Pacific Bonsai Expo, October 26-27, 2024, Oakland, CA

[Nybonsai12]

@NaoTK
All the pots look so good. Pikachu pot would look good at my house. any left?

 

[Ruddigger]

Portland makes sense, unless you’re Eric and Jonas. Trying to organize an event that takes place that far away from where you live adds another layer of difficulty. Plus I have to believe there’s some layer of involvement with GSBF, here in California, based on the fact that all three gardens were represented. (The Bald Cypress from the Huntington was in bad shape btw.)

I’m glad that California is getting back on top in the bonsai scene again.

 

[Canada Bonsai]

Lots of bonsai people want an excuse to see America's bonsai capital. Many reasons Oregon is an easier lift

Would certainly make a more fun weekend (and, selfishly, and easier drive from Canada).

I'm also waiting for somebody to organize an exhibition in Manhattan -- one not just meant for us bonsai folks, but one designed to really draw in tens of thousands of people like a touring Van Gogh exhibit. I had heard whispers about this 4-5 years ago, but to my knowledge it hasn't made any progress.

 

[ZombieNick]

Show was amazing, it was great meeting everyone!

Interviews with the winners:

 

[Hartinez]

Show was amazing, it was great meeting everyone!

Interviews with the winners:

Man. I couldn’t help but find the part where Jeff stern is talking about the root over rock of his that won a prize and the other dude comes in and is like, yeah I know the history of this tree better than you do.

 

[Wood]

The Bald Cypress from the Huntington was in bad shape btw.

This was the only tree that felt like it was distinctly of lower quality than the rest of the expo, which is such a refreshing change from Nationals. Limiting the expo to fewer displays dramatically helped each tree be seen for how high quality they really are

 

[Shogun610]

Why would you ever want to organize an event In Manhattan, it’s so gaudy and cliche.

Would certainly make a more fun weekend (and, selfishly, and easier drive from Canada).

I'm also waiting for somebody to organize an exhibition in Manhattan -- one not just meant for us bonsai folks, but one designed to really draw in tens of thousands of people like a touring Van Gogh exhibit. I had heard whispers about this 4-5 years ago, but to my knowledge it hasn't made any progress.

 

[Shogun610]

This was the only tree that felt like it was distinctly of lower quality than the rest of the expo, which is such a refreshing change from Nationals. Limiting the expo to fewer displays dramatically helped each tree be seen for how high quality they really are

I agree even though I only saw videos of the pacific expo.. there was too many trees in the nationals last year that were of poor quality.

 

[Ruddigger]

Oakland was even worse than last time. I know of at least one vendor that had his truck broken into at the hotel. There must be another bay area city that could be an option. San Jose maybe?

 

[IzzyG]

This was such a great show. Truly high quality top notch trees from to back. Myself and @Colorado must have walked the exhibit 2 dozen times finding more details with every pass. It was a fun exercise in measuring trees up, not with my own, but with each other as a means to rank them. Not an easy task that’s for sure. It was nice having a highly curated smaller show rather than too many trees.

I really liked the venue personally, though I’ve heard the bridge yard 2 years ago was far more dramatic. The light still worked well and the venue was awfully large but handled well. Didn’t see it till we broke down but it was the old basketball court for the Cal Golden Bears basketball team with pac10 logos still intact. I got a laugh out of that.

The trees were truly the stars though the vendor selection was so so good. As @BrianBay9 said, there was a pot for every flavor. I made my way home with a @NaoTK pot an @Sansokuu arts pot and a Richard Kearney pot. TJ also gifted me a beautiful little glazed drum. So much available. Almost overwhelming.

I def had favorite trees but the hemlocks were my favorite. These are not trees I get to see often so it was a treat. The xl conifer winning dougie was so so good and one of my favorites. The black matte steel stand disappeared in a special kind of way.

While I do agree for the most part the winner of best in show, I can’t help but think that @yenling83 Redwood was high up on the post and def a contender for best in show. Just wonderfully handled from the accent to the ramification and full display. Cheers to you on that Jeremiah.

