What better way to learn about a brand than to return to its source and explore its roots? I had the opportunity to do just that by accompanying Shimon Finkelstein on visits to a few of his Artemano boutiques. This was only the second time we were meeting, after a brief introduction and quick sit down a few days earlier. I didn’t know what to expect, but within the span of half an hour we hit it off and, I felt like we were connecting as if we were old friends.
From the get-go Shimon was intriguing. Soft-spoken and calm in manner, he shared with me a wealth of information not merely about his stores and business, but about his views on life and his personal experiences. I listened to him intently and the questions I asked him went far beyond the ones I had jotted down in my notebook.
Eleven years ago Shimon’s life changed, unexpectedly and beautifully. He wasn’t looking for Artemano. Rather, Artemano found him. And the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. At the time Shimon was exporting jeans to Europe, and as he told me, he felt like he was facing a dead-end street. His professional life was devoid of passion and pretty much mechanical.
Upon the request of a client, he went to visit a warehouse-type furniture store in Zurich, Switzerland. A store that he described to be Indian in look, feel and even smell. “When that warehouse door opened and I walked inside something happened and I knew that it was meant to be. I fell in love. If that store was a woman I would have married her.” As I heard Shimon speak those words, I was amazed. I got goose bumps and I envisioned the scene he was describing.
Powerful to say the least. But what happened next was even more remarkable; a true sign of magic, a sign that a greater force was at work and that Artemano was truly meant to become the next phase of Shimon’s life. While visiting his first supplier on his first trip to India, the smell of glue transported him back to his childhood in Israel, “I felt like I was eight again, visiting my father’s workshop. I knew then that this is what I was meant to do,” he told me.
As a man who is always questioning and very observant, it’s of no surprise that when I asked him what drives him, Shimon answered “curiosity”. Once again he brought his father up. “I learnt curiosity by watching him,” he said, recounting how his father was constantly curious to meet and talk with people, even strangers on the street.
“If there’s one thing we can give our children it’s to help them develop their sense of curiosity, to encourage them to want to learn, especially in this day and age when everything is at their fingertips.” At first this statement came to me as a surprise, but then I quickly understood just how true it rings and that it makes perfect sense. Especially to me, a mother of three little children, who I can only hope will hang onto the curiosity they possess today when they are fully-grown.
Shimon’s heightened sense of curiosity is definitely what has pushed forth his creativity. Artemano is Shimon’s artistic expression rooted in the notion that simplicity is beautiful and that beauty isn’t a thought, but rather an emotion, which unquestionably he feels when he walks into his stores. With Artemano, Shimon conveys, through his personal lens, all of his experiences and his creativity.
Shimon’s creativity and artistry are also expressed through his photography. As we talked, he was taking photographs inside his boutiques and showed me how he captured the beauty, magic and mystery evoked by a row of lit candles or the specific way light hit an ornamental fish, giving it a life-like quality.
It’s obvious that photography also plays a crucial role during Shimon’s travels, which he describes as “my school of life.” Shimon has spent lots of time in India, Thailand and Indonesia. As he spoke to me about India, I felt the love he has for the country in the weight of his words and the glimmer in his eyes. “India is a country of extreme contrasts. The most extreme misery. You’ll see scenes there that are torturous to watch. The test is to make a choice whether to look at all the misery or all the beauty that the country has to offer. The people there are so amazing. The minute you make eye contact with them and you recognize that they exist, that they’re a person, they smile right away.” It is clear that the time Shimon spends abroad is special and he left me with a desire and yes, curiosity, to visit those countries.
Travelling has given Shimon the gift and the ability to recognize just how complete nature is. His love of wood has emerged thanks to his travels, but it’s actually a love that originates from the time he was a little boy spending time with his father, the carpenter. It’s clear that Shimon has come full circle. It also explains the dominant role that wood plays in the Artemano world.
As our time together was coming to an end, Shimon conveyed just how excited he is about the future. He is convinced that he still has a lot to learn, experience and discover, “I don’t know what else is waiting for me. I think that this journey is magical and it will show me things and places.” One thing he’s sure of is that expressing all of his awe-inspiring moments, which happen constantly while he’s travelling is a must. And Artemano is his channel of expression and through which he fulfills his vision to help people turn their homes into an escape.
One thing I’m sure of is that I value the few hours I spent with Shimon. They were just a glimpse into who he is and what his journey is about. I left not only happy and grateful that I had gotten to know a bit about this man, who is so full of depth, but also with an understanding that passion, creativity, a love of life and a willingness to constantly learn are some of the key components behind the success of the Artemano story.