Japan Dialogues: Alex Morrow from Turquoise Port

Each month of 2018 I'll be interviewing Japan-based business women who are carving out their own unique niche.
This month, interiors curator Alex talks about life before setting up her business and the inspiration behind her idea.

Where do you originate from?
I grew up in a veeeeery small village in Thuringia, eastern Germany with a population of around 350 people. Very rural area, not too much going on. I had just turned 15 when the Iron Curtain fell.

Wow! How did life change after that happened?
Not too much changed immediately, but it opened a lot of doors a few years later. I would never be where I am now as we did have rather heavy travel restrictions imposed on us.

When did you last live for a period of time in Germany?
I moved to Ireland in early 1998 and never returned to live in Germany again. I learned English in Dublin and worked as an Au Pair. Onto London after that. I gave myself two months to find a job and ended up staying for 10 years interrupted by one year of traveling the world. Getting a job in London was pretty easy back then. My background is banking/finance and there was quite a bit of demand for people like me. My first job in was with an American stockbroking company, followed by working for one of the largest hedge fund companies in Europe and a start-up Merchant Bank. Exciting times!

I met my husband in London, he’s from New Zealand. After we got married we decided to move to Auckland. That was back in 2009. When we first arrived on the shores of NZ I worked as a translator at NZ Rail and also had a job at the University of Auckland before re-joining the financial world, working in the Wealth Management Department at HSBC NZ.

We had just purchased our dream house when my husband was asked to move to Bangkok for his job. I was sooo excited! I always loved Bangkok and had spent quite a bit of time there during my travels. That was in 2013. I ended up running the Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok. Never thought I'd do anything like that in my life!

On to Kuala Lumpur in 2015, again with my husband’s job. I changed direction again and wrote for a magazine as well as being in the editorial team. Another move came in January 2017. Tokyo!

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Do you think living in so many different countries has shaped your thinking/ outlook?
Definitely! I am a lot more patient than I used to be, more open-minded and possibly more tolerant.
Being exposed to so many different cultures and countries was the best thing that ever happened to me. And not just that: moving around quite frequently requires to keep an open mind about career choices. I became a lot more flexible and daring.

So, here you are in Tokyo...3 things you love about living here. 3 things you can really live without.
Love: The food!! The safety! And it is sooo clean!
I can live without: Winter! I am really suffering after 4 years in the tropics. Also: Language barriers and earthquakes.

Describe your business and tell us how it differs from other businesses in Japan? What’s your unique angle?
Turquoise Port is a combination of my love of travel, interior design and colour. We arrived in Tokyo in the middle of winter and everything seemed so dull and colourless. People wore black, grey and beige and combined with the general greyness of the concrete jungle it felt rather depressing, despite the constant sunshine.
That is when I started thinking about starting my own company (again). The thought had been in my head for a long time in a number of different shapes and forms. And it suddenly all fell into place like it was meant to be!

I felt that injecting some colour into people’s lives is a very positive thing to do. The response from Tokyo’s foreign community was fabulous from the onset. That group of people is my main focus group for the time being. My customers like the colours as well as the uniqueness of most of my products.
I did quite a bit of research before I started, went to many shops and department stores and realised that nobody had the type of collection that I had in mind.

Tell us about the way you source your pieces.
I have always been interested in interior design and art and whenever we move somewhere new or we travel somewhere I try and find interesting new things and places. I get inspired by old heritage buildings and artisans/artists with a vision. I love surrounding myself with beautiful things.

My products currently come from South East Asia. The way I started my collection was basically trying to find the source of the products I had already purchased for our own home, and I had a few friends and contacts in the artisan space already. Most suppliers and some artisans/makers are very well-connected and are quite happy to refer you onto their network once you have built a relationship with them.

I also get a lot of inspiration from blogs and other creative outlets such as Instagram. And I love nothing more than spending hours on end in some dusty and hot market in the middle of nowhere trying to discover new gems!

Are you planning to expand your line soon? Will you be going off to anywhere exotic on a buying trip?
I am very much still in my discovery phase. Whilst the focus always is on traditional techniques paired with modern design, I am constantly changing the products in my collections, adding new ones, removing others. I believe that way Turquoise Port stays interesting as my customers have always something new to discover. I do have suppliers that I have ordered from more than once, but even with them I like to get the new things they come up with.

And yes! I will be going to India in February to source. Cant wait!

 What are your plans for the future of Turquoise Port? Any special projects you can tell us about?
I didn't want to have an online shop initially as I like the direct contact with the customer. My products all have a story which might be the people that make the product, the history of an item or the material the product was made with. And I love telling the stories. However I get asked quite frequently about the possibility of online shopping so that is one of the projects I will be working on.

I also hope to do more collaborations with like-minded people in the entrepreneur space. Those may be joint projects, pop-up events etc.

How can we find out more about you and follow your updates?
I do have a website, but I mostly use Instagram and Facebook for updates. Or you can come to my showroom in Higashigotanda, (by appointment)!

Web: www.turquoiseport.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TurquoisePort/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/turquoiseport/