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ENLARGE
Jake Costello, right, and wife Yuko Abo own Kodo Arts, a warehouse that blossoms into a Kyoto antiques market twice a year on Searls Avenue in Nevada City.
For most of the year, Kodo Arts is just a shuttered warehouse among the cluster of commercial and industrial buildings in the Seven Hills Business District of Nevada City.
But twice a year, it blossoms into a showcase of Japanese antiques and art.
As a resident of Kyoto, Jake Costello spends most of the year shrewdly collecting antiques of all kinds at markets and auctions in and around the historic Japanese city, which was the capital of imperial Japan for hundreds of years.
Once a year, he packs his treasures into a 40-foot container for shipment to Nevada City.
About a month before each nine-day event in spring and autumn, Costello and his wife Yuko Abo arrive to begin the labor-intensive effort of unpacking, preparing and arranging the show and sale — converting a warehouse into a showroom.
Sharing a cup of coffee in a cluttered maze of exquisite antiquities, Costello promised when the warehouse opens Saturday, April 25, “It will look like a museum.”
Blending form and function
Costello likes to think of himself as an antique recycler. He doesn’t want to sell dust collectors.
Although he certainly sells art for art’s sake, he specializes in antiques that can still serve a useful — and artistic — purpose, whether it be a hand-woven flower basket or an imposing chest of drawers.
He repurposes some pieces to keep them both artful and functional. A thick glass top from Moule’s Glass in Grass Valley placed over a large, ornate hibachi becomes a decorative end table.
Likewise, a polished slab of Nevada City Granite converts a chest of cedar drawers into a unique and usable kitchen counter.
Whenever he can, Costello likes to partner with area merchants. He also hires local artisans schooled in traditional Japanese carpentry to preserve delicate items in sturdy frames and tables.
The price is right
With each nine-day show and sale, Costello said he tries to recreate the affordable experience of strolling through an antique flea market in Kyoto.
“My main range is $10 to $300,” he said. This is for household items ranging from bowls and baskets, lamps, tabletop altars, statuettes and various utilitarian items.
Furniture prices range from $500 to $1,500 — and all prices are negotiable.
For the serious collector, Costello does have high-end antiques priced as high as $15,000. For example, he’s selling a 17th century shirt of chain-mail armor. Make an offer.
“I have a passion for the aesthetic of Japan. I feel good about saving the pieces and keeping them alive,” said the former Peace Corps volunteer who emigrated to Japan after serving in the Philippines.
Why Nevada City?
“I could make more money in Chicago,” said the Midwest native.
When he first started importing and selling Japanese antiques 20 years ago, Costello staged his shows in places such as Detroit, Chicago and Wisconsin.
Then he visited his friend, acupuncturist Perry Cohen of Nevada City, in 2003, and was impressed.
“I thought Nevada City was a pocket of high culture and beauty,” Costello said. “I wanted to be in a place that is more akin to my values.”
Citing the strong sense of community and commitment to the environment, Costello decided to move his U.S. base of operations here in 2007.
His wife Abo agreed with the decision. “People living here have an understanding of the beauty of nature.”
Tom Durkin is a freelance writer based in Nevada City. For comments on this article,
e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.
But twice a year, it blossoms into a showcase of Japanese antiques and art.
As a resident of Kyoto, Jake Costello spends most of the year shrewdly collecting antiques of all kinds at markets and auctions in and around the historic Japanese city, which was the capital of imperial Japan for hundreds of years.
Once a year, he packs his treasures into a 40-foot container for shipment to Nevada City.
About a month before each nine-day event in spring and autumn, Costello and his wife Yuko Abo arrive to begin the labor-intensive effort of unpacking, preparing and arranging the show and sale — converting a warehouse into a showroom.
Sharing a cup of coffee in a cluttered maze of exquisite antiquities, Costello promised when the warehouse opens Saturday, April 25, “It will look like a museum.”
Blending form and function
Costello likes to think of himself as an antique recycler. He doesn’t want to sell dust collectors.
Although he certainly sells art for art’s sake, he specializes in antiques that can still serve a useful — and artistic — purpose, whether it be a hand-woven flower basket or an imposing chest of drawers.
He repurposes some pieces to keep them both artful and functional. A thick glass top from Moule’s Glass in Grass Valley placed over a large, ornate hibachi becomes a decorative end table.
Likewise, a polished slab of Nevada City Granite converts a chest of cedar drawers into a unique and usable kitchen counter.
Whenever he can, Costello likes to partner with area merchants. He also hires local artisans schooled in traditional Japanese carpentry to preserve delicate items in sturdy frames and tables.
The price is right
With each nine-day show and sale, Costello said he tries to recreate the affordable experience of strolling through an antique flea market in Kyoto.
“My main range is $10 to $300,” he said. This is for household items ranging from bowls and baskets, lamps, tabletop altars, statuettes and various utilitarian items.
Furniture prices range from $500 to $1,500 — and all prices are negotiable.
For the serious collector, Costello does have high-end antiques priced as high as $15,000. For example, he’s selling a 17th century shirt of chain-mail armor. Make an offer.
“I have a passion for the aesthetic of Japan. I feel good about saving the pieces and keeping them alive,” said the former Peace Corps volunteer who emigrated to Japan after serving in the Philippines.
Why Nevada City?
“I could make more money in Chicago,” said the Midwest native.
When he first started importing and selling Japanese antiques 20 years ago, Costello staged his shows in places such as Detroit, Chicago and Wisconsin.
Then he visited his friend, acupuncturist Perry Cohen of Nevada City, in 2003, and was impressed.
“I thought Nevada City was a pocket of high culture and beauty,” Costello said. “I wanted to be in a place that is more akin to my values.”
Citing the strong sense of community and commitment to the environment, Costello decided to move his U.S. base of operations here in 2007.
His wife Abo agreed with the decision. “People living here have an understanding of the beauty of nature.”
Tom Durkin is a freelance writer based in Nevada City. For comments on this article,
e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.
