Scent is an important element of feng shui. Good feng shui practitioners always mist the entryways of their homes with a scent that creates feelings of comfort and security. This can be done by placing incense, oils or candles on a table or alter near your front door. Vanilla is a favorite aroma, as it evokes a warm and welcoming feel. During holiday season, such as Christmas, try pine or balsam. In the spring and summer seasons, citrus scents such as lemon or orange are best. By using aromatherapy like this, each time a visitor enters your home, he or she will feel at peace and relations in your home will improve. Consult a good book on aromatherapy for best effect, or go down to your local health food store or mall and try out different scents to see what works best for you.

Feng Shui believes that rooms and hallways should be open and clutter-free. Any obstacle that obstructs you also obstructs chi (energy). If this cannot be avoided, the best solution, especially in a small room, is to hang a picture or painting of a landscape scene with a distant scene. This will help to symbolically broaden your horizons and create a feeling of expansiveness. A landscape scene that contains mountains is said to encourage you to aspire to lofty goals. If you choose to frame your painting, wood is the best choice for encouraging growth and expansion.

Greetings. My name is Chad and I am going to be writing a series of short and easy-to-follow tips for improving the feng shui of your home. Most people have heard the term “feng shui” but don’t know exactly what it means. Feng shui literally means “wind and water” in Chinese. It is an ancient Chinese system of living designed to promote the movement of “chi” (which means energy) for creating and maximizing harmony and balance in our environments. Proper feng shui allows chi to move through one’s home like a flowing river, which in turn attracts happiness, prosperity, and most importantly, health. The tips provided in this upcoming series will be posted periodically for the remainder of 2008. By following these proven tips, even just a few, you should be able to see a noticeable difference in the quality of your life in a matter of weeks.

For more than 2,000 years, saki has been considered the traditional rice wine of Japan. It is one of the most popular drinks in Japan, and the history of drinking saki has a rich tradition associated with it that continues to this day. The alcohol content of saki is usually around 10-20% and it can be taken hot or cold. In most instances, saki is drunk from small ceramic cups called “choko” and poured from a flask, which the Japanese call “tokkuri.” It is a tradition that saki be enjoyed with family and friends and often it is taken to mark important occasions. The Japanese believe that one should never pour their own saki, but that a friend or family member should pour the drink and vice versa. In some instances, the first sipping of saki during a get together goes in order of age, from the youngest to the oldest. Today there are saki bars throughout Japan and even in some Western countries. This short piece was written as a result of the great response we received on our new line of Japanese saki sets.

In 2002 on a holiday journey around Southeast Asia I came upon a small village in Thailand where the most wonderful bamboo fans were hand painted by whole families of dedicated artists and craftsmen. These works were used at special events, as well as to decorate homes throughout the Kingdom. In 15 years of traveling to all corners of the globe I had seen a lot, but what I saw here began to open my eyes — sometimes 3 generations all working together, passing the knowledge of their craft, honing their skill in a marvelous degree of speciallization. I got to watch these marvels as they were created, and i was transfixed. The experienced father would sketch a grand design — a cluster of thatch huts by a mountain spring in Autumn as day breaks and villagers prepare for the days work; a son and daughter would apply the detail with meticulous care — the petals of the flowers and the wet glow of the stones by the river bank; the grandfather would take up his brushes and with a few confident masterstrokes in bold color define light and shadow both radient and deep completing the piece.

I bought several treasures here for my home and left reluctantly, knowing I would return. Later, traveling in Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma and Laos, I sought out the hidden places that fashioned their art with care and I learned all I could about each process. I wanted to bring it all home with me. Already I had too much to carry and I had shipped home a second suitcase, then a third, then before I knew it I had a couple crates to send by sea! There was just too much new and exciting — colors, textures and rich styles that felt so exotic and often mysterious, they fed my passion for life and I really wanted to share the experiences with all my friends back home.

So with the help of a few of those friends we built our first website and began our next journey in life, on a mission to bring a bit of the art and culture of those far away places right into your home. We’ve been through so many changes in these past 6 years, and once again I am preparing for another journey, a new search to discover more of the infinite variety of art and decor made by hand.

Incense is the surest way to remind myself of my best times in Asia. Clean and fragrant environments promote health and aid with your daily spiritual connection to the universe — always a good thing!