Friday, January 15, 2010

Trip to India Part 3


Here's a few more pictures from our recent trip to India. These pictures were taken in Jodhpur, which is known as the blue city. You can see traces of that in some of these pictures.





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posted by Wisteria at 10:00 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

Friday, December 4, 2009

Trip to India Part 2

Recently several people from Wisteria traveled to India to find new products, meet with some of our artisans and gather fresh ideas for upcoming catalogs.
Here are some photos from their time in Jaipur!




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posted by Wisteria at 10:18 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Trip to India Part 1


Recently several people from Wisteria traveled to India to find new products, meet with some of our artisans and gather fresh ideas for upcoming catalogs. They visited Jaipur a few days before their Diwali celebration. The whole city was bustling with preparations. Here's a few pictures from their trip!






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posted by Wisteria at 10:28 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Friday, October 2, 2009

Singapore

Earlier this year, Hudson and Serge took a trip to Singapore to meet some of our artisans and to attend various shows, looking at potential products. They made a stop to the Raffles Hotel, a very-well known hotel with lots of history behind. The pictures of this hotel are just incredible, so we decide to share them with you!

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posted by Wisteria at 10:59 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Inspiration: Chinese Elements

We're inspired by cultures from all over the world, and in this case, we've drawn inspiration from Chinese culture. Wu Xing, a traditional Chinese way of describing various interactions and relationships has five phases (or elements as they're called in feng shui design). Each phase is associated with several aspects of nature and life: seasons, climates, colors, emotions, creation, planets, fruits, sense, and many more. According to feng shui design, including pieces that represent each of these elements can make a room feel more balanced and pulled-together.

Wood
The Chinese associate wood with the color green. Think trees, the spring season, and sprouting plants. Our pieces are reminiscent of those lively aspects of nature: textured wood, twig-like details, and beautiful greens.

Fire
Fire is exactly what you'd envision: hot, the summer season, blooming plants, and creative energy. Vibrant colors and the flicker of candles are aspects of fire you can find in our pieces.

Earth
For earth, think of the freshness of terracotta, the color yellow, ripening fruits, and the feeling of clarity. This element is the balance, the yin and the yang. Our pieces reflect that sense of finality, incorporating finishing-touch elements.

Metal
The element metal is represented in whites, a sense of intuition, and the season of autumn. Our metal pieces incorporate the sleekness and polished quality of this element.

Water
Water is the element of intuition and is represented by blacks, blues, and the subdued aspect of winter. Our pieces include mirrors, antiqued glass, and reflective surfaces.


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posted by Wisteria at 11:11 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Monday, September 14, 2009

Day of the Dead Celebration


Last year, some of us from Wisteria traveled to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico to witness the annual Day of the Dead and All Saints Day celebrations. The celebration takes place at the first of November, but everyone begins preparing for it months in advance. Even though the town had been intermingled with modern technology and American culture, we were surprised to see just how well they have maintained their strong sense of community and tradition.

The Plaza Civica continues to be the center of daily life with the traditional environment of the surrounding markets, shops, and cafes. But the wrought iron benches, now occupied with laptop users of all ages, reveal how modern technology has been incorporated into this age-old society.

Although much has stayed the same from the original Day of the Dead celebrations, some aspects of American Halloween have been incorporated into the festivities. But instead of children going from house to house collecting candy, everyone gathers in the plaza. It becomes a hub for all the families, with dressed-up children coming to the plaza to collect candy from all the parents, like one large family celebration.

We've tried to capture some of these amazing aspects in our catalog. Unfortunately all the pictures we took from that trip were lost, but we created a few pieces inspired by that visit. We hope you enjoy!

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posted by Wisteria at 11:13 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Friday, May 22, 2009

India Spring 2009

We love traveling to meet our vendors all around the world. We not only meet our suppliers in the established markets, but we also meet with them in their homes. It's always an adventure. Recently, we were in India meeting with one of our favorite vendors. They make a lot of the fantastic furniture you see in our catalog. We always like to show up at their facility around lunchtime because they serve the most delicious vegetarian meals. During our last visit, I saw one of the men making chapati (an Indian bread). Of course, I had to try my hand (literally) at making it. All the cooks covered their mouths to hide their laughter as I tried and tried (and failed) to get it right. Even so, our hosts were generous enough to take my half-baked creation and serve it at lunch. We all took a piece of bread and passed it around. In many ways, that's what is so great about this job. We get to travel around the world, meeting all sorts of wonderful people and sit down and break bread together, laughing, arguing, teasing, all over the best-tasting food ever!




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posted by Andrew at 3:40 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

From the Eiffel tower...

This shot was taken from the very top of the Eiffel Tower looking at the grassy promenade below us. It was a huge heart that had been trampled in the grass. From the ground it was impossible to see, but at a thousand feet up, we could only marvel at this wondrous heart several hundred feet wide. Perhaps it was someone's declaration of love or a reminder of what's really important in this life. Whatever the artist's intent, it proves that no matter the setting, even in a city full of wonders, beauty can come from our everyday surroundings, if only we have the eyes to see it.

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posted by Andrew at 3:19 PM 8 Comments Links to this post