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getting to the art fair or department store show in japan

updated tue 18 nov 03

 

Lee Love on mon 17 nov 03


----- Original Message -----
From: "Gail Phillips"

> And what exactly do you drive to an art fair? Your Yugo?


I was surprised a few years back, when several lockers and bags (all
black) were delivered by the Black Cat Takyubin (package delivery) service,
to my teacher's workshop. I asked another deshi (apprentice) what they
were and he told me that the photographic team . that was coming to photo
Sensei's work for his big department store show were arriving by train, so
they had their equipment sent ahead via the package delivery company. The
photographer always had 3 or 4 other people with him, I think including
someone from the Dept. Store Gallery. They sent a shooting studio ahead of
them, which back home, would have required a van or a pickup truck to haul.

Sensei's work was always sent to shows by the same service. I
don't know how the insurance works because sometimes, we sent a couple
million dollars worth of work. I never heard of anything getting broken
in transportation.

At the Mashiko pottery fair, the tents are provided by the
shopkeepers. The most frequent mode of transportation for the potter's
work is either by "K" truck or "K" van. These a small pickups or vans
that are powered by a 660cc engine. The March tax on these are only about
$35.00, instead of the $350.00 that a full sized truck or van would cost.
At my teacher's workshop, we moved everything with the "K" Truck, including
the 1,500 bundles of red pine required for a Noborigama firing.

Lotsa solutions if we just start thinking "outside the box."
--
Lee In Mashiko, Japan
"America needs a line of cars that can get us to work in the morning without
sending us to war in the afternoon,"
Learn more:
http://www.nrdc.org/breakthechain/chained.asp

Larry Kruzan on mon 17 nov 03


Sorry Lee, Nice theory but it just wouldn't work here. First the automobile
safety board would force you to have airbags, side impact panels, 5 mph
bumpers, seatbelts, automatic fuel shutoff, environment impact studies and
controls, safety steering wheel column, and the dreaded crash test
survivability on and on.

Then old Ralph Nader would get his shot at it. Remember "unsafe at any
speed" where he destroyed a great, economical, automobile with one book.

By the time the "K" truck met all the standards it needed to in order to be
used here it would weigh 5 times as much and cost $35,000. Then the little
600cc motor would need upgraded to a V6.

The next problem is that unlike Japan most of the US is open territory and
farmland, not cities. I do a show in Chicago one weekend, pack up and drive
to Kansas City the next (600 miles, I think), followed by Dallas TX the next
(600 miles), then back home (1200 miles) how long do think your little "K"
truck would last on a monthly pace like that?

Our shows are not 50 or 100 miles apart they are 200 to 2000 miles apart.
In order for a vehicle to withstand the type of use required it just must be
built heavy. Mass equals durability, safety and longevity. I wear out a
$45,000 van every two years just driving on the highways. Mass transit does
not exist here as in Europe or Japan - this is how we do business here.

Larry

From: "Lee Love"
To:
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2003 8:41 AM
Subject: Getting to the Art Fair Or Department Store Show In Japan


> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gail Phillips"
>
> > And what exactly do you drive to an art fair? Your Yugo?
>
>
> I was surprised a few years back, when several lockers and bags (all
> black) were delivered by the Black Cat Takyubin (package delivery)
service,
> to my teacher's workshop. I asked another deshi (apprentice) what they
> were and he told me that the photographic team . that was coming to photo
> Sensei's work for his big department store show were arriving by train, so
> they had their equipment sent ahead via the package delivery company. The
> photographer always had 3 or 4 other people with him, I think including
> someone from the Dept. Store Gallery. They sent a shooting studio ahead
of
> them, which back home, would have required a van or a pickup truck to
haul.
>
> Sensei's work was always sent to shows by the same service. I
> don't know how the insurance works because sometimes, we sent a couple
> million dollars worth of work. I never heard of anything getting broken
> in transportation.
>
> At the Mashiko pottery fair, the tents are provided by the
> shopkeepers. The most frequent mode of transportation for the potter's
> work is either by "K" truck or "K" van. These a small pickups or vans
> that are powered by a 660cc engine. The March tax on these are only
about
> $35.00, instead of the $350.00 that a full sized truck or van would cost.
> At my teacher's workshop, we moved everything with the "K" Truck,
including
> the 1,500 bundles of red pine required for a Noborigama firing.
>
> Lotsa solutions if we just start thinking "outside the box."
> --
> Lee In Mashiko, Japan
> "America needs a line of cars that can get us to work in the morning
without
> sending us to war in the afternoon,"
> Learn more:
> http://www.nrdc.org/breakthechain/chained.asp
>
>
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