Visting the Edge of 2 Worlds

So I have been back for a week from my trip to China...and what a trip it was. While I went there because the professional merchandising/design advice side of "me" was needed, the personal "me" was impacted.

Since returning I have been asked questions like: "How was it?" "Did you have a nice time?" "What did you think of China?' And each time I am asked, I am stumped for an answer.

Why stumped? Well the above pictures are 2 views of China I had out my hotel room windows. As I was taking them... I never realized they visually would capture the essence of my travel experience. They are "night and day images" in more ways then one.

The Picture on the Left... Shenzhen China. The Picture on the Right... Hong Kong China. Hong Kong was a glittery, fast and exciting. Shenzhen was dirty, slow and exciting. Shenzhen was about manufacturing. Hong Kong was about consuming.

It truly was a push pull experience. I left NOT knowing what to think or how to feel about my journey... but there was something that touched the core of my being.

So last Sunday I looked forward to going to church to reflect on the whole experience. That day the sermon was about childhood and adulthood... and that point in life when we crossover, loosing innocence and gaining wisdom. The edge of transition.

Shenzhen is that edge. In thousands and thousands of factories their innocent hands literally build for US the material goods we "need" in a mature consumer society. They build "stuff" they have no understanding of or need for... at least not for now.

Our world consumes what their world builds… and as they build they learn of consuming. Moving closer and closer to our world. A world I understand, appreciate, work and live in. But I have to admit sometimes I look back over the edge and wish I was a kid again.

POST SCRIPT: So what does this blog have to do with staging? Well, in my opinion quite a bit. In this age of consumption, a stagers job is to "transition" a home back to simpler view. Basic to staging is having the stager de-clutter the "stuff" that has built up in a house. Odd part of it is... if staging is done well and timed right, the seller can make more money... and then go out and buy more "stuff". hmmmm.