A story about new work sites: Culture Club and PFM.

　
I want to do something interesting every three years.
　
Whether this is a devil's whisper or an angel's kiss to the Circles staff depends on the individual, but I started thinking this way six years ago, prompted by the relocation of Circles from Fukiage in Chikusa-ku—where it was founded—to Chiyoda in Naka-ku.
　

　
If you look at the number three—expressed in various ways like 1-2-3, hop-step-jump, or "three is a magic number"—from different angles and think about it, many physiological phenomena and principles of behavior derived from such imagination come springing forth with meaning.
　

　
I'm not exactly the brightest person, so I try to keep things simple. I believe that only by fully existing in the present three years—like sitting on a stone—can the themes and starting signals for the next three years be derived. And, as embarrassing as it is to admit, the thing I felt most strongly over the past three years, which became history at the beginning of this month, was the importance of people.
　

　
It's truly difficult to say this here, but when I was younger, I was convinced I was some kind of "superman who could do anything" (and let's face it, even Marvel fans don't really like Superman...), so I lived my life without seriously considering the importance or value of others. However, as the scale of Circles gradually grew, and as the number of things I couldn't handle on my own or couldn't get around to increased, I had bitter experiences where I would mercilessly lash out at my precious staff, even though it was my own actions that caused the situation in the first place. But as I've aged little by little, and over these past three years where I've started to see things I can no longer do physically, my way of thinking has changed dramatically. I've come to want to learn as much as possible from those closest to me—customers, staff, family, and friends—and to act in ways that allow us to exert a strong influence on one another every single day.
　

　
In this past year, our staff size has increased rapidly, and thanks to the growth and fulfillment of the Circles mechanics, the painters at Kyutai Paint, the cooks at Early Birds and Hedgehog, and the growth of our wholesale division, SimWorks, I have even begun to imagine our next goals, what I want to achieve in the next three years, and even the dream of what our Circles community might look like in 10 or 30 years.
　

　
As a first step, I would have liked to establish a nursery school for our staff members who are starting to have children, but that's still impossible in our industry—which has a very different environment from the entertainment industry, like Ghibli. Instead, we have decided to open a new Community Center in the Matsubara area of Naka-ku, Nagoya. The SimWorks office and warehouse have already been relocated to the most inconspicuous second-floor section of the site and are already operational. We wanted this district and this plot of land to be a gateway for cross-cultural exchange and a place for people seeking learning and awareness. So, we are currently in the process of creatively building a new community center centered on bicycles—our area of greatest expertise—which we are calling the Culture Club. We are planning a space where we can actively engage with more people by setting themes each week or month: from DIY-level classes and professional mechanic training to the A to Z of wheel building, bridging the gap to acquiring welding skills, social field trips and work experience to help us cyclists deepen our connection with society, and even correct road cycling usage, which is what we are most committed to. We are also looking into expanding services like refreshing and overhauling well-used bicycles, actively incorporating our beloved DIY spirit into this space, proposing pit rental services with tools and ingenious products that DIY cyclists might need, and even a BUY & SELL Trading service to buy bicycles from those who, unfortunately, can no longer ride, and serve as a bridge to new owners. I plan to announce the details on this blog and on our future website, so please bear with us for a little longer.
　

　
Also, on the same site, we will simultaneously open a new bakery shop called Pine Fields Market, or P.F.M. for short, produced by Keita Ohira, the manager of Early Birds Breakfast, who just wrote the anniversary blog earlier. It is planned to be a small "back-alley" bakery shop that will feature not only the baked goods that "Kiiz Smile"—Kazu-chan and Kinu-chan—have been providing to the Early Birds sales corner for so long, but also daily-use bread, our beloved sandwiches, and espresso and hand-drip coffee served by Miu-Miu, the idol of Early Birds (whose actual profession, it turns out, was coffee). I'm thrilled to think that the Early Birds showcase will always be stocked with muffins and tarts that have already won many fans, and that burger buns and dog rolls—the vital ingredients for new developments—will also be born here, leading to new movements in people, things, and ideas. Of course, P.F.M. will also have a community center-like role; given the pair's background, including their long tenure as teachers at a confectionery school, we have designed it to hold various food-related workshops, and we look forward to announcing more information on that soon.
　

　
For now, please wait for the blog about the Thank You Anniversary Festival that will likely be held on the 27th. We are racking our brains and working hard on-site every day so that we can unveil the full picture of this new Matsubara project on that day. Please make time to come on the 27th; I look forward to meeting you at this new site!