The Oriental Art Shop and Tea House greets its guests with
the unmistakable scent of patchouli- the official perfume of stores that sell
Asian stuff.
“Namaste.” Anna, the owner, greets me, putting her hands
together and bowing. She’s a petite woman in a silken Mongolian top and long
flowing pants; beads adorn her blonde dreadlocks, and bracelets jingle from her
wrists. I bow back to her, doing my best
to respect her culture.
Anna kindly offers me some tea brewed with mint from the
gardens of Tibetan monks. “I picked the leaves myself,” she grins as we sit on
rattan chairs in the corner of the store “The monks didn’t even say anything
about it.”
Anna tells me about her journey in founding The Oriental Art Shop and Tea House
(which she insists I call by its full name throughout this article). Five years
ago she was an exceptional student at a local Liberal Arts College. “Not, like, exceptional in terms of
grades” she notes, exceptional in that she was much smarter than her classmates and could have done better
grade-wise if she felt she needed to. “There are many ways to measure intelligence,”
she says as she sips tea from a clay cup “you can be book smart, or you can be life smart.”
After school, Anna tried a variety of different jobs, from jewelry
maker to yoga instructor. Subsisting only on her menial wage, and an allowance
from her parents, she was forced to live with a roommate. Nothing felt right: “I
just, like, felt like I was, like, destined
to be something more!” That’s when Anna bravely decided to leave everything
behind, and travel the world by herself. “It’s
scary,” she admits “And I wasn’t sure if I’d be brave enough to do it, but I’m
so glad I did.”
Anna phoned up her parents, and no sooner did they transfer her
money for flight and living expenses, did she bravely take off for a trip
across Europe and Asia. The sacrifice proved worth it. Staying in hostels, and
backpacking with other impoverished travellers, she found inspiration in each
destination. “I learned how to cook,” Anna blushes “When you’re a poor
traveller, you need to learn how to live within your means. But it’s all part
of the experience.”
It was in Tibet that she found inspiration for many items in
her store. Everything she stocks is hand-made by craftspeople whose pictures don’t adorn her wall, but who look sort
of like the stock models whose pictures do.
“Some of these items are from India, some
are from Cambodia. I bet you don’t see a lot of stores with things from
Cambodia! Are you Cambodian?” No, I
tell her, I’m not Cambodian. She sips
her tea again and thinks for a moment: “Thai?” “No.” “Vietnamese?” “No.” We
laugh as she flicks back a perfect dreadlock.
“After seeing the kind of art that other countries have, I
realized that we were really missing
out here in Canada. People need more stores that sell artisan products from
Asia!” Anna grins, beaming from her own brilliance “So I figured: why can’t I be the one to make this happen?”
After
doing more research in the mountains of Tibet, and the bars of Singapore, Anna
decided to come home and make her dream happen: “I was really sad to leave.
I’ve never really felt like a white person, so being in a place where I could
really come into my own was something else. Everyone was so nice there, so
accommodating—they just, like, want to take pictures with you and put you on TV!
It feels really nice to belong and get the authentic experience.”
No sooner did Anna
arrive, did she give her business proposition to her parents. “They were so
proud of me and my ambition,” Anna almost sings “they transferred me the money
for a down-payment right away! And
the rest was up to me! I painted the place, did the inventory, and even made
the sign outside. I really built something, you know?”
I take another sip of my tea and smile, asking if her
parents are prouder now that the store’s open. She nods, enthusiastically:
“Yes. I mean, it just goes to show what you can do if you’re dedicated, hard-working,
and really want something! Don’t ever
fall prey to your fears. Just look at all I’ve accomplished with The Oriental
Art Shop and Tea House if you don’t believe me!”
NOTE: The ORIENTAL ART SHOP
AND TEA HOUSE closed shortly before the publishing of this article. Anna is
currently in Korea teaching English.
