A PERFECT DAY in a life….

Our dear friend Marsha Harris of Splenderosa is asking us to pick one of the 
best days of our life, for this month's "By Invitation Only" post.

The timing of this post is so perfect as I am living in a personal turmoil, having made some big (but very positive) changes in my professional life that will impact my work and my family.

For a moment, I will leave all worries and demands aside, take time out and relieve some synopsis of my life…flashbacks…moments of pure joy…moments of pure freedom…A vision of my children on the day of their birth flash immediately in front of my eyes, however I must pick one day, one day so perfect that it  ecapsulates the very best life can bring us.

Instantly a vision comes to me,  the sounds,  the colors, the scents, the humidity, the calm and heaviness of the air, a moment in time as far away from civilization and culture as I have ever experienced.

That glorious day started with my two children, husband Luke and myself waking up in the early hours of the morning to the sounds of chattering Proboscis monkeys, aboard a boat on a Kalimantan black water river, in the heart of the rainforest of Borneo's Tanjung Puting National Park. Writing these sentences,  transports me back ten years and I even now feel the pure moment of joy and elation as if I was experiencing the moment now, surrounded by so much life, serenity, beauty with the man and two boys I so intensely love.

We were alone (save our boat's captain and our guide of course) in a world about to vanish, and the awareness of that moment in time, the fragility of all the beauty surrounding us made this moment even more powerful. I had wanted for my children to understand how precarious all the world's beauty really is. My son Hadrian completed his sciences project, communicating with Seeswee, a beautiful orangutan whose life is in jeopardy due to the loss of habitat.

Living on the deck of our little boat

The amazingly beautiful, fast disappearing rain forest

 After  days and endless patience, Hadrian became close to Seswee, he made her a necklace which she proceeded to place around her neck, after watching him do so.

A bientôt,

Francine

Life is a challenge...

En route to visit with our Orangutan friends in Kalimatan, Borneo.Magnificent gift of nature.

Marsha, of Splenderosa, our coach of sorts, and inspirational motivator, challenges us every month with topics for discussion.

This month's Bio is: "Our greater challenge, and how it changes us for the better"

Well Marsha, you did pick a timely and on point subject, appropriate during this spiritual and religious time.

One of my favorite Hollywood movies is Forrest Gump and his powerful line: "Life is a box of chocolates, Forrest. You never know what you're gonna get."

Life in itself is a series of challenges, our path is to accept the challenges, have faith in God and ourselves, and embrace the changes ahead. In itself, this is a formidable challenge. I fear change, heights, unknown territories, meeting new people,  and because I suffer those fears I deliberately  throw myself into situations where I am compelled to face those fears, embrace the moment and emerge enriched by the experience. 

However, looking back at my life, my one greatest challenge was acceptance. Acceptance that there is more to this world and life than its obvious physicality and that we must believe in our spiritual being and God's love, would it be the wisdom of Buddha or any religion. In a flash, my life, my small world was shattered in front of my eyes on a crisp pure blue morning on September 11th. Writing these words, I can still hear the screams, the sounds of destruction, breath in the dust, stand in disbelief and horror as the towers crumbled before my eyes, not even thinking of running for cover. My perfect small world was over, friends gone forever, children without fathers or mothers. Instinctively,we all walked in silence... walked away until we reached the train station, and went to find refuge in my church. The core of my being so exposed and raw that the only solace I would accept was from God.

Then, I understood. I understood the meaning of life, the magical moments of life, the gift of being alive and I have never ever taken any day for granted. Every night, I look at the sky and every morning I thank God for his loving gift of life.

A Bientôt,

Francine

Please read Marsha's post and our community of bloggers


lBy invitation only

l home,

IT'S A NEW YEAR...

Keeping an open mind

May this year be filled with love, joy, health, laughter and prosperity.

I am thankful for the daily gift of life, for the love and support of my family and friends, my Interieurs team.

Years ago, I stopped making new year resolutions and setting personal expectations that would not be met . Instead, I have guidelines and keep on...

Loving,

My son Hadrian bonding with Seeswi the orangutan in Kalimatan, Borneo. Please visit this amazing organization, we desperately need your help:

orangutan.org

Living fully,

Sharing happy moments with my team in Kilimanjaro. Thanks to these wonderful men, my friend Judy and I had the most wonderful experience trekking this extraordinary mountain and reaching the summit.

