What's the bourgeoisie class of bonsai enthusiasts like?

[Agriff]

Looking at the Mirai gallery of trees, I couldn't help but wonder who would buy a finished tree from Ryan Neil for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. So I did some searching and actually found an architectural digest article in which Ryan is interviewed and this is what he has to say about some of his clientele:

Our client list is starting to become extremely exclusive, but inside of that we have to sign nondisclosures. We live in Amazon country, Microsoft country, Nike country, Adidas country, and William Kennedy country, so the client list is pretty rich up here. We also have strong connections in Florida, New York, Texas, and the Bay Area. All of the trees we sell are trees that have to exist outdoors. I have a client that lives in Manhattan in an I.M. Pei building, and he’s got marble shelves that face a mitered-corner glass window. So there are clients that have found situations where they’re capable of cultivating these indoors, but it’s an extremely challenging thing to do. We also end up potentially designing the space in which their trees are held.

Which is something that I find fascinating. I get that rich people like to possess beautiful art, but it's wild to me that one would choose a form of art that's so highly niche. I can't imagine that someone who can afford to buy such a tree would also have the skills to take care of it, which means you're also looking at hiring professional bonsai caretakers.

Now I'm wondering, who are these people that take care of these trees? Are any of you on here "professional bonsai maintainers"?

I know it's considered gauche to discuss the particulars of ultra wealth, but I am not nearly as concerned with social mores as I am with knowing more about who these people are and what goes on in this neck of the bonsai woods! Does anyone have any insight they're willing to share?

 

[Big Sky Little Trees]

I know it's considered gauche to discuss the particulars of ultra wealth, but I am not nearly as concerned with social mores as I am with knowing more about who these people are and what goes on in this neck of the bonsai woods! Does anyone have any insight they're willing to share?

Though wealth sets them apart, they are human and beauty has a “somewhat” universal appeal.

Consider the beginning of bonsai in Japan and even further back in China, I would imagine that wealth likely had a hand in cultivation of the art, speaking to space and materials, as well as permanence of location to allow year upon year growth.

You broach an interesting topic, one which I have seen in many art forms, and have seen its impact in aquarist pursuits as well.

There is an aquarium shop in my town that doesn’t really keep its doors open for us little fish keeping folk as they concentrate on expansive aquarium maintenance for wealthy clientele.

When I was younger I was a barista at a niche downtown art coffee house and there was a young lady patron whose job was to upkeep plants in general at a bunch of lawyer’s, doctor’s, etc offices.

When I see some of the masterpiece specimens of bonsai online, I almost expect a certain amount of wealth or at least institutional care to maintain some of those trees.

Though to our eyes the ultra wealthy seem a tier above, most urban, suburban, and developed nation rural dwellers are in the top ten percent globally. It is all a matter of perspective.

Yet with that being said, I have seen some interesting videos of discussions with truly poverty stricken bonsai masters in South East Asia.

...and coming from my own experience as a fine art oil painter, often the cost to purchase is a matter of creator expectations.

I have sold paintings that I essentially earned third world wages to produce best I just wanted the work out there, and I have paintings that I have produced that regardless of general opinion as to quality it would take a vast amount of money to part these from my possession, and I can see similar future for my bonsai work if I find even a similar amount of success.

It is curious the thoughts, emotions, experiences, and expectations that art produces.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Though some are personal buyers, I assume many are commercial. I know that the Nikko Hotel in Chicago had (or perhaps still has) an interior courtyard garden with several high-end trees. Banks, restaurants, etc... Reminds me of some of the hotels in Vegas with ginormous saltwater aquariums and the like (to mirror what @Big Sky Little Trees said above). Koi ponds, salt water aquariums, Japanese gardens... all require a lot of labor and maintenance, and some people/organizations have the money to pay for it. The largest koi business in SoCal doesn't sell many koi. They maintain koi ponds for the folks in Laguna Beach who want to watch the sun set over the Pacific will tossing koi pellets to their fish... in crystalline water, no less

The people who visit this site are, for the most part, people who practice bonsai. There are some who appreciate the beauty without wanting to touch a tree, but I'm not sure they hang out here.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Rich people have Ferrari's that they hire people to maintain, and fishing equipment, kitchens and toilets. What they like is to own nice stuff, which is a pretty good use for money. The people who are paid to make or maintain everything need to have other people with enough money to buy their services. Bonsai is just another thing and it's important to every art to have a range of buyers, otherwise there would be no place for high end trees.

 

[just.wing.it]

Rich people have Ferrari's that they hire people to maintain, and fishing equipment, kitchens and toilets. What they like is to own nice stuff, which is a pretty good use for money. The people who are paid to make or maintain everything need to have other people with enough money to buy their services. Bonsai is just another thing and it's important to every art to have a range of buyers, otherwise there would be no place for high end trees.

Yup.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Bonsai can be handy for tax evasion too.
How much is a tree worth on paper to the IRS? Five bucks worth of firewood?
Give a bunch to your kids, have them sell it back to the middleman, rinse and repeat.

 

[TinyArt]

...lapses into fantasy of updating resume: "bonsai-sitter, bonded and insured"

 

[Potawatomi13]

Personally feel a certainty that "some" of these privileged few keeping Bonsai do work them themselves to help fill the void of disconnectedness from nature. While far from privileged watching grow, ramify, develop over time and as Springs and Summers go by brings personal home space closer to great outdoors for me as well as giving peace of spirit.

 

[Potawatomi13]

...lapses into fantasy of updating resume: "bonsai-sitter, bonded and insured"

Now there is a job even a retiree can do. Great idea ((-;

 

[TinyArt]

Now there is a job even a retiree can do. Great idea ((-;

If wishes were horses... On all fronts!

