How It All Began
A bit of background is probably the place to start. I was born in Los Angeles, and grew up in the cultural stew that resulted from being sandwiched between Disneyland and Hollywood. The 1960's spawned the surfer/beach bunny culture in southern California and all the subculture (pre drugs) that went with it. No doubt my partiality for all things coastal, casual and laid back stems from these origins.

I was incredibly fortunate to be born to parents who had a curiosity about life and everything in it. My father was a collector, and from him I learned to love and appreciate everything from fine antiques to old junk (especially old junk). Both my folks loved nature but it was from my mom that I acquired the necessary understanding that there was no sense in going to the beach or the mountains if you weren't going to get excited and pick up some of the abundance of what surrounded you everywhere. Although my father complained loudly about the moss, sticks, driftwood, et al that filled the car on any of our trips, it was always he that stuffed the gunny sack with beach pebbles. And no Salvation Army, junk store, St Vincent De Paul, etc. was ever passed by unexamined for lurking goodies.

Every summer my parents, my two younger sisters and I would go on a two week vacation and we only had leg room for the first two or three days, then the found treasures would take over. And then, there were those trips when the hunting was particularly good, and we would have to rent a U-Haul trailer to carry back the booty. If early conditioning is important, I really never had a chance to be a neat, orderly person.

Passion Discovered
I worked at a number of different jobs, including being a medical assistant, store clerk, salesperson, etc., and eventually ended up running the antiques/bookstore my father opened out of necessity to accommodate the "overspill" from his and my mom's own collections. Here I learned about the different passions for Oriental vases, Depression glass, art books, steel engravings, brass buttons, old postcards, vintage clothing, sun purpled glass bottles, and anything else you can imagine, that lurk, undetected, in so many people.

At the age of 19, I met and married another city dweller, then, like many young urban people our age, we immediately opted out of our familiar lifestyle and bought a 40-acre farm in Oregon. The 1960's had spawned a generation of city kids that just HAD to "get back to the land". We didn't have a clue what we were doing or how to do it. However, we eventually managed to rebuild a 100 year old farmhouse (no foundation, it was sitting on thirteen boulders) and keep a flock of geese, two dogs, a passing parade of cats, a parrot, one horse and one cow alive and, I assume, reasonably happy. Although that marriage eventually ended, the farm, (and new generations of animals) still thrive under the now knowledgeable guidance of my ex.

Salem, Oregon was a tough job market in the early 1970's, and after moving here, the only job I could find was working in a local pub. I knew that I wanted to continue working with "stuff", so when the opportunity came to open a small shop, I did. I wanted to continue exploring my own ideas of "place", and the new store was my venue for that. "Lifestyle" before there was such a word, I offered my customers a complete experience. All their senses were engaged, and they could buy the music they heard, the oils, soaps and incense they smelled and the cool stuff they saw. I wanted to create personal environments, where a person could indulge fantasies of far off places and exotic locations. I have always felt that a person's home space should reflect who THEY are, (or who they may want to try on being today) not some decorating guru's idea of who they SHOULD be.

Clear Determination
It was during this period that I had what was probably a very bad experience, but for me it was one of those "turning points" that I look back on as being one of the most positive experiences of my life, I was involved in a very serious car accident that left me with a broken back and a diagnosis of possibly never walking again. Since this was not an acceptable option, I began using self hypnosis tapes and creative visualizing to get me out of the body cast in record time and back to normal living. My transistor radio (remember those?) had also been badly damaged in the accident, and I swear playing those tapes on it got it back to normal also. Two very valuable things came out of this experience, the knowledge that I could, did and do create my own reality, and the opportunity to meet my future husband and best friend.

My folks had decided it was time to "get out of Dodge" and had bought a house on the Willamette River here in Salem, so my mom had come up north to help me during my convalescence and to work on their new home. The remolding contractor she hired was also an ex-city dweller, "back to the land" recruit. He was friendly and interested in talking about all kinds of different topics (always a big plus with me). Although I was still in a body brace, we attended a Greenpeace meeting together. But it was our first real date that clinched it for me.

Life Begins Again
Art took me to Portland for the evening. We started with dinner at what looked like a rather interesting and rustic restaurant, but turned out to be some incredibly expensive French bistro. Seated with the menu, mystery foods (and outrageous prices) in our face, we had a choice. If we wanted to do anything else with the evening we only had enough money for one dinner. Now when you are on a first date, this could have been a bit tense. (Ah, a first test of the other person's character). We immediately chose the same solution, ordered and split something that to this day remains unidentified (the waiter was kind enough to let us know that one mystery bowl contained, not soup, as first thought, but lemon water for our fingers. Rather than a dating trauma, the entire experience turned into a humorous delight.

