About Us: Who We Are - KAMIBASHI® ASIAN ART

Who We Are

A Love for Asian Arts:

Kristen Daniels

People Bringing Kamibashi to Life:

The People & the Story of Kamibashi

Kristen Doherty Daniels – art and textile lover

Kamibashi (paper bridge) is the happy result of an English teaching career in Japan that put my husband Chris and I in direct contact with talented young Asian artists whose works we stumbled across and then immediately felt an affinity with.

In 2003, with our university teaching contracts more than half finished, we decided that, despite the 5 months of paid holidays and our attachment to our life in Kyoto, a move back to the US and a career change was a good idea... and so we started working on Kamibashi.

It's now March of 2010 and we've been back in the US for almost five full years, living in the countryside just outside of Asheville, NC (we're both originally from Chicago). Life consists of bird watching, riding our bikes around the gorgeous NC hills, and supplying the best shops in the US with products and artwork that caught our eye while living abroad or on recent shopping trips back to Japan and Thailand. We love what we sell and find it irresistibly fun, and it turns out we're not alone. Many thanks for your support and business – we couldn't do it without you.

Whether you came here on purpose or just happened upon us by chance, I welcome you to the Kamibashi website. Stay as long as you like, and please come back often! Feel free to drop me a line as well – kristen@kamibashi.com – I'd be more than happy to hear from you.

Chris Daniels – hard at work between visits to the textile market

When he's not teaching an art appreciation class that focuses on Japan at nearby UNC Asheville, Chris Daniels, my husband and Kamibashi partner, is working hard behind the scenes to help make our little company a big success. Chris is in charge of designing all of our marketing materials, and is our in-house photographer as well as the executor of a host of other important jobs that all must be done. He also whips up a mean salad (his homemade dressings are to die for!) and other healthy meals for the Kamibashi crew when time permits – thanks Chris – YUM!!!

A writer by nature (and hopefully one day soon by profession), Chris has published several short stories in online literary magazines, and will be writing a good deal of the copy seen in updated versions of this site. For a sample of his colorful writing, see Minoji's bio on the Artisan's page

Pupperoo – super cute 24/7

Our shih tzu Pupperoo entered the fold in April of 2007 when we brought her home from the breeder up the road as a tiny 12-week-old pup. Now at the age of 3 and a few weeks, Pupperoo weighs in at 12 pounds and is a happy, playful, sweet sweet girl who greets everyone she meets as if she's known them forever.

If you're ever in Asheville please come and visit the Kamibashi office and headquarters for a good dose of love from the Pupperoo!

Buffy – "multi-tasker with focus" for our customers

Buffy arrived at Kamibashi in early 2009 from the corporate sales and marketing world and is thrilled to be working at a place where she is free to wear wooly slippers instead of dress shoes. She prides herself on being the ultimate "multi-tasker with focus" and loves talking to customers about our products. (She was a Kamibashi fan long before she became an employee!)

As a NC native and mountain lover, Buffy fullfilled her dream of moving to Asheville in early 2009 with her husband Jeffrey and dogs Samson & Morgan. Her desk has a sweet view of the Blue Ridge mountains and in her time away from Kamibashi she can be found hiking, going to music festivals and concerts, or cooking scrumptious vegetarian meals at home. We're so glad you moved both to Asheville and Kamibashi, Buffy – the timing couldn't have been better!

Zoe – heading the tireless "pack-it, ship-it" crew

Zoe, a native to the Asheville area, joined us in February of 2009 as the head of our "pack-it, ship-it" department after 2 years of erupting volcanoes and teaching science enrichment classes in local elementary schools.

Together with her doggie pal Bandaid, Zoe enjoys following the trails that Daniel Day Lewis stomped in the locally filmed "The Last of the Mohicans" and eating delicious meals prepared by her boyfriend Jacob. As head of packing and shipping, she has taken charge of the iPod and the task of organizing and managing all aspects of the Kamibashi product world. Hooray for Zoe – we couldn't be happier we found you!

Gabriel – experienced working with fair trade products

Gabriel is the newest member of the Kamibashi team (since Jan. 2010) and is already busy doing a little bit of everything, which is exactly what we needed! A Chicago native just like Chris and Kristen, Gabriel moved to New York City after college and taught 8th grade science for a year. Three years ago he moved to North Carolina, first living for a year in Asheville before moving to Raleigh. In Raleigh, Gabriel worked for Unique Batik, a small, fair trade company that works with textile and jewelry producers in Guatemala and Ghana. Back in Asheville to attend nursing school, Gabriel enjoys hiking and biking, and household projects like installing attic stairs. Welcome Gabriel – we will be sorry to lose you someday to nursing, but are VERY happy to have you for now!