 

[leatherback]

I know many bonsai artist provide maintenance services to trees. The school I am in gets trees from customers to work over and store over winter. That is mid-level quality bonsai (say, 5-10K trees). More than one befriended artists of mine works bonsai in clients gardens on the side of their other bonsai services.

Going out on a mental trip: I would imagine that when you buy a tree like that, you could buy a full service package with it. Persons who can spend 100K on an art objects often will be able to afford a few thousands annual as pruning & repotting fee, and who knows, fly someone in for a day twice a year to do the complex tasks. They might have more extensive gardens / greeneries that are maintained by a gardener whoch will do the day-to-day work. Seeing Mirai subscription services for their online videos I would imagine you can reach out and have live feedback in case the local gardener has concerns.

 

[ShimpakuBonsai]

Some people spend $100,000 on cars, watches, juwelery and so on like we spend $1,000 on something.
So I'm sure there is a market for those expensive trees.

 

[Shibui]

I believe it is common practice in Japan for wealthy people to own bonsai but pay a bonsai professional to look after, maintain and prepare the tree for a show. Not unlike Western people own race horses but pay a trainer to look after them and prepare them for racing.
Sometimes the trees live at the nursery and are only at the owner's home for special occasions. Remember that some Japanese bonsai are classified as National Treasures and there are many restrictions around what can be done to them, and by whom, so this is an entire level above most Western bonsai and will partly explain the different approach to care and maintenance.

This ethic also appears to be slowly working its way into Western bonsai as @leatherback has mentioned. I know most of our bonsai nurseries offer a maintenance service for clients but few actually look after the trees permanently - yet.
I have a couple of clients who send trees here for annual maintenance but certainly not in the range of value mentioned in this thread!

 

[just.wing.it]

Considering the global economic collapse we're about to live through, having some 6 figure bonsai art in your possession could be as good as gold.....to the right person.
When inflation hits hard, art and other physical things gain value.....who knows.... maybe one day you'll be trading a nice bonsai for some plumbing work at the house.
The super wealthy people have always dabbled in the art collection game, but especially in the down times.....and many of them would consider themselves merely collectors.
Similar thing as rich Bonsai owners who have a blackthumb.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I'm stockpiling cases of whiskey for currency in the upcoming global economic collapse. Booze, food and ammunition will be the only goods people will barter with when it all goes south. In the chaos, the last thing a hungry person needs is a little tree in a pot.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

I'm stockpiling cases of whiskey for currency in the upcoming global economic collapse. Booze, food and ammunition will be the only goods people will barter with when it all goes south. In the chaos, the last thing a hungry person needs is a little tree in a pot.

Don't forget tobacco.

 

[Dav4]

I'm stockpiling cases of whiskey for currency in the upcoming global economic collapse. Booze, food and ammunition will be the only goods people will barter with when it all goes south. In the chaos, the last thing a hungry person needs is a little tree in a pot.

Well, I'm definitely lacking in the ammo department, and most of my non perishables have sell by dates that expired 3 or 4 years ago... but I've got enough booze in the house to keep a battalion from the Irish army fall down drunk for a month. I guess I've been planning appropriately .

 

[hinmo24t]

Personally feel a certainty that "some" of these privileged few keeping Bonsai do work them themselves to help fill the void of disconnectedness from nature. While far from privileged watching grow, ramify, develop over time and as Springs and Summers go by brings personal home space closer to great outdoors for me as well as giving peace of spirit.

labeling people with money as privileged is pretty cheap minded in my opinion. i am middle class and worked for everything i have, same with my family, but we dont assume someone is privileged because of their amount of money or skin color. a lot of people drink that kool aid so youre not alone. most wealthy people i deal with (and i do deal with with them at work and personally) have busted their rear end for their whole lives. 6+ years higher education and work their tail off, assume risk and manage it, commit a lot of their time to earning what they have, and provide opportunity for others to make a living at the same time. im thankful for that, and bet a lot of people around the world would say the same and wish there was more of it. i deal with electrical company owners who bust their ass and make good money, lots of them. like the owner of the company i work for, with no education except hard work and self motivation

soft ass world, sound like a baby



and i do understand there are bums, losers, spoiled, privileged, etc. in any population, anywhere

 

[Forsoothe!]

Yes, Larry Ellison is one of those high end collectors, I have no idea if he plays with them or not. He's a good example of super rich people who came from nothing, or actually less than nothing. Statistically, rich people are just passing through, most family money disappears by the end of the second generation. Most people who get rich are particularly focused and surround themselves with others who are focused and results-oriented people, and that describes high end bonsai, too.

 

[BobbyLane]

labeling people with money as privileged is pretty cheap minded in my opinion. i am middle class and worked for everything i have, same with my family, but we dont assume someone is privileged because of their amount of money or skin color. a lot of people drink that kool aid so youre not alone. most wealthy people i deal with (and i do deal with with them at work and personally) have busted their rear end for their whole lives. 6+ years higher education and work their tail off, assume risk and manage it, commit a lot of their time to earning what they have, and provide opportunity for others to make a living at the same time. im thankful for that, and bet a lot of people around the world would say the same and wish there was more of it. i deal with electrical company owners who bust their ass and make good money, lots of them. like the owner of the company i work for, with no education except hard work and self motivation

soft ass world, sound like a baby



and i do understand there are bums, losers, spoiled, privileged, etc. in any population, anywhere

with all the money youve made from working your ass off, whats the most you would spend on a tree to treat yourself lets say, or do you have a limit?