It's not that I dislike shopping, but when you keep buying things over and over, you can sometimes feel a sense of emptiness, like watching an extra pizza you ordered cool down right in front of your eyes.
That's because in order to make alcohol, you need a liquor license, and the tax office only comes to inspect the liquor license once everything is in order. Conversely, you can't make anything without a license. I'd like to write about this again, but it's the complete opposite of the modern business mindset, which is to start, correct any mistakes, increase what's lacking, or even pivot and change the industry.
Of course, there is no problem with the stills and tanks necessary for the distillery. What is difficult is that we have to get things that we don't know if we need now or not. The only thing that is going out is money, and this is gradually affecting us. My body is eroded by a sense of alienation from the fact that I am not participating in what is called the economic activity of the world, where you spend what you earn.
To fill the void of emotion, they try contract work. It's a strategy to balance the emotional outflow by being needed by others, and while it works while they're doing it, it's not a fundamental solution.
In the end, I have to buy it, so the only solution to the problem is to buy it. If I'm going to buy it, I want to buy something that I want at a price that I'm happy with.
However, for example, when deciding whether or not you want a hand washing sink, do you have a sense of cost that would be acceptable to you? To put it dramatically, you are being asked, "Do you have a firm belief in hand washing basins?" (You don't.)
However, if I were to choose something just based on size and price, the feeling that I chose it randomly would remain with me and I would remember it every time I looked at it. So every night, I would flip through catalogs, books, magazines, and the internet, worrying about this and that.
First of all, the overall idea was to avoid things like "like this". It's easy to decide on something, but it can also become a constraint. The stoic purity and industrial style of Stilemühle, designed by Philipp Mainzer , and the humorous and light-hearted style of Hideyuki Nakayama Architects, who renovated mitosaya, are the basis for this. While using these things as a base, we also thought objectively about what would be most appropriate to place here. That was our basic stance.
So let's list the things I bought. If writing about them makes it seem like I'm at least helping something, maybe my emptiness will turn into love.
・Hand-washing basin
According to health center rules, a hand washing basin must be installed at the entrance and exit of a manufacturing facility. In principle, if there are multiple entrances, a hand washing basin must be installed at each entrance. However, by explaining that the process is one-way (entering and exiting), we were exempted and decided to install two, one at the entrance for raw materials and one at the distillery.
If you really want to wash your hands, you can get a round ceramic sink (the ones you'll find abruptly next to the counter of a small restaurant), but you can't even wash your hands in it. Since you might need to wash some small tools brought in from the entrance, I searched for a utility sink. I chose one from Swiss sink manufacturer Franke because the wall-mounted bracket that supports the sink is a sharp triangle and looks cool. As a result, the legs are wide. I'm not sure if I'll use the movable wire for washing the bucket, but it looks good.
·stool
I spend a lot of time in front of the distiller, and it takes about an hour and a half to two hours to move it, and I do that 4 or 5 times a day. Although I'm basically in front of the distiller, I don't stand there the whole time. I spend a lot of time recording and measuring, and sometimes I read. So I'm looking for a stool made of water-resistant material with casters that I can move freely.
As I was having this conversation while getting my hair cut, I noticed that the stool he was sitting on was just the right size for the job. It was made of aluminum, had casters, and could even move up and down smoothly. I asked him if I could have it, but he naturally refused.
I heard it was something called "D Stool" sold by a beauty product manufacturer to beauty salons. However, the current model has a different shape of the legs, and although it is sturdy, it is ugly. So I registered on a second-hand marketplace site for beauty products, and then registered "D Stool" on Hatena Antenna. I waited about two months and the product came out, so I bought it.
- Hoses and hose racks
It is often said that half of sake brewing is cleaning. It is true that washing with water is one of them. Pull out the hose and rinse with water. Then there is the hose and hose rack. And the nozzle. It is good that the flow rate can be adjusted by hand and that when squeezed, it has enough strength to act as a brush.
