Wabi in Fuego at Hotel Maya Long Beach

Hotel Maya is claimed to be the first distinctive full-service, luxury boutique hotel which fuses the essence of Latin American resort and modern So. CA. how fusion is that!
Andy and crew are now busy working with Wabi on Fuego at Hotel Maya - Long Beach's newest waterfront restaurant and bar which is opening on July 1, 2009. Woo hoo~
Finally we have a design team - Arya Group that appreciates this striking red color I initiated as special color for Wabi - #201A Ichigo. You may know Ichigo actually means strawberry and this color totally brings liveliness to the premise. Uncomplicated, only 3 colors are being used in this job - Wabi plain color which is very light grey for the ceilings, Wabi #13 which is subtle mix of beige and grey and Wabi #201A for the wall. Such a brilliant contrast between subtle Juraku colors and bright red. They fuse well, don't you think?
So Red!

We are all excited and anxious to see the outcome. And we believe we can see so much essence of Wabi Sabi in this job. Can't wait til the opening of Fuego in July! I was told it will be "THE" place for fun celebration in downtown long beach... Do share with us and send by email if you have some nice photos of this restaurant later on!
Thanks Derek for sharing these photos!

Living Wabi Sabi: Wisdom in Natural Simplicity

Imperfection can be beautiful. Once we are able accept the so-called flaw in you or me, and/or anything, we will learn what it means to be truly happy. Like fengshui, there needs to be a balance of Yin and Yang. Wabi Sabi encourages such balance in every aspect of life.

Wabi is quiet serenity, a silence that is deep and profound, literally means loneliness. You can also see it a state of meditation to find the true "self" or self-internalizing. Sabi refers to the material aspects of our life, literally it means rusticity, decayed, weathered and the natural process of nature.

"Japanese art, infused with the spirit of wabi sabi, seeks beauty in the truth of the natural world, looking towards nature for its inspiration."

This is the message we are trying to bring through our Wabi series, you will notice the colors which combination of antiquey color and colors of nature - green, yellow and earthy tones. When straw or wara is added to the colors, it looks like blemishes, which in fact is what enhances the beauty of this series of Jwall.

We invite you to continue explore our beautiful Wabi and the more you learn about it, the more you'd fall in love with it. I will continue to write more about the art of Wabi Sabi, as it affects our overall being.