Japanese Women in Canada Vol. 18 Tomoko Oxenfarth

What brought you to Canada?

In Japan, I had always loved sewing. I used to design bags and sell them on Rakuten and other online stores. I thought about what I had always wanted to do, and I remembered that I wanted to study fashion design. I decided to come to Canada to study with my daughter, as Canada was a place I was familiar with and loved, and also my parents encouraged me to change my environment. I looked for a public college with fashion design and enrolled at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario in 2018

So Canada was a place you were familiar with.

Almost every summer since I was in high school or so, my family and I would visit Vancouver, Victoria, and Banff on the west coast. My parents were also big fans of Canada, and I loved it very much. I played lacrosse in the University and attended lacrosse camps while doing homestays in Victoria, so Canada has always been a country that I have had some kind of connection with. I had no intention of getting married again, but I think it must also be fate to meet with my German husband here in Canada.

How has your life been since you came to Canada?

I came to Windsor, Canada, where I didn’t know anyone, and tried to provide the best environment I could for my daughter, including contacting her public elementary school and renting a house in a good school district so that she wouldn’t have a hard time. It must have been very difficult for her to be put in an English-speaking environment so suddenly, but I am very grateful that she did well. We moved into the house that we had made a contract for 6 months before we arrived in Canada, but we had to deal with a few incidents such as no running water and having to hire a nanny for a week because the YMCA attached to the school was full of after-school care. I also arranged for a car before I moved here, but I wasn’t able to use the car for a while because of the insurance and license arrangements. (You need a car to get around in Windsor.) It took me a month or two to stabilize my life. 

What do you like about Canada?

If I had to say, it is freedom. I like the fact that there are no borders between people and you can just walk in and say “have a nice day”.

I missed city life for a year or two and was planning to go back soon, but I think I’m getting old and I don’t want to go shopping anymore, so I think it’s not bad to live in the country and go to the city once in a while.

I had always wanted to go abroad because I love foreign countries, but now that I have lived here, I have come to appreciate the good qualities of Japan in reverse.

What was the most difficult part of living in Canada?

The first two months after I arrived were the hardest. It was hard to get used to the Canadian culture, or to deal with the real estate agents. I learned not to trust the words “it will work out” (laughs).  If I had thought that things would work out, nothing would have been solved. Once I settled down and established a rhythm in my life, I was able to manage. I had to raise my daughter and go to school, so I didn’t have time to get homesick.

What about your daughter? How did she take this move?

I think that she has a strong will to move forward and she never got homesick. I was wondering how she was doing when she couldn’t even speak English at school. She didn’t speak English for about six months, but one day I told her that she had to speak, and suddenly she started to speak fluently. I think that it’s amazing how much children can absorb.

How do you feel about raising your daughter overseas?

It’s good that they are free to express their opinions clearly, but I tell her to be careful about etiquette or manners because she will not fit in when she goes back to Japan.

My parents thought that it was normal for girls to get married and become housewives, but I thought I should have gotten a job instead of studying English literature. I hope that my children will choose some kind of majors that they can use in their work.

How was your English before you came to Canada? Why did you choose to study abroad at St. Clair College?

I thought I could speak English because I graduated from the Department of English Language and Literature at university and I studied abroad at Colorado State University for one year, but now I don’t think I did so well. I thought it would be a waste of time to go to a language school to enter a university in Canada, so I took IELTS and chose a school that I could enter with that score, and that was St. Clair College. 

How did you get your start as a fashion designer?

Windsor is a city called Auto City, which has nothing to do with fashion. Everyone wears sportswear like Lululemon. I am from Osaka, so I was disappointed when I first came here because it is very rural and completely different from the image I have of Canada. I graduated from the college in April 2020, and just before that, I found Michigan Fashion Week and contacted them. I was given the opportunity to participate in a special student showcase. Detroit is just a 30-minute drive from Windsor. I managed to make 10 outfits, including the ones I had made at school, and participated.

How did you feel about participating in Michigan Fashion Week?

I hadn’t thought about starting a brand as a business, but I enjoyed the experience so much that I decided to take the next step and attend Startup Fashion Week in Toronto. There, I learned what I needed to do, including setting up a website and working with a photographer. That summer, I started to establish how to start a business. After that, I participated in the Toronto Kids’ Fashion Week and was invited to participate in the Vancouver Kids’ Fashion Week in November because someone from Vancouver Kids’ Fashion Week had seen my work.

I was planning to design clothes for women, but the flow of events led me to get involved in kids’ clothes. Even kids’ clothes are similar to adults’ clothes if they are for teenagers.

Please tell us about Maison Louise Canada, the fashion brand that you started.

Windsor is an auto city and Detroit is close by, so I wanted to use Windsor as a unique point of reference. I also love the vintage silhouettes and gorgeous designs of Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, etc. from the 50s and 60s, so I was inspired by those designs.