Dreaming,

image artworks-000010816227-ae67va-original.jpg

In search of the next adventure,

image:antarctica-icebergs_4608.jpg

Embrace life, yes it is a roller coaster, brace yourself and face the worst but keep loving, smile at the ones you love and at strangers, a kind word can make somebody's day, don't be scared of the future and try to control only what is within your power, be curious, go outside of your comfort zone and experience the world

Let's not ever forget, this is our life, let's live it fully with love and passion

Francine

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Deep into Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo)

SEESWEE, OUR FAVORITE ORANGUTAN

Dealing with the daily pressure of running a business, managing time, desperately trying to understand and best guide teenagers, keeping up with an ever growing garden...can be daunting.

When all else fails, I go back to my most precious moments in life when my kids were still sane young men who actually listened to their parents, when the state of the economy was not the only talked about subject.

This blog is not only dedicated to my work as a designer but also to who I am and what inspires me in life. Since my earliest childhood, I found solace, inspiration and serenity in nature. Today, I am going back to a moment in the Fall a few years ago when I had just read an article on Dr. Birute Galdikas and her life-long crusade to the save the last orangutans of Kalimantan and her battle against the human forces that are destroying one of the most beautiful rain forests on Earth. Dr. Galdikas runs the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) based in Los Angeles.* I had read books, a travelogue by Paul Theroux and anthropological essays about the Dayak (the infamous Bornean headhunters) and was fascinated by these people. * For more on OFI, see the bottom of this post

On a whim of sorts, I announced to my family that we will be spending Christmas in the heart of the Kalimantan rain forest in a Dayak Village and my son's annual science project would be a study of Orangutan behavior.

I was now left with the task of organizing the logistics of the trip. Via the internet, I found a then small outfit (Adventure Indonesia) that could rent us a local boat with a guide and a cook in Pangkalan Bun (an outpost town at the edge of the world effectively run by the logging company and governed through fear). Advindo got in touch with a local teacher named Edy to serve as our guide in Kalimantan. Edy had lived several years among the Dayak with an adoptive Dayak mother.

Pangkalan Bun river front

Beautiful local children sending us off on our adventure

Off we go...

We boarded our boat, where the top deck was our living, dining and sleeping suite. Then we entered the most enchanting river leading to the deep rainforest. Our arrival to the tiny dock at the entrance of the Tanjun Puting National Park was announced by birds and Gibbons and Proboscis monkeys. Dr Galdikas' wonderful foundation has set up camp in this part of the Kalimantan rain forest.

The spectacular vistas of the Tanjun Puting Rainforest

Iron Wood Tree

Hadrian, trying out a vine...

We met our first orangutan and I was immediately enthralled. For days, we hiked through this magical forest, drenched by the stunning humidity and incredible heat, observing and following these remarkable "People of the Forest" which is what Orangutan means in the Indonesian language.

My son befriended Seeswee, a wonderful female orangutan and spent time just watching her. She robbed him blind of his food, his jacket, and his water bottles but a bond was forming. By the end of our stay, Hadrian made a necklace with entwined vine and demonstrated how he would place it around his neck and gently offered it to her. Seeswee took the necklace observed it, toyed with it and finally placed it around her neck... Hadrian, 12 at the time, had completed his first primate behavioral research.

Female with infant (Orangutans stay with their mothers until about age 7)

Young male drinking milk in the preserve

Seeswee, contemplating

Seeswee and my son Hadrian

Winn, the regional Alpha male who once "hugged" Julia Roberts

Gibbons feeding in the OFI camp

The deck of our houseboat

Our bedroom: A mattress shrouded with mosquito netting

Rainforest pathway in Tanjung Puting National Park

Young volunteer caring for an orphaned Orangutan at the
OFI Rehabilitation Center and Clinic near Pangkalan Bun

An orphaned infant Orangutan. If you look closely at his eyes
you will see the reflections of my husband and sons in them.
To me its quite an eery visual metaphor.

