 John
began his bonsai career at a very young age; he was about 10
years old when he assisted his mother Sharon in the production
of molded mame’ pots. He made a nice little income which
immediately was invested in comic books. As a teenager he was
most welcome on collecting trips to the cascades, both for his
charm but mostly for his brawn. His first collected tree, at
age 17, was an Engelmann spruce which developed into a marvelous
bonsai and was exhibited often. After a year at UW he decided
to join the family business, Bonsai Northwest, which at this
time had moved to the present location in Tukwila. John bought
out his parents in 1996, and is now sole owner. In 1984 the company
changed directions, the production of pots ceased and importing
from Japan began. Since 1984 John has traveled to Japan, Taiwan,
China and Korea many times. While on these buying trips he had
the opportunity to observe the many facets of bonsai and bonsai
growing. From his travels around the US and the Orient, he has
developed his own unique style of bonsai design. While many of
the trees for sale at his nursery are “consignment trees”
from local collections, most of the bonsai, especially collected
specimens, are Johns creations. With running a business, teaching
bonsai and traveling, John only occasionally gets out to the
mountains to collect. Sometimes his wife April and their two
dogs join him. |