At first, I tried looking for something for a factory, but I couldn't find anything suitable, as they were over-specified for a store the size of mitosaya. That's when I turned my attention to foreign gardening products. I found a stainless steel hose that was very popular on American TV shopping channels and was said to be safe even if it was run over by a lawnmower. Also in the gardening category, I found a wall-mounted rotating hose rack. The nozzle was compact and made of durable copper.
The hoses used in the distillation room are short, so the hose rack is enough to hang them. The German-made hose rack I got from the former COEDO factory is easy to use and looks good, so I searched for the same one. I found an almost identical one at manufactum.
・Water purifier
The issue of water to use for preparation and dilution was a concern from the beginning, and at first we considered digging a well or using water from a nearby well. However, the estimate for digging a well was higher than we expected, so we sampled water from a nearby well and had it tested for quality. The results were mixed: it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Also, when using well water for food, it is necessary to use a sterilizer, which is basically a chlorine injector. If that's the case, we thought it might be better to purify tap water, so we decided to start by installing a water purifier.
Again, I was hesitating, as it was overkill for factory use and a bit unreliable for home use, when I stopped by a coffee stand with Nakayama-san and saw a water purification system ostentatiously installed behind the counter like a display, and became interested in Everpure's water purifier.
After some research, I found out that it is an American water purifier manufacturer, and that they have a wide lineup of products depending on the desired water quality and usage amount. When the time comes to replace them, you just replace the entire metal cartridge, so they are both functional and hygienic. And above all, they look good. (That's all I can say.)
I chose the QL3-ESO7 cartridge, which uses block carbon to purify water, and also uses ion exchange resin to soften the water by replacing calcium and magnesium with sodium. It's interesting to be able to choose the cartridge that matches the water you want to use. It makes the water visible.
I thought I could set it up by attaching a wall mount and connecting it to the water line with a flexible hose, so I decided to try it out myself. It doesn't look like a coffee stand, but I'm satisfied with the functionality.
I could continue like this, one by one, but that's all for now.
I find it annoying that I can't move forward without being convinced like this, but there's nothing I can do about it. And it's all because it's been so hard to get a liquor license... (Back to the beginning).
I don't think I dislike shopping, but when I keep buying things, I sometimes feel empty, like I'm watching the pizza I ordered extra of cool down in front of my eyes.
The reason for this is that in order to make brandy, you need a brewery license, and only after everything is in order does the tax office come for an on-site inspection. To put it another way, without a license, you can't make anything. I would like to write more about this in the future, but it is completely the opposite of today's business mentality of starting out, correcting things if they are wrong, increasing things if they are lacking, or pivoting and changing industries if necessary.
Of course, the distillers and tanks needed for the distillery are not a problem. The hardest part is that I have to get things that I don't know if I need now or not. The only thing that goes out is money, and this is slowly taking its toll. When you earn money, you have to spend it, and this is what is called economic activity in the world, and you feel alienated because you are not part of it.
In order to fill this negative feeling, I sometimes try to work as a contractor. It's a strategy to balance out the in and out of my emotions by being required by others, and while it works while I'm doing it, it's not a drastic solution.
In the end, you have to buy it, so the problem can only be solved by buying it. If I am going to buy something, I want to buy what I want at a price I can afford.
However, I wonder if I have a sense of cost in my mind as to how much I would be willing to pay for a hand washing sink, for example, as a basis for deciding whether I want it or not. To put it bluntly, the question is, "Do you have a firm belief in hand-washing sinks? (I don't.)
However, if you choose a product just based on size and price, you will be reminded of this feeling every time you look at it. Thus, every night, I turned over catalogs, books, magazines, and the Internet, and worried about this and that.
The first thing I thought about as a whole was to stop doing things like "xx style". It's easy once you've made up your mind, but it can become a constraint: Philipp Mainzer's Stählemühle stoicism and industrialism, Hideyuki Nakayama's humor and lightness of touch. While keeping these things as a base, I think flatly about what would be most appropriate to put here. This is my basic stance.
Let's take a look at some of the things I bought. If writing about them makes you feel that they are at least useful for something, the emptiness may turn into love.