@Eric Schrader produced a very interesting center piece and it was cool to hear the back story on Bjorns video. Great show all together.

Met several BNUTTERS as well. @Wood was great to chill with. Met @misfit11 and @ZombieNick and I drank several tiki drinks and beers with @Ruddigger . That was a blast and believe me when I say he’s every bit of a grouch in person as he is online.

I also got to spend significant time with Austin Heitzman which was badass. TJ and I Rolled with him to a small gathering at Sam Tans house in San Francisco and looked at his new garden and enjoyed some great conversation with good bonsai folks over many many drinks.

walked for miles and miles with @Colorado , met great new people, gave out a bunch of bonsai corazon stickers and ended my trip volunteering to breakdown the tables back drops and anything else needed. My legs are tired but my tree nerd bonsai heart is full. And thank goodness I decided to keep my collection and not throw everything out upon return. Hell, maybe I’ll have my own tree in the show someday.

It was cool to meet in person and chat for a little while. Still have my sticker!

 

[Hartinez]

It was cool to meet in person and chat for a little while. Still have my sticker!

Aw man! Forgot we saw each other at Sam’s house! Glad I got you a sticker Izzy! Wish I could have had hours more to talk to everyone. If you couldn’t tell, I’m a talker and just love talking with folks who love bonsai also.

 

[OTown]

This was the only tree that felt like it was distinctly of lower quality than the rest of the expo, which is such a refreshing change from Nationals. Limiting the expo to fewer displays dramatically helped each tree be seen for how high quality they really are

I know right? It needs a restyling badly.

I like Ryan Neal's idea of putting out a request for proposal from invited professonals. That tree could be sooo much more.

 

[ZombieNick]

Pretty sure this is the same tree (but flipped), could be wrong.

2019 at the Huntington:


2024 at the PBE:

 

[MACH5]

Would certainly make a more fun weekend (and, selfishly, and easier drive from Canada).

I'm also waiting for somebody to organize an exhibition in Manhattan -- one not just meant for us bonsai folks, but one designed to really draw in tens of thousands of people like a touring Van Gogh exhibit. I had heard whispers about this 4-5 years ago, but to my knowledge it hasn't made any progress.

Several years ago Ryan Neil wanted to organize an exhibit at MOMA. Next level Artisan's Cup type of event. Regardless of who organizes it, I would love for that to happen but I think we may be light years away from high profile institutions such as MOMA to accept bonsai as a legitimate art form. But try we shall!

 

[Canada Bonsai]

Why would you ever want to organize an event In Manhattan, it’s so gaudy and cliche.

(Putting the fact that I disagree with you aside) Manhattan has a volume of tourists as well a local exhibit-going population that is very hard to find anywhere else on the continent, in addition to a high concentration of celebrities.

As an aside, do you know what Tommy Lee did for bonsai in the past few years, or a bonsai appearing in Dune for 10 seconds? The impact has been enormous.

It's fantasy, but a bonsai exhibit at the MET would be bonkers, but there is no shortage of museums and galleries with both indoor and outdoor spaces that could draw more people per hour than our largest exhibitions draw per weekend. There is of course no other reason to compare to Nationals or PBE, this exhibition would be intended to serve a radically different objective.

The logistics are not totally unrealistic - these buildings and teams are used to moving delicate expensive things. Initial funding is probably the biggest problem, I would imagine.

Edit: Serg I just saw your post after I hit submit! Please keep producing those incredible trees and you'll take the art form to the MOMA for us, we're all counting on you

 

[littletreefarmer]

(Putting the fact that I disagree with you aside) Manhattan has a volume of tourists as well a local exhibit-going population that is very hard to find anywhere else on the continent, in addition to a high concentration of celebrities.

As an aside, do you know what Tommy Lee did for bonsai in the past few years, or a bonsai appearing in Dune for 10 seconds? The impact has been enormous.

It's fantasy, but a bonsai exhibit at the MET would be bonkers, but there is no shortage of museums and galleries with both indoor and outdoor spaces that could draw more people per hour than our largest exhibitions draw per weekend. There is of course no other reason to compare to Nationals or PBE, this exhibition would be intended to serve a radically different objective.