Later that evening we had reservations at a theater club, but we still having time to kill, and, as Art later told me, having no idea what to do with me for the next hour or two, he just did what he would have done if he had been alone. He took me to Powell's Book Store. Now if you have never been in Powells, and you are any kind of a book person, you are missing the experience of a lifetime. I think they may now be the largest new/used book store in the world. Anyway, he took me in, said we would meet at an appointed spot in the store in an hour and LEFT ME ALONE.

Amazing, this is a date, a FIRST date, and the man has LEFT ME ALONE. Any book lover knows you cannot look at books with another person, especially if that person keeps asking you if they can help you "find what you're looking for". You have no idea what you're looking for, but you will sure know it when you see it. In all the years since that first time he took me there, I have never left with less than an armload. Wow, a guy that knows how to LEAVE YOU ALONE in a bookstore. . . worth thinking about.

When later we arrived at the theater club I was delighted to see that it was a female impersonation comedy club. The performers at Darcelle's put on an absolutely hysterical show, and it is all in fun, but still, I know that many guys wouldn't have been comfortable. So, he is not intimidated or put off by this - hmmmm.

Then, to top the whole night off, we went to a wild and wonderful dance club where the music was fabulous and the dance floor was big enough to actually move on. And we danced the rest of the night away. I LOVE to dance, to me it is such a celebration of being alive and it had been one of the things I had feared losing the ability to do when I had the accident. Well, even though I was still in a body brace and using crutches when Art first met me a number of weeks earlier, his attitude was just "of course you can do this", so I did.

So, what can you do with a guy that can just laugh and go with the flow, loves to read, doesn't care how much money you spend on books, isn't hung up on stereotypes and loves to dance? Guess you just have to marry him, so . . . . . .

Maybe it was Art's childhood addiction to the TV show "Adventures in Paradise", or possibly my exposure to my father's extensive collection of travel books, or maybe it was the not too enthusiastic willingness of both our families to meet at some halfway point between Los Angeles and Portland for the nuptials, but whatever the reason, we decided in one of our moments of inspiration and decision, to head out for Micronesia and get married there. And so we did, or at least we have always entertained the notion that we did, since the actual ceremony was performed by a VERY large and VERY serious native gentleman, who kept reminding us that this union should not be entered into frivolously. Whatever his credentials, he performed a most solemn and moving ceremony and that was truly the start of a lifelong personal and business relationship.

loose ends Hatches
After our "marriage" I continued to run the store, with Art's help, and he continued with his contractor's work, but we both knew that that we wanted to forge something that we could do together, that would be a lifestyle, not just a job. Let's see, "stuff", design, travel . . . when the opportunity came up for us to attend a twice-a-week night class on importing we immediately signed up, then commuted 200 miles each way, twice a week for six weeks. We would usually stop on the drive back at a rest area to catch a couple of hours sleep before continuing on back home and off to work the next morning. Eventually a few of us were invited to accompany our instructor on a buying trip to the Orient, which Art and I did, but that, as they say, is another (long) story. The very short version is that we started a company from our home with this new found knowledge,….packed our living space to the max with wonderful stuff, traveled to shows, kept our invoices in the oven, and called this thing that had consumed us…..loose ends. Many years and a few moves later, loose ends now operates from a much larger facility we purchased a couple of years ago, situated on over 3 acres of natural splendor…complete with a flowing creek and wildlife, here in western Oregon.

Design Attitude
So, what is the attitude that has shaped the way we have created loose ends? Probably more than anything it is about finding what works for you, then not being afraid to express it. Things and stuff are fun, they are fun to get, fun to play with, and often fun to eventually let go of, so that you can do it all again! To me, your home should be a place where you can try out different personas, different lifestyles. I am very big on bringing fantasy into your life. Would you like to live on a tropical island? Maybe you can't, but that doesn't mean your home can't make you feel like you do. In a year or two you may find yourself drawn to the quiet meditative ambiance created by Asian influences, or you suddenly have a hankering for some opulent, indulgent frou frou, not unlike a craving for good chocolate. Always the questions is "WHO do I want to be TODAY?"

Decorating is not serious, it is about creating an environment that satisfies and feeds your soul, not your neighbor's, or some design deva's. Find and live with the things you love, and that help you define who you see yourself being. When you no longer love them and they no longer express who you are (and hopefully you are always changing) let them move on so that you can have the pleasure of finding new things to love. We have coined the term "personal props" for this process, because we really do see this whole thing as similar to a stage that you create so that you can play your part with the right supporting "props". Just keep in mind that this is a transitory story and the props will probably need to be changed as the story unfolds.

So, there you have it, that is the attitude that fuels our company. I consider loose ends to be a very self-indulgent business. Art and I both knew right from the "get go" that we were probably unemployable, and would never be any good at "everyday the same, day jobs". We are doing what we love - traveling to remote areas of the world, becoming friends and working with people from every corner of the earth. And if that's not enough, we get to search out, design and buy STUFF!

Sandi
Professional Credentials:
- ASID (American Society of Interior Designers)
- Chemeketa College Faculty
- Garden Writers Club
- Willamette Valley Writers Club