The last exchange I had with Don was December 2022. After wishing him a happy holiday he shared this about his most recent treatment: "I'm doing ok, work and chemo every two weeks. Next month I'm having a liver embolism to block off the blood flow to the tumor in my liver on the 7th it's a lot like a heart cath with an overnight stay for observation." I asked him to remind me how long he had been battling cancer; 2017, he said. Paul and I were first introduced to Don as a photography hobbyist; known amongst the local pinups and cosplayers as a professional and affordable photographer. I found Don to be gentle, engaged and reliable. Paul fondly...
Thirteen years ago I wrote a mission statement for House of the Broken Dragon. It reads: IT IS THE MISSION OF HOUSE OF THE BROKEN DRAGON: to CREATE art and beauty, to EDUCATE ourselves and others, to EMBRACE individualism and to ENGAGE our visitors. Although much has changed over the past thirteen years, both personally and professionally, positive and negative; our mission statement remains on point. The creativity is still flowing. And although the direction is shifting, the desire to learn and educate via art remains strong. In fact, one of our kimono photos was recently chosen to be displayed at the Fogartyville Community Media & Arts Center in Sarasota, Florida. The Memento Mori Art Exhibition explores the theme of remembering death and treating time as...
The first day of Spring 2023 has come and gone and hope springs eternal here at House of the Broken Dragon. And except for the cancer that is rampant climate change, Mother Earth continues to share her annual rebirth; welcoming all living creatures, great and small. According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2023 is the year of the rabbit and it has been predicted to be a year of hope. In addition to good luck, it is said that rabbits, especially those with white fur, symbolize elegance, beauty, and mercy. All this symbolic bunny talk had me thinking about our most recent photoshoot which was truly magical. And although the original concept involved wrangling a dozen white kittens; as luck would...
Still here; how 'bout you? Just like everyone else on the planet, HOTBD has been wading into and out of the unknown since the coronavirus pandemic...exacerbated by ongoing social unrest, political polarization and mental health...its been hard. Maintaining a small business and a positive attitude has been...challenging. Fortunately (?) HOTBD was knee deep in kimono fabric scraps for most of 2020. What started out as making face masks for desperate healthcare professionals in Seattle...turned into manic mask making for family, friends and eventually, our customers AKA The Mask Collection. However, somewhere between the dark and the light, the stars (re)aligned in 2021 and HOTBD recruited an amazing creative team, resulting in an amazing photoshoot, showcasing seven amazing garments. Launching Fall 2022, HOTBD will introduce two...
I'd like to say that the blog title is that of my newly released autobiography; but alas, it's actually a long overdue blog post about HOTBD's LATEST and GREATEST Kimono Collection; aptly named, The Sukki Collection!!
