Sunday is coming to an end.
This weekend, I was able to work on some pearl-related tasks as well.
The thing that required the most time and passion this time was video editing.
As a pearl seller, I feel a bit ashamed that it wasn’t actually making pearl products.
I’m fortunate to regularly receive inquiries about pearls.
This time, a customer requested seven pearls in the 8.5mm-9.0mm range and fourteen pearls in the 3.5mm-4.0mm range. Of course, they were blue baroque pearls.
I barely have any 3.5mm pearls left in stock, but as a bad habit of mine, I reflexively replied, “Yes, I’ll prepare them,” and only later realized the trouble I had gotten myself into.
So, I spent some time searching for and selecting those pearls, filming the process along the way.
Normally, I upload these kinds of videos to YouTube with almost no editing.
Since I have no knowledge of video editing, it takes an enormous amount of time for me.
My videos are simply meant to help customers confirm the quality of the pearls.
For that reason, this time as well, I first edited a two-hour video down to one minute for a YouTube Short.
I use a smartphone app called “VLLO” for editing. It’s free to use, quite simple, and very convenient.
I’ve been using it for about three months, but yesterday, I realized for the first time that it has a feature for adding background music.
I was shocked by how narrow my perspective had been.
I like the guitarist Steve Vai, so I often use his music in my videos.
I’m very curious about how well-known he is in the U.S.
If people say, “Vai? Never heard of him,” I’d feel a little sad.
When he was inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame around 2000, I traveled all the way to Los Angeles just to see his handprints in front of Guitar Center.
It was a short, three-night trip, but I visited several tourist spots in LA.
Santa Monica was especially amazing. The bus guide said, “You guys are really lucky. You hardly ever get to see a rainy day in Santa Monica!”
I was impressed by the classic American joke, but something about the guide’s smile seemed a little sad, which made me feel a bit sad, too.
I also went to Universal Studios.
I distinctly remember getting soaked in one of the attractions—something that would be unthinkable in Japan.
At the time, I was obsessed with metal bands, so I was dressed in leather pants and a leather jacket—an incredibly uncool outfit.
But surprisingly, many locals told me, “Nice leather!”
Even now, I’m not sure whether they were being serious or sarcastic.
Anyway, I digress.
Back to the topic of background music for my pearl work videos.
Last night, I suddenly thought about using a song from a motorcycle YouTuber I’m a fan of.
The YouTuber’s name is Yu.
I got my motorcycle license for the first time in 2019.
My younger brother got married and had a child, which meant he had to give up the motorcycle he had cherished for about eight years.
Having a child is expensive, and while a motorcycle is important, a child is more important.
His wife told me, “He was crying because he has to give up his motorcycle.”
My brother is nothing like me—he has a very aggressive personality and is not the type to cry.
I thought, “If my brother is crying over this, I should get my license and take over his bike!”
So, I went ahead and got my motorcycle license.
I bought the bike from him.
Since he was about to have a child, I gave him double the price he asked for as a congratulatory gesture.
As a side note, three months later, my brother used that money to buy a brand-new, large motorcycle.
I’m still convinced that he and his wife had planned this whole thing to trick me.
Anyway, that’s how I started riding motorcycles.
But I didn’t have any friends or acquaintances who rode.
At the pearl company I worked for at the time, my colleagues and bosses all said things like, “You’re over 40 and riding a motorcycle? That’s dangerous. What if you get into an accident?” and “Motorcycles are so inconvenient.”
All I could learn about riding came from my brother, so I turned to YouTube for information.
That’s when I discovered a particular YouTuber’s channel that really intrigued me.
She had a very relaxed attitude, saying things like, “You don’t ride motorcycles based on shallow values like ‘cool’ or ‘uncool.’ You should just enjoy them in your own way.”
I ride a Yamaha SR400, and she rides an SR500, which is nearly the same bike.
That similarity made me a fan of her channel, but the biggest reason was that I simply found her incredibly beautiful.
Most female biker channels focus on selling their femininity, which I find off-putting.
But Yu never does that, which I found very refreshing and appealing.
You’re probably wondering, “What is this guy even talking about?”
But the point is, the song that frequently plays on her channel has been part of my motorcycle journey.
Even though it’s only been five years since I started riding, so calling it a “journey” might be an overstatement.
I looked up the song’s title and artist for the first time.
It was “A Million Signs” by Vividry. I also checked the Japanese lyrics.
Lyrics like:
“Maybe I overcame my troubles
Because you came into my life
The feeling that I was dead inside was just in my head
You healed my broken heart.”
It’s a common type of lyric, but reading it made me cry.
The reason I left the pearl company last year was because I fell into depression.
I was too passionate about pearls, but the company kept rejecting my enthusiasm.
I guess I ended up breaking down.
I failed to separate work from passion.
When I read those lyrics, I unconsciously connected them to my struggles.
Maybe, for me, the “you” in the lyrics is pearls—or motorcycles.
It’s probably just me forcing a connection.
But the fact remains that I felt a deep, personal connection and cried.
The memories of when I started watching Yu’s YouTube channel, the fact that I can still work with pearls even after leaving the company, and that I managed to overcome my illness—all of it came rushing over me like a wave through that song’s lyrics.
That surge of emotions and excitement made me immerse myself in video editing, at the cost of my sleep.
As a result, I’ve been completely drained today.
But personally, I feel really satisfied with how the video turned out.
Over time, I want more people to learn about my pearls.
No matter how amazing I think my pearls are, it means nothing if no one even notices them.
I used to feel reluctant about making visually appealing videos and eye-catching thumbnails.
But from a marketing perspective, they’re necessary.
This time, I truly enjoyed video editing, and I feel like I can approach it with a more positive mindset.
It’s hard to explain.
I dislike selling something just because it’s popular, even if I have no interest in it.
But I enjoy selling things I love, regardless of whether they’re popular.
The challenge is finding the balance between the two.
I guess what I’m trying to say is:
“Before, I wasn’t into flashy video edits, but using a song that meant something to me opened up a new perspective.”
Am I okay? Even I’m wondering that.
Anyway, I had fun. That’s all that matters.
One of my experiments this weekend was to turn something I impulsively bought at a fabric store last week into a product. It’s a string-like fabric that caught my eye, and although I thought it was adorable, I wasn’t sure how to use it. So, I decided to try making a bracelet.
When I finished making it, I thought, “This is cute.”
While emailing my mother, I casually sent her a picture of the bracelet. Her response was: “It’s cute, but it looks cheap.”
I don’t want to deal with anything that looks cheap. It seems I need to reconsider this idea a bit more.
By the way, the Jewelry Show in Hong Kong is currently taking place. I just reached out to a Chinese jeweler who used to be a corporate client of mine. According to her, “The Chinese Akoya market is still strong.”
Personally, now that I’ve shifted from producing pearls to selling them, I have mixed feelings about this. If China’s purchasing power for pearls declines, the Akoya pearl market price will drop as well. So, hearing that the market is still strong leaves me feeling a bit conflicted.
Oh, it’s already past midnight. I should get some sleep.
Anyway, thank you as always. Thanks to you, I can energetically type away on my keyboard like this. Lately, I’ve been feeling this more and more.
Good night.
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