ぐるりと、
さんにん。
About us
What we value
About our workshop
The three of us, the founders of GURURITO, found each other by pure serendipity and were reconnected in Sakuho Town, Nagano Prefecture, in the Northern Yatsugatake Mountains of Shinshu, Japan. It was this whole journey of going 'around' that eventually led us to create GURURITO, which actually means 'around' in Japanese. We decided to rent the former space of Asakawa Yohin Store, which has always been loved by the locals in the Higashimachi shopping area, to build a jewelry workshop.
When we started building the workshop, we didn't want to buy anything new, rather use things that have been loved and passed down from someone, and eventually gathered around us, giving thought and time into creating our workshop on our own. That is why have the irori, a Japanese traditional sunken hearth, which has become the symbol of our workshop.
Gathering around this hearth with everyone, experience making jewelry with your own hands. You will gradually start to see things differently and come to realize that the world looks a little different than before, and this could make each of us take a big cricle around on our new journey of life.
It starts, connects, and changes, as it goes around and around.
We hope to make GURURITO a place where everyone can share this same feeling with us.
ぐるりと、
さんにん。
Jewelers
ジュエリー職人
藤森 隆（モーリィ）
Takashi Fujimori
Studied jewelry design and production at a contemporary jewelry school in Florence, Italy. His work is characterized by three-dimensional forms that give an impression as if they were carved out of space. He has won awards at the Japan Jewelry Design Award, and more.
平野 卓（すぐるくん）
Suguru Hirano
After graduating from a jewelry school, he gained more than 10 years of experience as a craftsperson. He creates pieces using the technique of combining iron and precious metals, which he inherited from Mr. Han Fujimori. Recently he is interested in exploring ways to express softness on metals.
平野 未希（みきさん）
Miki Hirano
She studied engraving from 2015-2016 in Florence, Italy. As a jewelry artist, she creates delicate jewelry with nature motifs, incorporating traditional Italian techniques. She enjoys welding and Western carving.
大切にしている、
３つのこと。
Our Concept
Coexistence - Living Together
Moving to and living in Sakuho Town has reminded us so vividly of the comfort of living together with friends and locals, and also the beauty and challenges of embracing the changing seasons and nature.
We believe that it's essential for each one of us to be who we are in order to live together.
Everyone should be allowed to express oneself and also accept other as who they are. We should celebrate each of our differences.
And we should also have a sense of feelilng "just right" about each other's relationships and anything that happens, unconditionally.
Crafted to be loved - Living a mindful life
I realize that it is truly a blessing to live surrounded by things to which you are attached.
I also find it very attractive and comforting to inherit and use not only things that I am attached to, but also things that someone else has become attached to.
I also realized that in order for attachment to grow, it is necessary to spend a lot of time carefully living with it.
The feel of touch, texture, tongue, footwear, sitting, response, vibration, smell, and moving air. We value what we can feel directly, not what comes in through our eyes and ears.
We hope that the time spent at GURURITO interacting with "things" will give you the opportunity to feel and think about such things.
Exploring - continue to learn
Making jewelry in the workshop, growing vegetables in the field, and making miso with the soybeans we harvested. Creating and feeling eith your own hands and sharing that inspiration with others. All these experiences make us realize that this is what learning is all about.
Continuing to learn is to know yourself, and if you continues to explore yourself, your view of the world will surely change.
It's all about being true to your own sensibility and creating what you loves with your own hands. We hope that creating and crafting at GURURITO will make everyone feel such change, if only a little.
And we would love to see you always wearing the jewelry made at GURURITO as a milestone of change that will last.
ともに愛着を、
つくるところ。
Our Workshop
ジュエリー工房
GURURITO's Workshop is built in a 60-year old building that used to be a local clothing store. The three of us had no particular experience or knowledge of DIY, however, with the help of many friends and locals, we have renovated the place on our own over almost half a year, embodying our principle of coexistence, crafted to be loved, and exploring.
We repainted the ceiling, removed the old floor tiles and polished the mortar. We repurposed old items used in the days when the place used to be a clothing store. Also, many people offered us furniture, fixtures, and tools, which we arranged accordingto our own senses and ideas. Other than electrical and plumbing work, we avoided buying new things as much as possible. That's how we, without any help of professionals, created this workshop we are very attached to.
GURURITO is filled with things that have been treasured by someone somewhere and passed down to us through various encounters. Among them, the large sunken hearth, which is the symbol of the workshop and the origin of it's name, was not something we had originally planned to install. It was given to us one day, and it took a whole day and 3 runs by truck to move this large item into the workshop, which probably weighed more than 500 kg. It was one of the most memorable moments from those six months of building our workshop.
Since the opening in June 2021, we have continued building and growing our workshop, slowly but surely as we follow our heart with open mind.
ぐるりと、
辿り着く。
Access
Open 10:00 -16:00 Thu, Fri, and Sat
2908, Takano-cho, Sakuho-cho, Minamisaku-gun, Nagano, Japan
gururito.atelier@gmail.com
TEL 050-1203-3009
Google Map
For those coming by car
4 minutes from Sakuho IC on the Chubu Cross-Island Highway
4 parking lots are available.
*We recommend that you use Google Maps as your car navigation system may not show the exact location.
https://g.page/GURURITO
It takes about 2.5 hours from central Tokyo by Shinkansen bullet train or car.
One hour drive from Karuizawa and Kiyosato area.
Two hours drive from Hakuba area.
For those coming by public transportation
About a 7-minute walk from Haguroshita Station on JR Koumi Line
(It is the 9th station and 35 minutes from Sakudaira Station on Hokuriku Shinkansen Line)
