咖啡店不僅是提供咖啡｜The Planet星球咖啡
重要的是你對什麼有興趣，朝你有興趣的去做，人生只要對得起自己就好了
文/黃書萍 照片提供/星球咖啡
04 720 1338 FB:The planet
彰化市中華路260號 No.260, Zhonghua Rd., Changhua City, Changhua County 500, Taiwan
Q1-1：是什麼樣的想法，於彰化開咖啡店？
Clare：我們從小就在彰化生活、讀書，但這一直沒有藝術感、美感兼具的咖啡店，在我們的想像咖啡店不僅是提供咖啡，他更是資訊的流動平台，串起人與事物的關聯，抱著這樣的信念也就開啟了The Planet。
Q1-2：一開始開店計畫就是兩位一起開店嗎？
Clare：高中時期我們有八個同學都夢想著開咖啡店，當時也各自想著依照大家不同的專長可以在咖啡店發揮，但隨著時間流轉每個人的人生規劃也有了不同，最後就只剩下我們。
Q1-3：高中的咖啡夢是從何萌生的？
Clare：彰化永樂街曾經有一間「一杯好咖啡」咖啡店，高中的我們常常泡在咖啡店老闆非常好客，常跟我們分享咖啡的知識、開店的樂趣、還有許多資訊，而我們也因為老闆的介紹認識更多台中的咖啡店、店老闆，因此咖啡這夢想在那時候就裝在身體裡了。
Q2：開店前的工作跟現在The planet有關聯嗎？
Clare：我們各自的工作都與咖啡店沒有關連，Clare在日商公司人事部門工作，小杜則在秀傳醫院擔任秘書工作。
Q3：在開店過程中有什麼印象深刻的事情？
小杜：2011開幕的第二天，有一組紐西蘭人來到店內當時他們在彰化擔任英文老師，聽著他們聊到下一步要到伊拉克擔任國際志工，聊天過程中他們也對The planet所提供的環境、餐飲都很喜歡。那時聽著他們這麼說，覺得被欣賞、被肯定是件很棒的事。
Clare：在開店的這五年，我們店期許自己是個流動的資訊平台，因此自辦的講座、或場地租界幾乎都是來者不拒，這過程中也曾有一場酵素試飲會，現在想想真的是「來者不拒」。然而自己辦的講座也曾邀請反核歌手巴奈、樂評人陳德政、伴侶盟講座…等等各類型，，而其中在伴侶盟講座中，當大家輪流傳著麥克風說出自己的觀點與感受，有許多人當下都流下淚來，那個時候感受到拿麥克風的人被看見、說出自己的感受而落淚，這樣的空間似乎創造出一種氛圍，咖啡店也在社會中扮演起一種角色。
Q4：The planet這幾年與喚醒彰化青年聯盟的講座合作,有什麼印象深刻的主題嗎?
Clare：與喚醒彰化青年聯盟的講座中，其中一場談台南鐵路東移，在這議題上我們大多的資訊來源都是新聞媒體、主流媒體，然而講座中邀請在地人，實際來說明台南鐵路規劃案的全貌，在地人與政府相抗的差異點為何？。在講座的過程中才發現原來我們從外圍所看見的事情，與在地人所看到、所經歷的實情有一定程度的落差。這是講座帶給我們很重要的資訊交流。
Q5.1：近幾年彰化常談的鐵路高架議題，如果有一天彰化天橋(中華路橋)不見了，你們覺得會如何呢？
Clare：以彰化鐵路高架來說，我們覺得他是個假議題，以咖啡店來說，咖啡店是一種區域性的服務。就以我們位於中華路上，平時的生活圈也不會越過中山路的彰基、彰商、八卦山這區域活動，因此回過頭來說現今居住在天橋下的人，即使他需要迴轉也都會來到我們店內。若以經濟流通、或改變生活圈這觀點來看，高架似乎沒有必要性。
Q5.2：以城市規劃來看，彰化鐵路高架必要嗎？
Clare：發展城市的共同記憶，才是一座城市需要的。如果因為台中、員林鐵路高架我們就把它搬進彰化，如果其他城市有天空步道(挑高遠看)，我們就把它搬進彰化。如果城市等於連鎖餐飲林立，我們就想方設法引進，這樣的城市規劃是生活在這裡的人所共同需要的記憶嗎？。
Q6：在彰化落地五年的咖啡店，下一步的期許?
Clare：在開店的這五年，我們推展講座、與各單位合作傳遞資訊、傳遞小眾文化，但往往這些都在小眾，關心的人、認同的人、吸引的人都在同溫層，然而要如何打開同溫層，我們是這樣想著：人被創造的特性，是一種看不見自己的狀態，人得透過鏡子、透過他人眼中來看自己，而當我們不夠認識那個內在的自己，又如何知道自己的美(美的認同與需求的了解)？這樣的不夠認識也反映在生活、社會、城市，因此對於未來，我們希望能推展一些體驗，這些體驗是讓自己更認識內在的自己。
Q7：給想在彰化開店的人，一句話吧?
Clare：開店其實一點都不難，只要有一張ikea、一張costco卡也就夠了，但重要的是你對什麼有興趣，朝你有興趣的去做，人生只要對得起自己就好了。
有本書名：我不在家，就在博物館的路上，而現代人受到咖啡文化的感染，似乎也常聽到，我不在家，就在咖啡店的路上。
從現在回看幾年前的彰化，尋找一間獨立咖啡館似乎是瞎子摸象，然而2011年卻有兩個女孩不知是什麼樣的傻勁，在一片荒漠中開啟了彰化的獨立咖啡館…來聽聽這樣的故事吧
Q1.1 What made you open a cafe in Changhua?
