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By Jane Knoerle
Almanac Lifestyles Editor
Hunting for a Christmas gift for the hard-to-please? How about a Chairman Mao tea set, a shadow puppet from Java, or a hand-stitched silk quilt from Vietnam?
These exotic goodies are available at the Rice Republic, a shop featuring Asian furniture, artifacts and accessories, which opened the day after Thanksgiving at 564 Oak Grove Ave. in downtown Menlo Park. (Longtime residents will remember the site as the former Johnny’s Smoke Shop.)
Rice Republic is an Asian import gallery owned by Jimmy James, a personable “Aussie” from Sydney. Mr. James has been a collector of Far Eastern merchandise for more than seven years.
He had been studying Chinese medicine and massage in Australia and had traveled back and forth to China a number of times. During his travels, he became interested in starting a business that would focus on antiques and well-made contemporary pieces from Tibet, China and other Asian countries, he says.
Mr. James opened his first stores, called Eastern Element, in Byron and Ballina, in Northern NSW, the most eastern region of Australia. After seven years in the Australia marketplace, he began looking to expand to the United States, particularly Silicon Valley.
While visiting the Bay Area for a friend’s birthday party last year, he spent time exploring to find a new location for his business. He now lives in Palo Alto and is getting acquainted with Menlo Park.
Rice Republic is a one-man operation. Mr. James has spiffed up the store’s interior with yellow walls and a blue-painted floor. One wall is papered with Chinese newspapers and centered with a colorful 150-year-old Chinese ancestral scroll. A canopy of painted paper umbrellas covers the ceiling.
A 9-foot wooden sign board wishes good fortune in Chinese characters. The signs are traditionally given to a new business, says Mr. James. His sign, which he says is approximately 280 years old, was given to him by a business associate in Australia.
Mr. James says his merchandise is not the same as that found in the finer furniture stores in San Francisco’s Chinatown. “This furniture is designed with simpler lines. It is not as elaborate as you would find in a Chinese establishment.”
Rice Republic is the kind of store where you need time to poke around. Wander into the back room, stopping to check out an opium bed from China, a beautifully hand-painted chest from Tibet, a Balinese xylophone, or a baby’s cradle from Indonesia. Admire the antique postcards or colorful note and address books that would make inexpensive Christmas gifts.
Mr. James is enthused about his new location. “As I’ve been setting up the store, I’ve already had many people stop in and show interest in what I’m doing. Everyone is so friendly here,” he says.
He feels downtown Menlo Park is a good location for his new Asian import gallery, with the kind of clientele that will appreciate what Rice Republic has to offer.
Rice Republic is open Monday through Saturday, from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and by special appointment. For more information, call Mr. James at 716-3856.
