Welcome to my first attempt at this thing called "the blog."
As everyone is online now, I figured, why not share my stories as well? It does get a round of chuckles from my staff as we take our late lunch sushi break.
I am the owner and founder of Paper Connection International, a handmade paper company in Providence, RI www.paperconnection.com Although based here in this quirky town, I did the inevitable thing all complicated, independent women do to further complicate their lives-get married! And not only that, get married to one Seiji Sugita who lives on the other side of the world, Tokyo, to be exact. Running a company, a Japanese paper company at that, from another continent is pretty complicated. However, I somehow manage with a supportive husband, faithful staff, and frequent flyer miles!
Flying nowadays has its necessary aggravations, and the flight is long, almost as long as the list of things I have to do before I pack! Meet with my accountant, forward my mail, attend a webmarketing seminar, overnight that limited edition kozo that jewelry designer so urgently needed for her show. You see, I go back and forth from the United States to Japan every 10 weeks. 10 weeks, that's right. Saying you're bicontinental may roll of the tongue with such ease and glamour, but when you are taking the taxi on a cold, rainy Wednesday at 4 a.m. to catch that United flight to O'Hare, and the driver even refuses to carry your laptop, you are wishing you never renewed your passport.
So by the end of this month, I will be back in little Abiko, Chiba, on the outskirts of Tokyo. My neighborhood here is like the parallel world of my other home back in Edgewood, that is, yes, on the edge of Providence. Everyone seems to know each other, or as all of you Rhode Islanders who are reading this know, went to school with someone who did.
I am excited, I have to admit, as I look forward to autumn in Tokyo, relishing real sushi, and discovering what is new in the world of handmade papermaking in Japan. My mission has been to keep this amazing craft alive by bringing these beautiful papers of the East to artists and paper addicts of the West. I have been doing it successfully for nearly 20 years. And that has been a truly rewarding journey, with or without the frequent flyer miles.
Next up: no, it's not rice paper. We eat the rice, sell the paper.
As everyone is online now, I figured, why not share my stories as well? It does get a round of chuckles from my staff as we take our late lunch sushi break.
I am the owner and founder of Paper Connection International, a handmade paper company in Providence, RI www.paperconnection.com Although based here in this quirky town, I did the inevitable thing all complicated, independent women do to further complicate their lives-get married! And not only that, get married to one Seiji Sugita who lives on the other side of the world, Tokyo, to be exact. Running a company, a Japanese paper company at that, from another continent is pretty complicated. However, I somehow manage with a supportive husband, faithful staff, and frequent flyer miles!
Flying nowadays has its necessary aggravations, and the flight is long, almost as long as the list of things I have to do before I pack! Meet with my accountant, forward my mail, attend a webmarketing seminar, overnight that limited edition kozo that jewelry designer so urgently needed for her show. You see, I go back and forth from the United States to Japan every 10 weeks. 10 weeks, that's right. Saying you're bicontinental may roll of the tongue with such ease and glamour, but when you are taking the taxi on a cold, rainy Wednesday at 4 a.m. to catch that United flight to O'Hare, and the driver even refuses to carry your laptop, you are wishing you never renewed your passport.
So by the end of this month, I will be back in little Abiko, Chiba, on the outskirts of Tokyo. My neighborhood here is like the parallel world of my other home back in Edgewood, that is, yes, on the edge of Providence. Everyone seems to know each other, or as all of you Rhode Islanders who are reading this know, went to school with someone who did.
I am excited, I have to admit, as I look forward to autumn in Tokyo, relishing real sushi, and discovering what is new in the world of handmade papermaking in Japan. My mission has been to keep this amazing craft alive by bringing these beautiful papers of the East to artists and paper addicts of the West. I have been doing it successfully for nearly 20 years. And that has been a truly rewarding journey, with or without the frequent flyer miles.
Next up: no, it's not rice paper. We eat the rice, sell the paper.
4 comments:
Holy bleeping bloggerheads - you're a natural. Great first post!
Mary
This is a great first blog. You should post more detail on what the business is about from the other side. Then we'll all know what you're doing in Japan when gone all those months! :-)
Susan
what a great blog! Keep us posted about your life in Japan.
cheers,
Cheryl
Hey Lauren: Cuz Nancy from Vermont here. Just stumbled across your website and blog when trying to track down another Pearlperson! Nice website, great first blog post...would love to see you when I am in RI sometime (visiting Eli at Brown 10/25 & 26 for example). Hope to talk soon! さようなら, Nancy
bashpearl@comcast.net
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