A That's series where we ask a Beijing-based somebody to tell us 5 Things specific to his or her life.
The saying ‘one man’s junk is another man’s treasure’ could not apply any better to Glenn Schuitman, co-founder of the popular design shop and community hangout, POP-UP Beijing. Schuitman has always had a thing for collecting things so, if you ask us, it’s not all that surprising the he ended up pursuing a career in design. Schuitman is a Kiwi-Dutch, who was born and raised in New Zealand. And he has been traveling around the world, collecting things since he was a boy. Perhaps it was his desire to explore and experience new things that led him to make the snap decision to move to Beijing over 10 years ago. Well, we suppose it wasn’t exactly a snap decision.
Schuitman first came to China on a quick trip en route to his new home in the Netherlands. However, something about Beijing just pulled him in. As he puts it, “I decided to stay an extra week, then an extra three months, then an extra year. And the rest, as they say, is history.” According to Schuitman the idea for POP-UP Beijing came about while he was spending a lot of time in Japan. However, after the Sendai earthquake those plans quickly fell apart. That is, until he decided to turn all of his attention to creating POP-UP Beijing. Schuitman now runs his popular shop with his business partner Vito Zhang, also an avid collector.
Between hunting for treasures, managing his business and hosting community events Schuitman is a busy, busy man. But he took some time out of his crazy schedule to chat with us here at That’s Beijing about the art of collecting.
What makes you so interested in collecting things, and what is your earliest collecting memory?
This comes from my family! Both my mother and father were amazing collectors of things diverse and fascinating – antique clocks and miniature steam engines, antique silverware, vintage pinball machines (we had 10!), firearms, antique pieces from around Asia, antique Colonial farm equipment. The list goes on and on and on and… well, you get the idea.
I have two distinct collecting memories. One was my obsession with Matchbox cars, which I selected fastidiously or rejected brutally (as my mother still reminds me). The other was old broken clocks. I used to find them in junk shops or markets, take them home and pull them apart to see how they worked. I often ended up with piles of fascinating cogs and wheels but sometimes managed to reassemble them to working condition. Oh, and I’ve been obsessed with Legos all my life. My idea of heaven, is an endless ocean of Lego bricks in all shapes, sizes and colors – to build things forever!
What is your most prized item you’ve ever collected?
Oh, that’s a hard question. I have so many collections, mostly in storage in New Zealand. But perhaps my most prized possession(s) are the three wedding rings I wear every day – one from my grandmother, one from my grandfather and one from my own father. After each of them passed, I was granted these precious and sacred items. I look at them every day, and no matter how far the rest of my family are from me, these are my touchstones, to bring them all back to my heart.
We have a late Victorian wall clock hanging on the wall in our store. It is a classic European style, but was actually made in Central Japan in the late 19th century. I found it at a temple fair in Kyoto, just before the Sendai earthquake, by which time I was back in Tokyo. It was one of the only things I took with me when I left a few days later, as the threat of nuclear radiation loomed large. We call it the ‘Confused Clock,’ because it chimes whenever it feels like it, and the hours hand is very selective in its movement. I don’t really want to repair it, as its state somehow represents the confusion and chaos of the time. It’s very precious to me, as it symbolizes the end of my time in Japan and the beginning of a new era here in Beijing. So it's the only thing in the showroom not for sale!
How do you go about discovering new things?
My amazing business partner, Vito Zhang, and I find some of our favorite pieces in pretty obscure places. At least once a fortnight we ‘go fishing,’ driving around Beijing’s outer reaches and fossicking in some pretty obscure places. Some of our favorite pieces we’ve found in junk yards or even in rubbish heaps on the side of the road! We have no shame in digging through piles of rubbish in search of treasures. With a little love and tender care, the most derelict object can turn into a gleaming gem, infused with the charm of a life well lived. These are the fun moments, and sometimes we find ourselves in gales of laughter over finding the most ridiculous things. These are perhaps the moments we love the most.
What’s the most creative way you’ve re-appropriated a piece?
My business partner Vito is somewhat obsessed with water pipes and heads to our basement workshop whenever time allows to make lights and chairs and tables and shelving and all sorts of objects from these common, repurposed tubes! Some are downright comical and lots of fun. We also turned a large iron antique European fire grill into the perfect shelf for our wine bottles, behind our bar! Actually, the list goes on and on and on, as we really value the principles of repurposing and re-appropriating. Too much is thrown away and rejected, polluting the earth and our environment. There is so much that can be done with the most mundane objects with just a little thought and love.
What sorts of décor items catch your eye?
Personally, I’m attracted to anything that shows the glow and warm patina of age and use - whether it be wooden, fabric, art or jewelry. I like pieces to show their history, like wrinkles on the face of a beautiful older person – the smile lines that reflect a life richly lived. I value ‘function,' but I love it when ‘form’ reflects history and love. I have two coffee grinders at home. One is electric, fast, practical. The other is from the 1920s. It’s in pristine condition, beautifully made and operated with a crank handle.
Which do I use? The antique one, of course! Perhaps it’s because, as a child, it was my job every Sunday to grind the coffee beans in a similar grinder for my grandmother. It takes me back to those magical days in my grandmother’s kitchen, the smell of coffee brewing, cakes in the oven, and the waft of cigar smoke and the murmur of heated discussion from the sitting room. Or, perhaps, I just love the ritual and process of doing things ‘slowly,’ with consideration and effort and focus. The feeling through the crank handle (of the beans being crushed), the sound of grinding, and the wonderful aroma that emanates from the small drawer as I open it on completion...
Life is more than just ‘function.’ We are sentimental creatures, with different emotional and aesthetic needs. Finding harmony and peace in our environment, allows us to find harmony and peace within ourselves, as well as creating a sense of belonging and a sense of ‘place.’ These things are all-the-more important in the context of these crazy lives we lead in a megacity such as Beijing!
To learn more about POP-UP Beijing and all of their upcoming events check out their website by clicking here.
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