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Meet Abigail Terrien

By on April 29, 2009

The TF tribe talks to a foreign mum who is trying to fill a need for eco-friendly alternatives  in Tokyo.

Where is your family originally from and what brought you to Japan?

We are a very international family. My husband is French, I am half Swiss, half English, so my kids have three nationalities and languages plus one more living in Japan.

I was living in Paris when I had my first child while my husband was already in Tokyo (for a long time before having his own company). So I guess I joined him here with my daughter and ended up staying. Now I have been here for almost six years.

How did the idea for eco-friendly clothing, toys and accessories line come about?  Why is this  important to you?

The idea of opening a shop came from the reaction I got from my friends whenever I came back from a trip from Paris, London or Bali and elsewhere. They very much liked what I found and bought for my kids and omiyage. I always wanted to have my own shop  and now both my kids are at school, I thought it was the best time to start. Basically I began searching for brands that are cool and eco-friendly, fair-trade or which have a nice story to tell. Like NY based supermodel Liya Kebedes’ brand LemLem made in her home country, all hand woven, creating jobs for the locales.

I think it’s important to do as much as possible for the Earth, keeping it clean, therefore buy organic, clean the house with non biodegradable products and, if possible, wear organic cotton or bamboo clothes produced with respect to the people producing it. Nevertheless, we dont live in an ideal world, so we create a balance. Some brands I carry are just so cool, I am thinking of Junkfood T-shirts from LA and Finger in the Nose I will have for next season from Paris. Our kids want to be part of 2009.

Why do you see a strong demand for eco-friendly products in Japan?

When I arrived in Japan six years ago with my daughter who was not even one year old, I was so disappointed by the offer for baby clothes, toys and decoration for babies and kids. All these Disney characters, Ampanmans, plastic made-in-China toys and baby beds looked so outdated. I went online right away and got things I liked from far away places. In the meantime Tokyo has had a baby shop boom for sure and the offer is much wider. But now I am facing the problem that most children labels end at year 6! Not wanting to dress my kids in Gap from head to toe, I figured that there is space for something new, fashionable, comfortable, and accessible. My prices are in between prices. Not cheap and not expensive. The selection can be daily wear as well as birthday, birth gifts for special occasions.

What is your favourite part about living in Tokyo?

Tokyo is safe, the weather is mild, it’s an exciting city with transformation going on continuously. The parks are great, there is a vast choice of pre-schools, restaurants and service is at its best…I very much like the living side by side of Japanese culture and modern lifestyle. With the respect to the elders it seem like a very humane city.

What does your family do for fun?

My kids are still quite small and very much enjoy going to parks and playgrounds. Occasionally we would go to one of the aquariums or zoos. When the weather gets warmer we like to get out of town for the weekend or just for the day. We like places like Izu for mikkan picking and Chiba for beach barbecues and swimming.

Any family motto?

I don’t think I have a family motto really. That would mean we should all follow my way and that would get boring after a while. We all do our own things, have our own activities we like and are good in and share the rest of the time together. Kind of side by side instead of on top of each other.


To find out more about Abi Loves…, visit her website at www.abiloves.com

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