I see two families.
One is the family I was born into: my father, my mother, and three sisters. My father ran a barbershop, and my mother ran a hair salon, and together they raised us. This year, my niece had a baby boy, YAMATO, and my parents became great-grandparents.
The other is my partner's family.
When I began to know his family, I realized that mine had its own “codes” too, small mottos handed down through objects and people. I also felt how different our two families were: the way they thought, the way they used money, the way they held on to each other. I found myself asking, which one is happier?
I learned that money alone does not make a person happy. Being too careful with it can make us miss the happiness in front of us. Spending too freely can cost us our home.
My family home is warm, and people gather there. My parents built those relationships through the way they work and the way they use money. Their trust and their care come back to them, and that is why the house is full of people, and why there is a next generation to carry it on.
My partner's family has known great loss. Some of the people who could have filled that house are no longer here. His mother, Elissa, passed away eleven years ago.
Seeing both sides, I began to wonder what we keep, what we pass on, and what we leave behind.
That question became The Ledger of Us.
What does this have to do with packaging?
In Japan, where I grew up, packaging is also part of what we keep. The way paper is folded, the way a ribbon is tied, even the noshi — the way we write a message for the receiver — every detail is a way of showing care.
That culture is still part of me.
But since moving to Toronto, I have started to see packaging differently. Here, there are many conversations about excess packaging, about waste, and about what it really means to be kind to the environment. Living here has made me think more about my own impact than when I lived in Japan.
So at Alter Standard, I have made a choice for now: to keep our packaging as simple as possible.
Our products are made to be gifts, but I want the gift itself to be the main character — not layers of paper and plastic around it.
To be honest, as a small independent brand, I don't yet have the resources to create the perfect sustainable packaging system I dream of. I hope to put more care into it in the future.
For now, simple is our standard. Less waste, more intention. I believe that is also a form of care — and a way of deciding what we truly want to keep.
This is the third chapter of Our Story. Read the full story → Our Story
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