Sharing our passion with other passionate entrepreneurs
In the years since she launched her business, Reina has collaborated with various local entrepreneurs, sharing their respective passions together.
"Since I work alone, these collaborations offer me wonderful experiences and valuable lessons. As we all have different businesses, working together allows me to see different products, clients, and ways of doing things. It also gives me the opportunity to interact with other clienteles, be creative, explore interesting ideas, and design new projects for the future," explains Reina.
"Even if we don't sell the same products, as entrepreneurs, we all have the same mission: to share what we love and introduce people to the things that excite us. That's why I feel like we're all working towards a common goal."
Over the past few years, Reina has worked with several local companies.
One of her long-time collaborators is Kyoto Fleurs. Reina loves working with the owner, Marilou, as they both aim to offer quality products full of personality. They work well together and laugh a lot when they share a space.
Reina also often collaborates with Jacinthe from MTL Shamisen Project when she holds tea ceremonies. Reina and Jacinthe met at an event a few years ago and immediately hit it off. Since then, they have participated in several events together. Jacinthe's shamisen music adds a Zen moment to the ceremonies and helps immerse the audience in Japanese culture.
Reina also collaborates with another Japanese entrepreneur, Yuki from Kimono Yuki. Both are proud to offer refined products that represent Japan and its culture, and are happy to share their experiences as entrepreneurs and also as compatriots living outside of Japan.
Recently, Reina started working on a line of tea products with Hélène and Mario from LEBON Trait d’Union. Reina met Hélène at a Japanese Wagashi workshop and they kept in touch. This summer, they finally started working together to produce a line of products with a story. As the company name, Trait d'Union, suggests, their goal is to connect people through the things they love, encounters, food, travel, culture, etc.
Reina had several online meetings with Hélène and her operations manager Cheryl. These meetings are quite special. Hélène is French and lives in Prince Edward Island, Cheryl is from Venezuela and lives in Ecuador, and Reina is Japanese and lives in Montreal, and their meetings usually take place in Spanish. They come from different places and live in different cities, but all three love to meet people and foster connections.
Reina loves every collaboration and every person she works with. She absorbs this positive energy and pours it into everything she does. Working with others helps her grow as an entrepreneur and as an individual.