Why the Design Festa product had to be a 'Butterfly Experience'

The classic routine at Design Festa: you receive a ton of business cards and flyers, only to return home and shudder, thinking, 'Who was this exhibitor again...?'

It might be part of the thrill of the event, but
as an exhibitor myself,
I really hated the idea of someone thinking, 'I got their card, but who even is this person?'

I didn't want to just hand out a business card and feel like I'd introduced myself; instead,
I wanted to have a real conversation and, through the experience,
burn my existence into the minds of those who visited.
(Hearing that, it just sounds like I'm being overly needy.)

That's why I intentionally didn't make business cards, and
if anything, I didn't even sell products────.

This is the rambling of a woman who took on a challenging exhibition at her first Design Festa and, despite suffering a huge financial loss, still held onto hope.

On May 23rd and 24th, 2026,

I exhibited at Design Festa vol. 63 under the theme 'Human Butterfly Transformation Project'.

As for the content,
I made a giant butterfly using tufting,
and sold a 'butterfly experience' where customers could wear it on their backs.

──Around the time my participation in Design Festa was decided,

ironically, I had
begun to dimly realize that 'I love making things, but I'm not a simple enough person to find happiness just by making things.'

In the midst of that,
as I dug deep into questions like
'Why am I doing creative work?'
and 'What is it that I want to deliver through my creations?',

I realized that what I want my customers to do isn't just 'consume products.'

Of course, since making things is what I want to do most and what I'm capable of, it is necessary for people to purchase them.
I am, naturally, full of gratitude for the customers who have purchased my work on occasions other than Design Festa.

However, in this festival venue where I am not the organizer and
there are so many people who aren't specifically looking for me,
I thought there would be great value in me alone experimenting with not selling products.

On the other hand, there was something I really wanted to try:
“I want to make lots of butterflies and display them like specimens.”
And,huge ones at that.
How absolutely fabulous would it be to have an exhibit that looked like a field guide had just come to life…………

So, for the day of Design Festa, the exhibit became an unprecedented experience:
“Making human-sized giant butterflies using tufting,
and selling a ‘butterfly experience’ where customers wear them on their backs.”

I didn't arrive at this out of mere curiosity;
in fact, it was the result of thinking and thinking until I had a solid rationale, to the point where I couldn't imagine any other exhibit content.

There are three main reasons.

1. Tufting is originally a technique for making rugs.
Even though I promote my tufting work, from the moment I made my first piece, I genuinely felt, “I don't want to step on this, I don't want to lay it on the floor.”

2. I become so attached to what I create that I feel it's a shame to let a piece end with just one sale.
(I do make things intended for sale with a clear mindset from the start
↑ This doesn't mean I'm being sloppy)

I wanted to experiment with creating something with love that generates value repeatedly, without being confined to the framework of a single sale.

3. As I mentioned at the beginning,“I wanted to imprint my existence onto the people who came, not through an object, but through an experience.”This statement might sound like pure self-display,

and of course, 20% of it is self-display, but the other 80% is
the provision of an instant extraordinary experience and
a proposal to break out of your own shell.
“Wearing wings as an adult” is obviously embarrassing. (Except for me←)


But wait a second?
You used to long for wings, didn't you?

So, when can you do it? Where can you do it?
— I feel like I could have done it when I was a child.
— You can wear headbands at Disneyland.

…In other words,I thought that one way to “break out of your shell”
might be to “return to your childhood heart.”

And,I want people to realize that a little bit of courage can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

This also aligns with the Dangerousbaby policy:
“We are not adults; we are just babies who accidentally grew up.”

To quickly return to a childhood heart,
I derived my own optimal solution: “Do what you longed to do as a child, but as an adult.”

This “Butterfly Experience” is content that approaches that very idea directly.

That said,
this exhibition content was unprecedented.
And, this was an experience that was naturally going to meet with resistance.

Honestly, I was prepared for zero sales.

The biggest takeaway from the two days was
that 'people were clearly divided into those who were interested and those who were not,'

and that 'everyone who was interested was interesting (we got along well).'

While it didn't go as far as being controversial,
the strong exhibition style
actually acted as a filter for viewers,

and while it saved me from unnecessary customer service effort,
it played a groundbreaking role in allowing me to sincerely engage with those who were interested.

.........The only 'negative' comment I properly received was
from an old jerk who, as soon as he saw the panel 10 minutes after the Design Festa opened,
loudly complained, '1,000 yen just for an experience!? That's expensive!!' and walked away.

I wonder if he would have been happy if I had let him experience it for free, with a senior discount.

Needless to say, considering the exhibition fee, panel rental fee, travel expenses, and material costs, it was a huge deficit.

But more than that,
the fact that there was even one person who sympathized with my philosophy and attempt.
And the fact that there was someone who had the courage to try it out.

These two points became the most precious treasure for me.

For these extremely niche people,
I want to continue providing value.
I seriously think so now.

However,
not having business cards was inconvenient in many ways,
so the realization that I need to make business cards quickly
was the biggest change in my mindset throughout this day.

Philosophy and commitment are important, but if you are too stubborn, you will just be left behind, so I want to live with a moderate amount of flexibility.

Also, I will not be participating in the next Design Festa.
I hope I can go and enjoy it as a visitor~