“Checking fabric inventory daily is really critical, ‘cause we get most of our materials from Japan, and it takes time and cost. I mean shipping cost is really high to have something shipped from Japan, so we have to put all the fabric order together and then place an order. So it’s time consuming, but you get a lot of good reaction from customers, so it’s definitely worth getting materials from Japan.” - Momoko Kanaoka

“I actually had this conversation with my friend the other day. He described it as if art and design are the same thing. To me they're totally different, art is an expression of, or the feelings of the artists, the makers, creators. Designers on the other hand, you have to think about consumers, end users, users. You need to be able to sell your designed product, so you always have consumers in your mind when you’re designing.” - Momoko Kanaoka

“So now I consider myself as a designer. Before when I was in school, I used to make a lot of artworks, I considered myself an artist, even when I made one of a kind bags. I was a bag designer before, I still am, but I focused more on expressing my feelings even when I was making something to sell to my customers, but here at Kiriko I definitely think more about what will sell as products, what will be accepted by consumers, and then when I rethink that, I consider myself as a designer over an artist.” - Momoko Kanaoka