Client: JEFF H. BUMSTEAD, Vancouver, BC, V6G 2L9

Jeff H. Bumstead is the owner of Pagoda Home Import Unique Home & Garden Furnishing & Accessories

Fair Trade Furnishing
The exotic wares at Pagoda Home Imports on Denman spill enticingly out onto the sidewalk like a souk in a Moroccan kasbah. The owners run the shop as an offshoot of their Beachbums building materials import company. All their business is dedicated to working closely with Indonesian craftspeople, giving them a fair price for handmade goods. Every two to three months a fresh container of fair trade treasures arrives and wholesale importing ensures competitive retail prices.
Bazaar Variety
Arranged around the shop are Balinese tables, chairs, benches and dressers made of plantation-grown or reclaimed teak; bamboo insets promote air circulation. Dark benches and seats carved from the root bulbs of salvaged teak trees have appealing organic curves. On the walls, oil canvases by Dewa Gede Ardhana (the Picasso of Indonesia) and his nephew Lumpur show an arresting use of colour and texture. Swooping down from the ceiling, a hand-painted, blue dragon kite requires six people to fly it. Smaller polychrome kites are butterflies, eagles and dragons. Equally vibrant are batik patterned sundresses and silk scarves from India. Skilfully carved frames and statues of people and animals are fashioned from teak, jackfruit or crocodile wood. Sleek water fountains bring the meditative sound of trickling water. Volcanic rock pagodas come in several sizes.
Socially and Environmentally Responsible
One of the store’s star products is Nusantara Stone Mosaic tiles, produced by another of the owners’ enterprises. Smooth beach pebbles of varying sizes are sustainably harvested by hand from 1,500 kilometres of Indonesian shoreline. Artisans artfully arrange and set the stones on a mesh backing for simple installation in showers, patios, floors or walls. Waste marble and onyx shards are hand-cut and polished in tumblers then set into tiles. Tiles come in natural shades of grey, white, black, green, pink and tan. Nusantara employs 2,500 artisans; each is paid enough to support three other family members. Maury Mason, an environmental consultant with the company, says their motto is “Everyone makes a living. No one makes a killing.”

Design Done:
+ “Pagoda Home Imports” Logo Design
+ “Pagoda Home Imports” Design of: Brochure

Website: www.pagodahomeimports.com