employees are like family.

Employees who have supported us since our founding
Some employees work with three sisters.

Many of them were originally customers
and they know me very well.
Since we don't use ready-made products for the interior,
we have to work through the night before an event, but
they have been patiently following me
and I am grateful to them.

- We opened a store in Florence.

We opened a store in Florence, far from the tourist area
where you have to ring the doorbell to get in
, but it is doing better than we expected.
The fact that we sell from unique designs
gave us great confidence.

Recently, more and more people order their wedding rings from our store in Japan
and receive them in Florence
on their honeymoon.
I was impressed
with the way such stories are being portrayed.

The store and its masterpieces were recently featured in the Wall Street Journal
in the US newspaper.
They said, "For the best souvenirs,
skip Ponte Vecchio."
I hope it will become a gateway
for people from all over the world to know about it.

｟After the tears｠.

How does it look to you?"
Aika asked.
'A bird...a Japanese bird looking at a letter, you mean
?'
I answered.

It doesn't mean a Japanese bird,
it just means [bird].
And it doesn't matter what kind of flower
it is,
it is just a flower
and it is all created by nature
.

This picture is of
birds in a [word] store.
You can eat sweet-tasting words, but you can't eat
bitter ones."

I see.
In her fantasy, angry words
taste very bitter.

We have to think carefully before
using words, and
it is her wish that if all people in this world use
sweet-tasting words full of love,

If you know the Japanese national character,
you can understand this idea
.

The idea is
made even more beautiful and vivid
in her paintings and the stories depicted in them.

It all begins
with a feeling that grows in her heart, and a story springs forth.

And the characters are represented in the paintings as
nature creatures with [gentle shapes]
.

Jewelry designs
follow a similar process.

These two forms of art,
the stories of imaginary creatures and
the creation of jewelry,
flow side by side like parallel rivers
.

A multi-artist, she came to Florence
to learn a special technique
that can only be realized there.

And to pay homage
to the city that has the technique,
she opened her store
in the Ponte Vecchio neighborhood where many great engraving maestros
have their studios.

In Japan, the brand has already
established itself as a brand with four
stores.

This is a Japanese culture
where the doors are always open and
even if you don't buy,
anyone can look at these pieces
.

She has repeatedly mentioned
[openness]
"My designs are for
everyone
and there is no national marketing
.

I don't think there are
any racial differences in what we think and feel."

The
apartment she lived in while in Italy was numbered 48, hence the
brand name 48 (Quarantotto)
.
And her two dogs are also
called 4 and 8.

For her
4 and 8 are just lucky numbers.

And
"There is surely a special number for everyone,"
she says.

One thing about her jewelry is that it is
very delicate and
modestly sized.

It represents the
Japanese aesthetic that there is no need to flaunt wealth or power
.

The gentle and delicate jewelry is
one of Japan's probable
wonderful culture
.

They are small but
perfect and
have incredible
attention to detail.

For example, the necklace has a larger than usual
loop to make it easier to put on and take off.

The ends are
embellished with delicate keshi pearls
and are also adjustable
in length.

Among her amazing work
I would like to share with you what has captured my heart
and what made me fall in love with her work
.

It is a delicate necklace she designed in 2017 called
｟After Tears｠
.

She told me this.
"Tears are
never negative
.
I think about how to live better
every day and I am always looking for the right path
to take.

I also cry sometimes,
but I think tears are very good for cooling down
emotions that have become too strong.
Because after the tears
tomorrow will be a new day."

Aika mi dice: "Tu cosa vedi?"... rispondo: "Vedo degli uccelli, probabilmente giapponesi, che guardano delle lettere...é così ?" ...ribatte: "Non sono uccelli giapponesi, sono uccelli e basta. Lo stesso concetto vale per i fiori, i fiori sono fiori e basta, Ti spiego, loro stanno comprando le parole... e se sono dolci, Se sono amare o piccanti le lasciano". Ho capito, una parola di rabbia è sicuramente piccante per le sue creature di fantasia. Lei mi spiega che: "Prima di usare le parole dobbiamo pensare tanto, e il suo desiderio è quello che tutti gli esseri umani possano usare: "Parole dolci, con amore". Per chi conosce il popolo giapponese é assolutamente comprensibile questo ragionamento, che ancora più bello e vivo trasposto nei suoi disegni e nelle Il percorso inizia con un'emozione che la colpisce, dalla quale scaturisce una storia che poi rappresenta nel Il percorso inizia con un'emozione che la colpisce, dalla quale scaturisce una storia che poi rappresenta nel disegno, utilizzando personaggi della natura che vive come "forme rassicuranti". Il suo procedimento per creare gioielli é simile a quello appena descritto. Queste due forme di arte, il disegno di animali di fantasia con le loro storie e Aika Fushimi è un'artista a tutto tondo, venuta in Italia per imparare una speciale tecnica d'incisione che si realizza unicamente a Firenze, ha poi voluto rendere omaggio alla città che l 'ha ospitata, aprendo un punto vendita proprio vicino a Ponte Vecchio, accanto cioè ai grandi maestri orafi. Il brand si è velocemente consolidato in Giappone con quattro punti vendita dove, come da tradizione, le porte sono sempre aperte e tutti possono curiosare, anche senza comprare. Sul concetto di "apertura" insiste molto, spiegando che lei "disegna per tutti", non ci sono Tornando all'Italia, nel periodo nel quale viveva qui, la sua casa era al numero quarantotto e per questo motivo ho deciso di chiamare "quarant'otto" il suo brand. Scomponendo poi il numero, i suoi due cani: uno si chiama 4, l'altro si chiama 8. Quattro e otto sono i suoi numeri fortunati, ognuno dovrebbe La prima caratteristica dei suoi gioielli è che sono piccoli. Sono lo specchio della sua cultura, dove non bisogna mostrare o Una serena discrezione è un modo di vita ben consolidato in Giappone. Seppur piccole, le sue creazioni sono perfette e Per esempio, le chiusure delle collane non solamente hanno un anello più grande del Per esempio, le chiusure delle collane non solamente hanno un anello più grande del grande del solito per facilitare l'agganciamento, ma sono regolabili nella lunghezza attraverso un sistema ingegnoso che termina con una delicata. Tra tutte le sue magnifiche realizzazioni, vorrei parlare di quella che mi ha colpito dritto al cuore e che é il motivo per il quale mi sono appassionata al suo lavoro. Si tratta della delicata collana " Dopo le lacrime". L'ha creata nel 2017 e questa è la storia: "Le lacrime non sono negative. Ogni giorno penso a quale sia il modo migliore per vivere e cerco sempre la strada più giusta da percorrere. Anch'io piango e le lacrime sono molto utili perché abbassano il livello di un Dopo le lacrime so che domani sarà un giorno nuovo".