The logistics are not totally unrealistic - these buildings and teams are used to moving delicate expensive things. Initial funding is probably the biggest problem, I would imagine.

Edit: Serg I just saw your post after I hit submit! Please keep producing those incredible trees and you'll take the art form to the MOMA for us, we're all counting on you

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Agree 100%, even more with the Van Gogh themed show. Paintings and bonsai. Van Gogh loved painting tree roots to show both his influences from the Japanese aesthetic style, but also the representation of life overcoming adversity; is bonsai not trying to convey the same story? It's almost a no-brainer to me.

 

[MACH5]

Agree 100%, even more with the Van Gogh themed show. Paintings and bonsai. Van Gogh loved painting tree roots to show both his influences from the Japanese aesthetic style, but also the representation of life overcoming adversity; is bonsai not trying to convey the same story? It's almost a no-brainer to me.

Yes, but it is a matter of optics. Bonsai is generally still regarded as a crafty pastime under the horticultural bucket. Van Gogh is a painter which falls under a well established and recognized age-old art canon. I think it will happen but it will take a while and a lot more doing to get bonsai there.

 

[Pitoon]

This was such a great show. Truly high quality top notch trees from to back. Myself and @Colorado must have walked the exhibit 2 dozen times finding more details with every pass. It was a fun exercise in measuring trees up, not with my own, but with each other as a means to rank them. Not an easy task that’s for sure. It was nice having a highly curated smaller show rather than too many trees.

I really liked the venue personally, though I’ve heard the bridge yard 2 years ago was far more dramatic. The light still worked well and the venue was awfully large but handled well. Didn’t see it till we broke down but it was the old basketball court for the Cal Golden Bears basketball team with pac10 logos still intact. I got a laugh out of that.

The trees were truly the stars though the vendor selection was so so good. As @BrianBay9 said, there was a pot for every flavor. I made my way home with a @NaoTK pot an @Sansokuu arts pot and a Richard Kearney pot. TJ also gifted me a beautiful little glazed drum. So much available. Almost overwhelming.

I def had favorite trees but the hemlocks were my favorite. These are not trees I get to see often so it was a treat. The xl conifer winning dougie was so so good and one of my favorites. The black matte steel stand disappeared in a special kind of way.

While I do agree for the most part the winner of best in show, I can’t help but think that @yenling83 Redwood was high up on the post and def a contender for best in show. Just wonderfully handled from the accent to the ramification and full display. Cheers to you on that Jeremiah.

@Eric Schrader produced a very interesting center piece and it was cool to hear the back story on Bjorns video. Great show all together.

Met several BNUTTERS as well. @Wood was great to chill with. Met @misfit11 and @ZombieNick and I drank several tiki drinks and beers with @Ruddigger . That was a blast and believe me when I say he’s every bit of a grouch in person as he is online.

I also got to spend significant time with Austin Heitzman which was badass. TJ and I Rolled with him to a small gathering at Sam Tans house in San Francisco and looked at his new garden and enjoyed some great conversation with good bonsai folks over many many drinks.

walked for miles and miles with @Colorado , met great new people, gave out a bunch of bonsai corazon stickers and ended my trip volunteering to breakdown the tables back drops and anything else needed. My legs are tired but my tree nerd bonsai heart is full. And thank goodness I decided to keep my collection and not throw everything out upon return. Hell, maybe I’ll have my own tree in the show someday.

It was nice catching up with you again Danny!

 

[Pitoon]

Oakland was even worse than last time. I know of at least one vendor that had his truck broken into at the hotel. There must be another bay area city that could be an option. San Jose maybe?

I heard of a truck getting broken into, yet nothing was taken. That's why I stayed down in San Jose during my stay there.

 

[Hartinez]

It was nice catching up with you again Danny!

My man. I’m so glad we got to chat for a while. It’ll be nice to continue to catch up with this Bonsai Events. Invitation stands in Albuquerque if you ever get an itch