Q TELL US ABOUT FROM HERE CO., LTD.

We search for master craftspeople and intangible cultural heritage of the region to connect them to the greater world. We help with their archiving, branding, and exhibition·performances and set up curation shops where they can sell their products. We make diverse content based on the life and philosophy of the creators.

Q HOW DID YOU GET THE IDEA OF CONNECTING A SOTDAE WITH A DIFFUSER?

A Sotdae is a folk religious item made of a 2–3 m long pole with a bird shape on top that we used a long time ago in Korea to wish for good news by erecting it next to the entrance or guardian tree of a town. However, with modernization and the construction of apartments as a common housing style, the poles disappeared. We wondered how to make the pole a part of our lives again when we came up with the idea of a diffuser stick.

Q YOU SUCCEEDED IN COLLABORATING WITH SOTDAE MASTER CRAFTSMAN

KIM JONG-O, POTTER BANG HO-SIK, AND PERFUMER KIM DU-RIN. I encountered numerous craft masters and young start-up entrepreneurs. They were all proud of their work and highly skilled, but collaboration among them was practically nonexistent. That is why From Here became the bridge for them to collaborate. We met Sotdae master craftsperson Kim Jong-o, potter Bang Ho-sik, and perfumer Kim Du-rin and asked them to make “Jeonju Sotdae Jar Diffusers.” That is how three strangers came to work together on the project for the first time.

Q WHAT WAS A HELPFUL PIECE OF ADVICE YOU RECEIVED FROM THE JUDGES?

We made four different fragrances, namely, “Us,” “Expectations,” “Each Other,” and “Wish” using the meaning of the Sotdae. A judge, however, proposed that we create a scent that is truly "Jeonju-like.” So, I thought that I could make it a regional specialty if I could transform the experience of Jeonju into a fragrance.

Q WHAT DID YOU GET TO SUPPLEMENT THROUGH THE CONTEST?

I got to more deeply ponder about the region and how to make a tourist souvenir. Existing diffusers use a glass bottle. To submit our product to the contest, we found a white porcelain pot shape that went well with hanok, a traditional Korean house. That is how a white porcelain diffuser container was created by the skilled hands of potter Bang Ho-sik. It looked good with the Jeonju Hanok Village and made the diffuser look all the more elegant.

Q WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS?

To increase sales routes outside of Korea, we are translating the product description in English. We also plan to collect hanji, traditional Korean paper, used to practice writing Korean calligraphy from a calligraphy academy in Jeonju, and use it for the product packaging. It will be the most intrinsically Korean packaging from the truly Korean city of Jeonju.