Sushi party can be creative

Dear Sandi: Next month, my husband and I are having a fairly large dinner party featuring sushi. I would love any ideas you might have for the decor. —Jackie P., Salem

Hi Jackie: You are in luck because just last week we set up a photo shoot where sushi played a leading role.

A low tea table is covered with sushi servings and a bamboo vase of marsh cane bamboo sticks. A bamboo screen and mat help create Asian surroundings fit for a sushi party. loose ends llc

Sushi, of course, comes from the Japanese culture, and though the raw fish and seaweed is almost mainstream now, it still seems to present itself the best when suggesting this origin.

I am not a big fan of purist design, but wonderful things can be done when you take either a few elements, or maybe even just the intent or mood of the specific time or culture, and use it in new and different ways that are appropriate to our time and place.

For our photo shoot, we set the mood with some bamboo screening. A wall or fence covered with natural matting would work, or you could do what we did and use lightweight, movable panels to create a similar effect.

Sandi Reinke is an author, frequent television guest and lead designer for loose ends (www.loosends.com), a Salem-based interior décor, garden, and casual lifestyle company. To ask Reinke a decorating question, e-mail info@looseends.com or mail her at the showroom address, 2065 Madrona Ave. SE, Salem, OR 97302. Phone: 503-390-2348.

We did the same thing for the floor. We used a product that we import called bamboo bosierie. It is a type of very thin bamboo “paneling” that has a beautiful woven pattern. You could create the same effect with any type of natural fiber matting.

You may want to have one large table or counter piece or a number of smaller ones. We used a short “tea table” that might be found in the traditional Japanese home, but almost any piece that has the right ambiance would work. If you don’t have anything that is appropriate, cover whatever serving space you have with some type of natural matting.

Food presentation in Asian cultures is as important as the actual food, and our serving pieces are made of tiny strips of bamboo that are coiled or pressed into a shape, then pigmented a seaweed green. A long bamboo tray is filled with fake shrimp (your’s would be real), and a fake fish adds a bit of humor to our real sushi, arranged on a scoop tray.

Whether you're looking for handmade paper, furniture, fabric or accessories, you will find it at loose ends. If it is unusual, organic and fabulous, then loose ends is the place. Showroom hours are 8 am to 5 pm weekdays and the first Saturday of each month 10 am - 3pm at 2065 Madrona Ave. SE, Salem, or visit us online at www.looseends.com Questions? Give us a call at (503) 390-2348.

A large bamboo vase filled with slender marsh cane bamboo sticks is the perfect “floral arrangement.” A green pigmented bowl made from a hollowed-out coconut continues the use of natural items and the seaweed green color of the bamboo pieces. It also adds a touch of whimsy and could be used to hold individual servings of miso soup or be a dipping bowl for various sauces.

We added other elements that contribute to the overall feeling but are not specifically Asian, such as the grouping of large seashells to continue the natural theme and a trio of clay bottles to pick up the colors in the shrimp and sushi.

Sitting on or near the floor is another Japanese tradition so consider sitting on the floor on large cushions.

Remember you are going for mood, ambiance and flavor, not textbook authenticity. Have fun with it, inject a bit of humor and your guests will be enchanted. June 24, 2005