Day 25-Kimberly Sricharmorn's Side Tables

I WAS surfing IGMA's website when I chanced upon KIMBERLY SRICHARMORN's excellent work which she submitted to IGMA in May 2008 to earn her her status as Artisan. Needless to say, she was awarded and once again, CONGRATULATIONS, Kim!

The feeling I had when I saw Kim's work was reminiscent of the same experience of thrill I felt when I first met Chandra . Remember how I immediately wrote to Sumaiya after that? Well, that's what I did too although it took me a while to locate Kim's contact. After 2 days of googling without any success, I finally found her email address on IGMA's website. Silly, silly me.

In my email, I started by describing the project that I am planning, told her about this blog and then about how I thought her tables reminded me of the furnishings I had at my home, things I bought when I was travelling in Syria, Jordan, Pakistan...

Days passed and I did not hear from Kim. I gave up the hope of ever hearing from her. It was only after my return from India that I found to my utter delight an email from a "KIMBERLY SRICHARMORN" sitting in my Inbox.

Kim has replied while I was shopping at Delhi's Janpath Bazaar looking at miniature paintings and bargaining with a street vendor, 20 days after my email , because she too was on vacation.

Her reply email started with: "I, too, am fascinated by the Indian culture and would love to have a Mughal Palace myself. Looking at your designs is like looking at my dream dollhouse...It would be wonderful upon completion." Thank you Kim!

Through a few more email over the past few days, we found out that we both love Moroccan and Indian designs and even owned the same Taschen books "Indian Interiors" and "Moroccan Interiors (my favourite!!). I raved about her tables and told Kim how I simply have to show them off here and she very graciously agreed.

So here we are, ladies and 1 gentleman, I am both privileged and honoured to present to you (drumrooooooll plz), "KIMBERLY SRICHARMORN":

"From East to West Miniatures" developed out of my love of miniatures. I have been creating minis all of my life, and started making the furniture from scratch by copying photos. Artisans saw my work at the Chicago International and said that I should be a dealer, and that was the start of business.

I like to work on detailed pieces in many styles, including Moroccan, Indian, Syrian, Turkish, Venetian, Chinese, Thai and anything else that interests me. I like Moroccan very much because of the intricate designs.My home is furnished with pieces from China, Thailand, and Morocco, so I started copying them and just kept going. I also make Asian food in resin and polymer clay, and have made food carts like you see on the streets in Thailand.

...detail shots of the tables. They range in height from one inch to slightly over two inches tall, so they are quite small. In real life they are usually two feet tall at the most. I make my tables as scale copies of the real thing.

I never could make that many of the intricate pieces because they take so long to cut out, carve, and paint. I only make a few pieces that are the really intricate ones, and then make accessory pieces like food dishes, hookahs, fezzes, slippers, candlesticks...things like that. We also sell mini plants, baskets, and dishes.

Since I work full time, my miniatures work is still squeezed into my free time, and there never is enough of that. The hand-made furniture is mostly custom order now because I don’t have time to make many spare pieces. I used to make two of each – one to keep and one to sell – but can’t do that anymore. I made an exact copy of a Moroccan table that I own, and a woman really wanted it, so now it is in California! I am very behind in orders right now..

I don't have a website, but attend the Chicago International every year. The Chicago International is HUGE. It is not like other shows. It is just overwhelming to visit, and exhausting to be a dealer there, but worth it in every way. I am trying to get ready for the Chicago Int'l 2009 right now. It may be a panic, but it's a labor of love for me...

I would be proud to have my furniture residing in a palace someday, especially a Mughal one!

The above write up is cut and paste entirely from Kim's various email and none from mine. If you love Kim's work like I do, you can contact her at ksrichar@comcast.net. Your orders will of course be queued after my table, hookah, chappati and roti prata unless you visit her at the Chicago International then, LUCKY YOU!