Hand washing tank
According to the rules of the public health center, hand-washing tanks must be installed at the entrances and exits of manufacturing facilities. If there are multiple entrances, in principle, each one must be equipped with a hand-washing tank, but after explaining the one-way process of entering and exiting, we were exempted from this requirement and decided to install two tanks, one at the raw material entrance and the other in the distillation room.
If you really want to wash by hand, you can use the round ceramic ones. (You know, the ones you see on the side of the counter in small restaurants), but then you can't even wash your hands. I searched for a so-called "Utilitiy sink" to wash the small utensils I brought in from the entrance bracket. The wall-mounted brackets that support the sink are sharp triangles, which is cool, so I decided to go with the one made by Franke, a Swiss sink manufacturer. As a result, the legs are wide. I don't know if I'll use the movable wire to wash the bucket, but it's a nice touch.
Stool
I spend a lot of time in front of the distiller, about an hour and a half to two hours once I move it, and I do four or five sets of that a day. Basically, I'm in front of the distiller, but I don't stand there the whole time. I spend a lot of time writing, taking measurements, and occasionally reading. So I'm looking for a stool made of water-resistant material with casters that I can move freely.
As I was having my hair cut, I noticed a stool that my hairdresser was sitting on that was perfect for this purpose. It is made of aluminum, has casters, and can be moved up and down smoothly. I asked him to give me the stool, but of course he refused.
I heard that it was a "D stool" sold by a beauty supply company for beauty salons. However, the current product has a different leg shape and is sturdy but ugly. So I registered on a used marketplace site for hair stylist products, and then registered on Hatena Antenna for "D stool". 2 months later, the product came out, and I bought it.
Hose and hose rack
It is often said that half of sake making is cleaning. It's true that half of sake brewing is cleaning. You have to pull out the hose and run it under water. That's where the hose and hose rack come in. Then there are the nozzles. The flow rate should be adjustable at hand, and the nozzle should be strong enough to act as a brush when squeezed.
At first, I tried to find one for a factory, but I couldn't find one that was over-specified for the scale of mitosaya. That's when I turned my attention to foreign garden products. I found a stainless steel hose, which is very popular on American TV shopping sites and can be stepped on by lawn mowers. Also from the same garden supply, a wall-mounted rotating hose rack. The nozzle was found to be made of copper, which is compact and strong.
I found a hose rack made in Germany from a former COEDO factory that was easy to use and looked good.
Water Purifier
The problem of water for preparation and dilution has been a problem from the beginning, and at first we thought about digging a well or using water from a nearby well. However, the estimate for digging a well was more expensive than we had expected, and when we took water from a neighbor's well and submitted it for water quality testing, the results were not bad, but not extremely good. Also, if you want to use well water for food, you need to use a sterilizer, or in layman's terms, a chlorine injector. In that case, we decided to install a water purifier, thinking that purifying tap water might be a good idea.
Again, I was hesitating between over-specification for factory use and unreliability for home use, when I stopped by a coffee stand with Mr. Nakayama and saw a water purification system installed behind the counter like a display, which got me interested in the Everpure water purifier.
When I looked into it, I found out that it is an American-made water purifier manufacturer that has many products lined up depending on the quality of water you want and the amount you use. The metal cartridges are replaced when the time comes, so it is both functional and hygienic. Also, it looks good. (This is all I can say)
I chose the QL3-ESO7 cartridge, which has a function to soften water by replacing calcium and magnesium with sodium using ion exchange resin in addition to block carbon water purification. It is also interesting to be able to select a cartridge that matches the water you want to use. Visualization of water.
Installation was a DIY challenge, as it looks like it can be done by attaching a wall mount and connecting it to the water supply with a flexible hose. It doesn't look much like a coffee stand, but I'm satisfied with its functionality.
I could go on forever with each one at this rate, but that's about it for this time.
I think it's a pain in the ass that I can't proceed until I'm satisfied with the product, but I can't help it. This is all due to the fact that it's hard to get a brewing license... (Back to the beginning).
