By HIDENORI SATO/ Staff Writer
June 28, 2020 at 08:00 JST
FUKUYAMA, Hiroshima Prefecture--A clothing service shop has designed a product to put a smile on everyone’s face during these trying times of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
A photo of the lower half of the user’s face can be printed on Roen’s custom cloth mask. It may require a double take to realize the “smiling” person is wearing a mask.
“This is a time when it is hard to see smiling faces,” owner Hidefumi Watakabe, 56, said. “I hope it can bring laughter to people around the wearer.”
The main business of the shop in Fukuyama’s Fushimicho district has been printing designs on T-shirts and other clothes. But orders from event organizers and restaurant operators plummeted after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
The washable and reusable custom mask is expensive for a facial mask because Roen’s product is more of a fashion item. Watakabe devised ways to prevent stitches from being seen on the surface of the mask.
Roen is offering a special sale for the first 100 customers: one custom mask bundled with a bag and other items for 4,960 yen ($46.20).
The shop plans to sell the mask for 6,200 yen after the early discount offer ends.
Watakabe said the mask has been well-received among customers who want to “melt hearts.”
For more information, visit Roen’s website at (https://www.roen.work/).
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Hidefumi Watakabe can create a custom mask printed with the wearer’s smiling face. (Hidenori Sato)
