Favourite Things: Hub will be full of Japanese crafts and culture in Sheffield

Born on a council estate in the Midlands, he launched the city centre based company back in 2015 after meeting business partner Masa Kuno at university. His aim is to help people from disadvantaged backgrounds and veterans.

His work with 400 clients around the world includes significant projects with governments and leading organisations based in Japan.

Thanks to those collaborations Mantra Media is set to open a new Japanese cultural hub called Kyoto House at its historic HQ, Ikigai House, on Arundel Street in the city centre.

KOLLECTIVE KITCHEN, BROWN STREET

The best cakes in Sheffield are made here, seriously!

All of our staff and I love their elaborate cake creations and their vegan salads are stunning as well. I usually bring lunch in to work but if I can’t then Kollective is my go to lunch spot.

I’m a coeliac and they are always able to cater for me too which is brilliant and more important than ever these days.

BLEND KITCHEN, ECCLESALL ROAD

I love Blend because it is an example of how business can also be a force for good.

It is actually a social enterprise and what they are doing is helping people who are excluded from the jobs market to gain skills and change their futures so working with them is a really wonderful opportunity for us.

I enjoy seeing the positive energy that the people working there have, you can tell that they love what they do.The food is incredible too and I support Chris Hanson who is behind Blend as a great business operator. We are working with them on their new initiative Chef’s Counter which is a series of culinary events focused around up and coming chefs. It is going to be really exciting to be involved with.

COLLARD & MANSON, DIVISION STREET

This clothing and home shop has an absolutely beautiful array of products, things that you wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere unless you went looking for them online.

It’s a superb example of independent shopping in Sheffield and it is so much better than going to one of the big chains.

NORFOLK PARK

Norfolk Park is a huge expanse of greenery where you can be completely immersed in nature - and it is massively underused.

I went there a lot during lockdown on my own and then later on to meet people outside and there was hardly anybody else around.

It’s only a five minute walk from Sheffield Railway Station, it has an interesting history as an estate park and space for so many people to enjoy it, I wish that more people did so.

JAPAN + SHEFFIELD

I think Japan as a country has such a similar vibe to Sheffield - it’s very accepting and welcomes diverse ways of thinking.

This summer I will be working on a project to help establish Fukuoka in Northern Japan as a start up capital of the world. Japan is very homogenous which means people there tend to think along the same lines, so they are really interested in what other people from around the world think.

Japan has more 100-year-old, 300-year-old and 500-year-old businesses than anywhere else in the world. They don’t make a five year business plan, they make a 50 year business plan. It’s not for a quick buck or building a business just so you can sell it in around two years, it is about creating something, a legacy for the future. I’m really thrilled we will soon be bringing a little slice of Japanese culture to Sheffield with our shop and art gallery.