What is the origin of the name Maison Louise Canada?

It comes from Lake Louise, the place where I love the most. I love the light blue color of the lake and the atmosphere. When I looked up the name Maison Louise, I found that there was a nursing home with the same name, so I added Canada. LOL

Please tell us about your brand concept.

Sustainable is a trend in the fashion industry. When you think of sustainability, you may think of recycling or upcycling, but taking good care of your clothes is also sustainable. Our motto is to take care of one piece of clothing and pass it on to the next generation. There may be a lot of cheap and cute clothes nowadays, but we would like people to wear their favorite clothes with care and cherish antique and vintage ones.

I saw on your website that you also use kimonos.

Under the influence of my grandmother, who is also a koto (Japanese harp) master, I started playing the koto and doing tea ceremony in junior high school, and I had many opportunities to wear kimonos, which my mother had a lot of as her bridal gifts. Kimonos are meant to be passed down and worn from generation to generation, and that is how I inherited the spirit of Maison Louise Canada. When I went back to Japan, I brought back some kimono fabric for my collection. It’s not so easy now that I can’t go back to Japan, but I hope it will become easier to come and go soon.

What do you think made it possible for you to grow your business in such a short period of time?

My husband pushed me to make this happen when he saw how disconnected I had become from society after school. I researched and searched for events and pop-up stores and participated in them whenever I could. That’s when I was approached and invited to an event. As I took action and did something, the number of people who saw my work increased because there are now many social networking sites such as Instagram. I think the more I take action, the more I am connected to people and opportunities.

Please tell us about the plan of Maison Louise Canada.

I’m currently doing all the designing, creating, and selling myself, but now that I’ve started, I want to continue, so I’d like to hire someone to help me when I have more time.

I’m considering returning to Japan, but as long as I’m in Canada, I’d like to participate in Fashion Week and continue making clothes. It’s a lucky time now because you can do anything no matter where you are in the world. It takes three hours to get to Toronto, but I was able to attend the Fashion Week seminars without going away because they do them online.

Even if I go back to Japan, I would like to have something to do with Canada.

You graduated college, married, started your own fashion brand, and had a baby within three years. You have spent three very intense years here.

I was planning to go back to Japan after graduating from college as I didn’t have any friends to have meals with, and I had a daughter with me. I got married to my husband after he happened to talk to me at a coffee shop. Yes, it’s been an intense three years since I got married in March of 2020, immediately got pregnant and gave birth.

I’m a very driven person, but my husband also actively supported me by participating in Fashion Week while I was pregnant. There were 30 to 40 people in my class, but I was the only one who started my own business, probably because I was not that passionate about fashion design.

What is your personal motto?

Never forget to be grateful. Wherever you go, don’t forget to be grateful. For example, when my husband does something for me, it feels good for me and him to express my gratitude to him. Another thing I learned from my husband is to always be positive. When I went through a divorce in Japan, there were times when it was hard and painful. My husband always says that life is more fun when you see the bright side and live life in a good way. I believe that if I stay positive and smile, good things will happen. If you have time to think about regrets and negativity, it’s better to stay positive so you can enjoy the life you only have once!

Do you have any goals for the future?

This year, we will continue to show our collections in Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. We hope to continue to present our spring/summer and fall/winter collections at least twice a year, and bring our wonderful creations to our customers. We only have an online store at the moment, but our goal is to open a store and sell select items from overseas together with a café, so that we can become a brand that offers total life coordination.

COVID-19 led to a change in the environment for some people who work in hair and makeup and web design, as their jobs have decreased drastically. I would like to collaborate with people who want to do something on their own and make this a fashion week that is packed with things we would love to do.

Finally, do you have any advice for people who are thinking about studying abroad or starting a business?

One of the first things to remember is that you can’t start a business unless you actually take action, not just think about it. You can easily connect with people overseas by using the Internet and getting information through SNS. I think it would be a good idea to start sending out information yourself. When you live in Japan, there is a high barrier to going abroad. You just have to do whatever it takes to get there. I have the impression that people here in Canada will do anything without thinking about the future. I like that kind of spirit. If you don’t take action, you won’t understand, so just try it and take action.

Maison Louise Canada Website: https://www.maisonlouise.ca/

Maison Louise Canada Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisonlouisecanada/

Maison Louise Canada Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1se51rWwMxV4IYcvcH5rrg

Editor’s Comment

When I saw the video of Tomoko walking proudly down the runway at the fashion show, I had no idea that she had only been in Canada for three years. Tomoko has paved her own way and accomplished so much in such a short time. I am sure that she will continue to fascinate people around her and take on many challenges in the future. I am rooting for the development of Maison Louise Canada, a clothing line that will be handed down from generation to generation, as proposed by Tomoko. Also, I look forward to visiting Tomoko’s store in the near future.