We left the world of the majestic Orangutans in hope to spend Christmas in a Dayak village. It would be our own private Christmas. we embarked on the most dangerous boating ride in my life, my teeth were clenched during the brutal six hour speed boat ride up-river into Central Kalimantan. The tiny speed boats designed for 4 people were driven by kamikaze who throttled at full speed in fierce rain and ZERO visibility with a 12 inch high windshield all while dodging gigantic logs floating down river to be collected by the logging companies. I prayed and prayed and finally we miraculously stopped at a tiny barely floating dock that also served (as we later learned) for the village outhouse. Rising up a steep river bank there was a very impressive tall Iron Wood trunk ladder with hatchet-hewn notched cut-out for steps to reach the land about twenty five feet above.

A group of children immediately surrounded us and many conversations took place between our guide who understood the local Dayak dialect and the villagers. Welcome to the Dayak's world.

A family invited us to stay in their long house and many smiles were exchanged. We were also invited to the stop by for a visit with the village Chief as honored guests. Since the village was many hours away from any major town, very few non Dayak ever visit, and the village had not had any western visitors in the last 7 years.

We were offered a rice based "brandy" from a ceremonial glass container in which a variety of animal fetuses (including wild pig, deer and unhatched birds and alligator) floated to "season" the concoction.

Following this, we were then taken to the village's holy sites: First to the sepulcher of the village chief's deceased wife who's coffin the Chief slept upon each night until her jar burial would occur a year later, and then on to the totem posts under which were buried the severed heads of the villager's enemies. We had thought the custom long since ended since its outlawing by the Indonesian government. Little did we know....

Local Dayak children

The Long House which would serve
as our quarters during our stay with the Dayak

Children everywhere are curious. We had stocked up on gifts
and treats at Surabaya airport enroute to Kalimantan

Our son Alex studying the elevated storage long sheds

The elevated jar tomb of a former Dayak village Chief

My husband dancing the Hornbill Dance which we later learned from Edy was part
of our honorary adoption ceremony into the Dayak village clan.

My son Alexander dancing the Hornbill. The Dayak serve a mildly
hallucinogenic rice wine concoction as part of the ceremony.
Alex was a favorite of many of the Dayak girls his age.
Edy told him to behave as the Dayak regularly practice "Blowpipe" weddings.

Our sleeping quarters

In March 2008 I finally met the inspirational Dr. Galdikas in Los Angeles while I was there visiting colleges with Hadrian. I had joined OFI upon our return from Indonesia in January 2005. Since then we have done what we can to help this wonderful organization through contributions and sponsoring its First Annual Run for Survival. The Second Annual Run for Survival will be on October 11, 2009 at Lake Balboa Park in Encino, CA.

Also, OFI now offers a three week work-study program in Kalimantan. If you have the inclination, time and resources to participate, I urge you to do it. I really do believe that you would find it one of the most personally fulfilling experiences of your life. As soon as we can make the time, my husband and I will be heading back to Kalimantan to participate in this program and to visit this magical corner of the world that we have come to truly love.

Interieurs New York to Host Jose Esteves' RE-BORN Lighting Art Exhibit

On May 5th, 2009 18:30 - 20:30, Interieurs will host Lighting Artist Jose Esteves in New York. Jose will exhibit his new "RE-BORN" series of stunning one of a kind lighting sculptures. A part of the proceeds from the sales of these beautiful works will go to benefit the Orangutan Foundation International.

New orangutan population found in Indonesia

April 12, 2009 7:09 AM EDT

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Conservationists have discovered a new population of orangutans in a remote, mountainous corner of Indonesia - perhaps as many as 2,000 - giving a rare boost to one of the world's most endangered great apes.

A team surveying forests nestled between jagged, limestone cliffs on the eastern edge of Borneo island counted 219 orangutan nests, indicating a "substantial" number of the animals, said Erik Meijaard, a senior ecologist at the U.S.-based The Nature Conservancy.

"We can't say for sure how many," he said, but even the most cautious estimate would indicate "several hundred at least, maybe 1,000 or 2,000 even."

To read the rest of the story, click the link: New orangutan population found in Indonesia

...and stay tuned for future posts about my involvement with the Orangutan Foundation International.

Photo: Luke G. Gardner, Copyright 2009