Paris can transform expatriate artists into entrepreneurs (think Nancy Cunard or Sylvia Beach), and Kumi Ozaki-Charau is one modern example. She moved from Japan as an Air France employee. But Ozaki-Charau now has her own company, Mingouwou, as well as her own label: Rani Mingouwou Paris. Through these, she produces one-off sacs (handbags) and jewelry.
A different passion inspires her concert series, Kumi’s Classiques, a Parisian showcase for young classical musicians. If you’re the sort of girl who’s out every night, Ozaki-Charau’s face may be familiar from openings, expos and concerts.
Tell us a bit about the Japanese community here.
The Paris community is quite large, from people who work for Japanese companies to artists, scholars, students and those, like me, who married a French person. It produces small newspapers, in French and Japanese, such as OVNI, the Association Amicale des Ressortissants Japonais en France or JIPANGO. The Japanese district, so-called, is between Palais Royal and Opéra.
Describe your handbags and rings . . . I love them!
I make my sacs out of cloth I create by knitting together pieces of different fabrics. The result is like an abstract painting where the shades intertwine. My rings use glass and crystal beads; their differences come from the beads’ shapes, sizes and colors. For me, what matters most is the relation between the ring and the personality of the woman who wears it.
How did you establish your company?
So many of my designs were selling that I needed legal status, thus I became what the French call an auto-entrepreneur. This is easy to do now, with just a few mouse clicks. My brand name, Rani Mingouwou Paris, mixes Hindi, Japanese and Chinese, but it uses a French spelling. “Rani” means “mon amour,” and Mingouwou is my home city, Nagoya, as it is pronounced in Chinese. Because I now have had many years of la vie parisienne, each of my creations says "Nagoya Mon Amour!"
Where can we find Rani Mingouwou Paris items?
In addition to private orders, I sell sacs and rings in places such as Les Ateliers du Créatur or via BOX or Jhin.
How did you start Kumi’s Classiques?
In Paris you can always hear famous orchestras, conductors and soloists. Anyone can find these via the monthly Cadences, or the weeklies Pariscope and l’Officiel des spectacles. Hearing so much music, I discovered that many young musicians rarely get to play for an audience. I started Kumi’s Classiques to do something about that.
How does it work?
Attendees are notified by email, and anyone can subscribe. Most concerts are free, but audience members give what they want; all money goes toward piano tuning and to the musicians. I feel honored that my artists give me their trust. They rely on me to organize everything.
When you take a day off to enjoy Paris, what do you do?
I go to areas that change my “Paris culture”—Gare de l’Est, La Chapelle, Gare du Nord or Barbès-Rochechouart. I’ll swim in my favorite pool, the Piscine de la Butte-aux-Cailles, whose water comes from hot springs. Or, when it’s fine, I love being in the Jardin du Luxembourg, with a book or my knitting. There I can time-travel back to Impressionism. In the evening I might see a ballet at the Opéra national de Paris or a concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.
Courtesy Mingouwou
What quartier would you recommend to a visitor?
I live in the 13th, which has Paris’s biggest Chinatown, but also a very old French side: La Butte-aux-Cailles. It’s like a village with architecture inspired by Alsace and Russia, as well as Art Nouveau. There are artists, boutiques and a fountain with fresh spring water.
What is one favorite thing you do with friends?
Three places I go with friends for a quiet tea or coffee break are Zen Zoo Thesaurus, Thé de Chine (which has superb dim-sum lunches) and Jolly Hotel Lotti.
Where do you go for something new?
I love Paris because it's French but also not only French. For me, the Chinese, African, Pakistani, Tamil, Turkish, Algerian and Jewish parts of town are full of discoveries. If you are daring, try some Chinese or Tamil food. For authentic Chinese cuisine, I recommend Fleurs de Mai or Chez Shen and, for spicy Tamil, Gowri-Villas.
Where would you celebrate a special occasion? With a concert at the Salle Pleyel, followed by a dinner at La Maison Blanche, with its beautiful view of Paris!
Kumi's Classiques Free Concerts in March
Friday, March 12, at 7:30 p.m. École de Langues A.A.A. (Association des Amitiés Asiatiques)
21, rue d’Antin, in the 2nd. Metro: Opéra or Pyramides. Performers: Kenji Nagaki (cello) and Miho Nagata (piano). Program: Schumann, Fauré, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Dvorak and Debussy.
Monday, March 15, at 8:30 p.m. Église Réformée de Paris-Luxembourg, St.-Germain
58, rue Madame, in the 6th. Metro: Rennes or St.-Placide. Performers: Naoko Sakagawa (oboe) and Yoko Nakamoto (piano). Program: Marcel Bitsch, Jules Massenet, Jean-Michel Damase, Maurice Ravel, Debussy and Saint-Saëns.
For more information, or to subscribe to Kumi's Classiques, email kumi.charau@hotmail.fr.
INFO
BOX 48, Passage Choiseul, in the 2nd. (Passage Choiseul runs from 40, rue des Petits Champs to 23, rue St.-Augustin. Passage hours: Mon–Sat, 7 a.m.–9 p.m.)
Chez Shen 39, rue au Maire, in the 3rd. 01 48 87 88 06.
Gowri-Villas 53, rue Louis Blanc, in the 10th. 01 42 05 72 65.
Jhin 5, rue de Condé, in the 6th.
Mingouwou 18, blvd Arago, in the 13th.
Thé de Chine 20, blvd St.-Germain, in the 5th. 01 40 46 98 89.