Clare: We were both raised and educated in Changhua. There was never a cafe of artistic aesthetics. We picture a cafe not just selling coffee but more importantly, a platform for flowing information that connects people with issues and matters. With this in mind, we established The Planet.
Q1.2 Was it originally the plan to open a store just the two of you?
Clare: Back in high school, there were eight of us that dreamed of opening a cafe. At that time, we all figured that we could make use of our different talents in running the cafe together. However, as time passed by, everyone turned out to have different life plans, so it’s now just the two of us.
Q1.3 Where did your “high school coffee dream” derive from?
Clare: There was a cafe called “A Cup of Good Coffee” located in Changhua Yongle Street. We used to go there all the time in high school. The owner was extremely hospitable. He often shared with us coffee knowledge, interesting stories of running cafe and a lot more. Also thanks to him, we made acquaintance with some cafe owners in Taichung. It was then the dream of opening a cafe of our own got embedded in our minds.
Q2. Was your previous occupation related to The Planet?
Clare: Before The Planet, our jobs were totally unrelated to coffee. Clare was working for a Japanese company in human resources. Tu was a secretary at Show Chwan Memorial Hospital.
Q3. During the process of running a cafe, are there any interesting stories to share?
Tu: The day after our opening day in 2011, a group of New Zealanders came in. They were English teachers in Changhua at that time and were talking about going to Iraq as international volunteers. They then talked about how they appreciate and admire the environment and dishes The Planet offers. It was a really nice thing to hear that we are appreciated and favorably recognized.
Clare: For the past five years since we’ve started business, we see The Planet as a platform for information exchanges. That’s why we always welcome all kinds of events to take place here. We even held an enzyme drink tasting gala once. We really do welcome anything. As for lectures that we held, we had invited anti-nuclear power singer Panai, music critic Chen Te-Cheng, Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR), etc. Particularly, at the TAPCPR lecture, participants took turns to share their perspectives and feelings with a mic. Many shed tears. You could feel that the person in possession of the mic was empowered and made visible in expressing feelings that came with tears. At the moment, a special atmosphere was created, and this is a role that cafes play in modern society.
Q4. The Planet has been collaborating with Awaken Changhua Alliance to hold lectures. Would you like to share something in particular?
Clare: Out of all the lectures we held in collaboration with Awaken Changhua,one lecture was about the plan to move Tainan rail underground. We realized that most of the information we know about this issue was from news and major media. Whereas, local people from Taiwan were invited to share authentically about the plan. What was the variation between local people and the government? In the lecture, we learned that what we saw from the outside must bear differences to some extent from what the locals saw and experienced first-handedly. This is the important meaning of holding lectures,
the information exchange.
Q5.1 In recent years, the railway elevation is a heated topicin Changhua. What do you think will happen if one day theChanghua footbridge (Zhonghua Bridge) disappeared?Clare: We reckon the railway elevation in Changhua a fake issue. As a cafe, we offer service on a regional basis. Take The Planet for example, we are located on Zhonghua Road. Our daily living parameter does not really extend to the other side of Zhongshan Road like Changhua Christian Hospital,Changhua Senior School of Commerce or Bagua Mountain. That said, people now living under the bridge will still come to our cafe even if they would need to make a u turn. If the elevation plan is promoted in the name of facilitating economics or changing living parameters, I don’t really see the necessity.
Q5.2 From the point of view of urban planning, is it necessary toelevate railways in Changhua?
Clare: What a city truly needs is the collective memory of its city development. If we elevate our railway just because Taichung and Yuanlin have elevated their railways, we build a sky trail just because other cities have had it, we try by all means to introduce chain stores just because other cities are fully occupied by those, is this kind of urban development a desirable collective memory to the people here?
Q6. What do you expect for your cafe that has now thrived for five years?
Clare: During the past five years, we’ve been promoting lectures and workshops in collaboration with many partners to pass on information and minor cultures. However, the people we have attracted, those who genuinely care about and recognize the issues are very much the same group of people. In terms of how we are to reach out to the people outside of our socialsphere, here’s what we think: the trait we’re born with is a state of which we are blind to ourselves. We need to see through a mirror, or other people’s eyes in order to see ourselves. Yet, if we don’t know our inner selves enough, how are we supposed to learn about our own beauty (the recognition and demand of
beauty)? This lack of self-acquaintance is reflective on our daily lives, society and city. Therefore, in the future we hope to promote more on this kind of experience that enables people to know more about their inner selves.
Q7. Any suggestion for those who want to open a store in Changhua?
Clare: Opening a store is not at all difficult. You’d only need an IKEA and Costco card. What matters is your interest. Follow your interests. Be responsible for your own life and that’s enough.
白色方塊也想說…
聽著小杜&Clare聊著The planet從創業至今五年的大小事,從開店的想法、目標、期待到完成階段性任務,謝謝有你們在彰化站立著,讓這城市有了不同的溫度。
White Cube’s note:
Listening to the stories of Tu and Clare accumulated from the beginning of their business to five years later now, we would like to say thank you. Thank you for your perseverance in Changhua which brings such distinguished warmth to the city.
