 I officially founded Circa Home in 2002, opening a retail showroom in my newly adopted hometown of Overland Park, Kansas (a suburb of Kansas City). This sounds like the beginning of the story but to get the whole picture, I need to go back a few years….
After spending my formative career years in a much less interesting (and much more stable I might add) profession I found myself at a crossroads. A year off to do nearly anything my heart desired. After spending a week lounging at home weighing my options I read a very compelling (and naive?) magazine article about following true passions and facing fears. Two weeks later I was on a six week adventure to Indoneisa, Thailand, China, and Vietnam. By myself. Scared to death.
Jump ahead another year and several more trips around the globe and the decision was made to combine my two great loves of travel and design. By this time I feel like a veteran traveler. I can read a Chinese train schedule and navigate the back roads of the Hmong Hills with the best of them. There is a certain high that comes with jumping on the back of a motorbike (or camel) and tracking down the old barn of priceless antiques that has been rumored to exist three villages over. But my greatest thrill and my biggest passion are the sharing of stories, the learning of cultures and sharing them with people.
I sometimes feel like a liason of sorts between the East and the West. People will ask me about the history of the piece and where it came from but the surprising part is that the people back in Asia have the same question. They want to know where a particular piece of furniture or accessory ended up. Sometimes on my return trip I will pull out a map and show someone where their Carved Buddha or Wedding Chest ended up. There is a real sharing of cultures taking place.
The more I travel and spend time with other cultures, the more apparent it becomes that people are more similar than they are different. People can be separated by 12 time zones, a language barrier and might not have ever been outside of their local village but people the world over share similar feelings and desires. It's really amazing to see.
I encourage people not to settle for surrounding themselves with home décor that doesn’t resonate with them. Time at home is so precious in this fast paced world, I encourage people to make their home into a sanctuary that reflects their personal style. Make your home a reflection of who you are and what is important to you. Don’t waste another day living in surroundings that aren’t in harmony with how you see the world.
Michelle continues to treasure hunt down the back roads and alleys of China, Thailand, India and beyond. She spends about 1/3 of the year overseas and heads the 14 person team at Circa Home in Kansas City. She was recently named a Furniture Today, Fresh Face of 2005.
To see more closely the spirit of my adventures, visit the travel page.
|