RSS
Kumi Ozaki-Charau
by Lamar C
Monday, March 08, 2010 at 10:26 AM
By Cynthia Rose
Photo: Steve Sampson
Paris can transform expatriate artists into entrepreneurs (think Nancy Cunard or Sylvia Beach), and Kumi Ozaki-Charau is one modern example. She moved from Japan as an Air France employee. But Ozaki-Charau now has her own company, Mingouwou, as well as her own label: Rani Mingouwou Paris. Through these, she produces one-off sacs (handbags) and jewelry.
A different passion inspires her concert series, Kumi’s Classiques, a Parisian showcase for young classical musicians. If you’re the sort of girl who’s out every night, Ozaki-Charau’s face may be familiar from openings, expos and concerts.
Tell us a bit about the Japanese community here.
The Paris community is quite large, from people who work for Japanese companies to artists, scholars, students and those, like me, who married a French person. It produces small newspapers, in French and Japanese, such as OVNI, the Association Amicale des Ressortissants Japonais en France or JIPANGO. The Japanese district, so-called, is between Palais Royal and Opéra.
Describe your handbags and rings . . . I love them!
I make my sacs out of cloth I create by knitting together pieces of different fabrics. The result is like an abstract painting where the shades intertwine. My rings use glass and crystal beads; their differences come from the beads’ shapes, sizes and colors. For me, what matters most is the relation between the ring and the personality of the woman who wears it.
© B. Lomont
How did you establish your company?
So many of my designs were selling that I needed legal status, thus I became what the French call an auto-entrepreneur. This is easy to do now, with just a few mouse clicks. My brand name, Rani Mingouwou Paris, mixes Hindi, Japanese and Chinese, but it uses a French spelling. “Rani” means “mon amour,” and Mingouwou is my home city, Nagoya, as it is pronounced in Chinese. Because I now have had many years of la vie parisienne, each of my creations says "Nagoya Mon Amour!"
Where can we find Rani Mingouwou Paris items?
In addition to private orders, I sell sacs and rings in places such as Les Ateliers du Créatur or via BOX or Jhin.
How did you start Kumi’s Classiques?
In Paris you can always hear famous orchestras, conductors and soloists. Anyone can find these via the monthly Cadences, or the weeklies Pariscope and l’Officiel des spectacles. Hearing so much music, I discovered that many young musicians rarely get to play for an audience. I started Kumi’s Classiques to do something about that.
How does it work?
Attendees are notified by email, and anyone can subscribe. Most concerts are free, but audience members give what they want; all money goes toward piano tuning and to the musicians. I feel honored that my artists give me their trust. They rely on me to organize everything.
When you take a day off to enjoy Paris, what do you do?
I go to areas that change my “Paris culture”—Gare de l’Est, La Chapelle, Gare du Nord or Barbès-Rochechouart. I’ll swim in my favorite pool, the Piscine de la Butte-aux-Cailles, whose water comes from hot springs. Or, when it’s fine, I love being in the Jardin du Luxembourg, with a book or my knitting. There I can time-travel back to Impressionism. In the evening I might see a ballet at the Opéra national de Paris or a concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.
Courtesy Mingouwou
What quartier would you recommend to a visitor?
I live in the 13th, which has Paris’s biggest Chinatown, but also a very old French side: La Butte-aux-Cailles. It’s like a village with architecture inspired by Alsace and Russia, as well as Art Nouveau. There are artists, boutiques and a fountain with fresh spring water.
What is one favorite thing you do with friends?
Three places I go with friends for a quiet tea or coffee break are Zen Zoo Thesaurus, Thé de Chine (which has superb dim-sum lunches) and Jolly Hotel Lotti.
Where do you go for something new?
I love Paris because it's French but also not only French. For me, the Chinese, African, Pakistani, Tamil, Turkish, Algerian and Jewish parts of town are full of discoveries. If you are daring, try some Chinese or Tamil food. For authentic Chinese cuisine, I recommend Fleurs de Mai or Chez Shen and, for spicy Tamil, Gowri-Villas.
Where would you celebrate a special occasion?
With a concert at the Salle Pleyel, followed by a dinner at La Maison Blanche, with its beautiful view of Paris!
Kumi's Classiques Free Concerts in March
Friday, March 12, at 7:30 p.m.
École de Langues A.A.A. (Association des Amitiés Asiatiques)
21, rue d’Antin, in the 2nd. Metro: Opéra or Pyramides.
Performers: Kenji Nagaki (cello) and Miho Nagata (piano).
Program: Schumann, Fauré, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Dvorak
and Debussy.
Monday, March 15, at 8:30 p.m.
Église Réformée de Paris-Luxembourg, St.-Germain
58, rue Madame, in the 6th. Metro: Rennes or St.-Placide.
Performers: Naoko Sakagawa (oboe) and Yoko Nakamoto (piano).
Program: Marcel Bitsch, Jules Massenet, Jean-Michel Damase,
Maurice Ravel, Debussy and Saint-Saëns.
For more information, or to subscribe to Kumi's Classiques, email kumi.charau@hotmail.fr.
INFO
BOX
48, Passage Choiseul, in the 2nd.
(Passage Choiseul runs from 40, rue des Petits Champs to 23, rue St.-Augustin.
Passage hours: Mon–Sat, 7 a.m.–9 p.m.)
Chez Shen
39, rue au Maire, in the 3rd. 01 48 87 88 06.
Gowri-Villas
53, rue Louis Blanc, in the 10th. 01 42 05 72 65.
Jhin
5, rue de Condé, in the 6th.
Mingouwou
18, blvd Arago, in the 13th.
Thé de Chine
20, blvd St.-Germain, in the 5th. 01 40 46 98 89.