Blogs

OUR MUSE WONDERING WHAT THE TRIP WILL BRING

We invited two of our employees – Joe and Suzanne - to join us on a buying trip in December. The trip was tentatively scheduled to bring us to Nepal, India, Indonesia and China. Tibet made it in there unexpectedly before the four of us met up in India.

The following blogs were written by Suzanne. They capture the spirit of a buying trip, and hopefully some of the charm and allure behind PRIMITIVE.

Chapter One

And so I begin...

January 3, 2009

We'll Have to Look Harder

We’re looking for a feel. Or, is it, we’re feeling for a feel? We are sorting through hundreds of silver plaque amulets in one of Delhi’s obscure markets. Claudia notes, “They’re not as good as they used to be.” Glen looks up and adds, “We’ll just have to look harder.” After a long time, we end up picking out 147 for further consideration.

January 4, 2009

I swear we spend close to half our energy making travel arrangements. Today, the team has been divided. Glen and Claudia left early this morning for the Himalayas in northern India to investigate the possibility of a Primitive bottled water brand. Joe and I remained in Delhi for a leisurely breakfast. Afterwards, we flew to Rajasthan, one of India’s most colorful states, hot on the trail of a collection of paintings called Pichvais.

THAR DESERT: SUN, SAND AND NO SURF

January 6, 2009

Udaipur, India
Sitting at a vendor’s in Udaipur, I started my personal collection. Among shelves of knives, I spotted a pair of brass tweezers with a peacock on top. It was used to pull wicks from oil lamps so one could avoid getting their hands dirty. I was led to believe it was a tool used and made for royal ladies. While Joe chatted at length with the owner about Damascus steel, I continued to peruse the shelves. I encountered a lidded spoon that was intended to hold charcoal for eye makeup. The lid had a quarter sized mirror attached to the reverse side. I slid the top open and mimicked the way I thought an Indian queen would apply charcoal to her eyelids. Some objects have a way of making it natural to play pretend with the past. When I was about to purchase my find, I asked the vendor if this particular pair of tweezers was actually used by royalty. He scoffed, “Of course not. This was used by someone else. ” My heart sank. I still bought it, but not with the same enthusiasm with which I had found it. Something, something I still can’t define even after reflection, was lost when he told me that. The beginning of my collection was now marred because this piece was not touched by royal hands and did not reside in a royal household. But did this make it an imposter piece?

AUTHENTIC TAG

I see now the purpose of Primitive’s “authentic” tags. If you go to the store, you can’t miss them. They are attached to items that have been certified authentic. They do not ensure the use of something by a particular someone. Instead, they give certainty that the piece was not merely created to be sold.

January 8, 2009

Delhi, India (late night blog)
There is a trick to eating alone. Tonight, I learned fast. One must appear confident and more than comfortable. One must be at home. No one tells you that buying trips, along with heavy (i.e., weighing a lot), can also be lonely.

Eating alone

It wasn’t until Sandeep, Glen, and Claudia called me from Jaipur. It has to be confessed, there is something inexplicably lonely about dining alone, especially dinner. Then everyone knows that you’re going back to an empty hotel room. However, I have one saving grace: my age. I’m twenty-one, but can pass easily for eighteen and get mistaken for it constantly. So tonight, instead of invoking sympathy or pity, I merely collected curious sideways glances. That’s fine by me. Buying trips insist that one have a thick skin—for the eyes in restaurants and also for people staring because you look different.

SUZANNE ATTEMPTING NOT TO STAND OUT

Glen and Claudia explained to me, “You’re young, you’re a girl, and you’re a westerner.” It makes sense. Here, I stand out.