Our Studio
Cross-Cultural Agency
Sakumi Studio was established in 2016 with an intention of helping Japanese artisans and makers thrive in an ever-evolving ecommerce market. "We make high-quality products, but they're not selling" was a phrase we hear too often from Japanese companies with generations of history and advanced technical abilities. We soon realized, in order to highlight their qualities, the products needed to be rebranded, repackaged, and catered in a way that speaks to the hearts of the U.S. customers and naturally communicates how they can be integrated in their lifestyle. Since our founding, we have collaborated with established leaders in houseware, apparel, beauty and wellness fields to bring something renewed and exciting to the world.
A Note From Our Founder
Sakura Kojima
Whether you’re having a meeting with clients or catching up with friends over a glass of wine, I’ve always found clear communication to be an invaluable skill to understand one another and develop a meaningful conversation. When engaging with your customers, the approach should not be any different.
Through a decade of helping Japanese companies rebrand and establish their businesses in the U.S. market, I have developed a formula for effective communication that utilizes the power of words and visual storytelling to express a company’s true purpose. Every company has a unique story to share, and it takes more than just a direct translation to bring out their essence.
As a native Japanese, who grew up soaking up the California sun, I believe it’s my life pursuit to bridge the cultural gap through creativity and thoughtful experiences. Currently based in Brooklyn and Upstate, NY – I enjoy searching for the best coffee shops in the neighborhoods and foraging for wild mushrooms on the weekends.
Testimonials
Sakumi studio has helped me with marketing tremendously. Putting together a new website was so worth it, and I really love it! I was really surprised at how they captured the exact look and feel I wanted but more importantly, they were willing to learn in such detail about my complicated work which very few people understand. Now that we are onto marketing we have content quality and high content engagement so people know what we're talking about! My biggest takeaway is that they held my hand quite well, reducing my time consumption which allowed me to continue in my business at a fast pace w/o worrying about everything else. 5 stars!
Sakura has been working with me for many different projects including PR for Gomen-Kudasai restaurant and a non-profit peace movement, Bon-odori Dance Festival for Peace. We worked together to send monthly newsletters, rebuild and create websites, and produce advertisements and posts for social networks. Not only is she a hardworking professional, but also is a very pleasant young lady. Since she is a bilingual Japanese American, she covers both American and Japanese markets. Thank you Sakura for your solid work ethics and beautiful nature!
Sakura is consistently adaptable and responsive, with a skill for crafting clear and focused copy that effectively communicates the benefits of products, for US customers. Not only that, but her positive and motivating attitude is infectious, and she always manages to infuse our collaborations with energy and enthusiasm. It's always a pleasure to work with her.
We have been working with Sakumi Group for several years for the Japanese brands we represent in the US market. They’ve created websites, newsletter contents, marketing contents for us, and have done marketing research and influencer marketing for us. They have done a great job identifying each of our brands’ values and purposes, and created effective brand messages. They are always so supportive, stick to the schedule and easy to work with!
If you need someone who is understanding, dedicated and well educated then this is who you need. Sakura is empathetic , relatable , and resourceful and her ability to collaborate and execute plans is a must for anyone looking into this line of services. She will listen to you and she will get the results you are looking for hands down and for that I wouldn't recommend anyone else.
Sakura helped me to establish the solid foundation for my new business from the very beginning. She was skilled at guiding me through the initial branding phase by refining my ideas and creating a beautiful logo guideline. Her writing skill is excellent, which helped a lot for writing the website contents and coming up with great tag lines. She was indispensable for the website development with her attention to the details and understanding of how a good website should be. I wouldn’t have successfully launched my business without her support all along, and cannot be happier that I had Sakura to work with! She responds in timely manner and works very professionally. I cannot recommend her enough as a business consultant and beyond.