Hi Folks,
The weeks fly by, yet even last month seems like a year ago. Life is full of challenges and fun, projects and beauty. My internal 2011 clock is suspended when I travel. Days, dates, and even seasons slip by almost unnoticed as I explore and enjoy the diverse cultures of Bali, Thailand, Laos, Montana, Japan, San Diego, and Bali again.
For years I’ve waited for the right opportunity to go to Japan. My patience was rewarded in early March with a cultural buying trip to Kyoto. It was a profoundly moving experience for me, due both to my experience of Japan and the chance timing of being there during the tsunami. While I was logistically unaffected by the tsunami, the emotional and psychological effects were felt around the world. Life went on, but the streets in Kyoto were empty in the evening as people absorbed the magnitude of the destruction, staying home with their families in front of the TV. The Japanese people displayed a level of cultural solidarity and personal responsibility in the face of unimaginable devastation that perhaps could only happen in Japan. While no culture is without flaws and foibles, my experience of the Japanese, both before and after the tsunami, was one of honor, extraordinary personal restraint, and respect. That’s something for us to emulate as we fly through our busy lives, sometimes making the mistake of thinking we are all that really matters in the universe.
Our July show and party highlight the truly amazing arts and artifacts of Japan I collected to share with you. In this show, we are hoping to not only impress you with stunningly beautiful furniture, craft, and art, but also present a culture as it existed 100 or 150 years ago. While we are by no means experts in all things Japanese, I’m sure you will be enthralled with what you see in this new collection. The arts and crafts of Japan are as subtle as they are profound. The essence of each piece surfaces as one gives more and more time to looking at treasures such as an iron teapot, a tansu chest, or a folding screen.
Please join us for our Opening Party and Show: Japan, a Culture of Quality, on July 28th from 6:00 to 9:00PM. We promise to provide beauty and inspiration, amazing food and great drinks, live music, demonstrations of Japanese arts and crafts, and great people to share this memorable evening with. Please feel free to bring a friend or two!
Once again, thank you for being a part of our lives and our adventure. A new container from Bali and Indonesia also arrives in early August, filled with things unimagined and joyfully beautiful. Do stop in and chat with us any time.
With gratitude and warmth,
and the David Alan Staff
