Donning Door County

Volume 11 issue 3
complimentary
Donning
Door County
getups for work and play
norbert blei
knee deep in frogs & toads
door county’s own horse whisperer
restaurant & lodging guides
autumn 2013
ART SCENE
ART SCENE
THE LINDEN CENTRE
The Lindens converted a courtyard residential complex in Yunnan Province
into the Linden Centre, a 16-room hotel, in 2007. Submitted photo.
“What drives us is the desire to be cultural ambassadors
between two countries and two cultures,” said Brian Linden,
on his and Jeanee’s business motivation. This desire inspired
their gallery and also the founding of The Linden Centre in
Xizhou in China’s Yunnan Province in 2008.
The Lindens explain the center is similar to The Clearing or
The Aspen Institute. They bring leading thinkers to their rural
retreat and offer tours that mix academics and culture. Brian
said, “We’re trying to put together a new travel paradigm. It’s
not just about taking photos, but trying to immerse travelers
into the culture – bring them into people’s homes.”
t’s easy to become complacent in
the everyday, the routine. After
meeting with Jeanee and Brian
Linden of the Linden Gallery
of Ellison Bay, however, one is
reminded how important it is
to travel past familiar boundaries. Fortunately for Door County residents and
visitors, The Linden Gallery offers a convenient trip from the ordinary.
The Lindens opened the gallery in
1995, after they discovered Trinity Lutheran Church, built in 1955, was for
2 Door County Living Autumn 2013
sale at a good price. They credit the
building as being one of the reasons they
ended up in Door County. Jeanee says,
“The church spoke to us. It was empty
for two years, and we had a vision from
the start.”
Their vision was for the gallery to serve
as a cultural ambassador. The Lindens
source materials while in Asia and ship
them back to the Ellison Bay gallery,
bringing in an array of Asian furniture,
antiques, textiles, paintings, porcelain,
silks, jewelry and bronzes.
Brian says, “Our aim is to be a platform to share Asian culture with the
Midwest. So, in a way, it’s not as commercially focused as other Asian galleries.
If we tried to do this in New York, San
Francisco or Chicago, we would have to
make it very commercial, and we didn’t
want it to be based on money.
“In Wisconsin, people’s understanding
of Asia is through the media and manufactured goods,” he adds. “The items we
have are vernacular pieces that can be used
in Western interiors, and each has a story.”
doorcountyliving.com
Another reason the Lindens are committed to owning
and operating these two businesses across the world from
each other are their sons, Shane and Bryce (ages 17 and 14,
respectively). “We want them comfortable living in another
culture and being world citizens. We followed our passion
and wanted the boys to see us struggle, but to see us do
things because we had a dream,” says Brian.
Brian and Jeanee Linden at their gallery in Ellison Bay.
INFORMATION
LINDEN GALLERY
PHONE: (920) 854-2487
ADDRESS: 12001 Mink River Road, Ellison Bay
WEBSITE: LINDENSGALLERY.COM
doorcountyliving.com
The work at the Linden Centre has not gone unnoticed and
they’ve garnered numerous awards and recognition, including: Travel + Leisure’s Global Vision Award, 2010; CNNGo’s Top
Heritage Hotel in China, 2011; and Trip Advisor’s #7 Ranked
Luxury Hotel in China, 2013.
The Lindens appreciate these awards because if their
center is considered a luxury hotel, then they’re redefining
what luxury is and how people travel. This is a point of pride.
“We created places that we ourselves would want to find. We
didn’t find anything like this, so we created it,” adds Jeanee.
Autumn 2013 Door County Living 3
WORKSHOPS
OUTREACH
1-5 Day Workshops
All media • All levels
&
Community Outreach
Free Exhibitions • Free Family Art Days • Iron Pour
3900 County Road F, Fish Creek • 920.868.3455
P eninsula Schoolof Art.com
ART SCENE
ART SCENE
The Lindens personally collect the pieces – and their stories – from all over China
and other parts of rural Asia. “We go out
into the villages and are always out in the
markets and in homes,” says Brian.
Brian is originally from the Chicago
suburbs where his family owned an antique shop.
“They knew the business of hunting
for treasures,” says Jeanee, who is a third
generation Chinese-American from San
Francisco, California.
Both Brian and Jeanee have been in
China intermittently since the ’80s (it’s
where they met). Their backgrounds and
deep appreciation of Chinese culture
gives them an advantage in being welcomed into homes.
“Brian is foreign and speaks excellent
Chinese – there’s an element of trust
that we are experts. We talk to them and
make friends,” says Jeanee.
Along with antiques, the Linden Gallery also shows original artwork, such as
the paintings of Susan Ploughe. Ploughe
met the Lindens when she went on a
painting trip to China in 2008, organized through The Linden Centre, the
Lindens’ other business venture, a cultural retreat located in China’s Yunnan
Province. The gallery now displays her
paintings that were inspired and created
during her trip.
Ploughe says, “I’m still doing paintings
from the photographs I took there of the
Chinese people. I’m going back within
the year to get more material.”
Ploughe focuses on people as her subject matter. “I particularly like painting
the older people who wear traditional
clothing,” she says. “I like to capture
what will soon be gone.”
The gallery also features the artwork of
He Qi, a prestigious painter whose work
Artist Susan Ploughe’s “Serene.” Ploughe met the Lindens when she went on a painting trip to China in 2008, organized through The Linden Centre, the Lindens’ other
business venture located in China’s Yunnan Province.
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4 Door County Living Autumn 2013
doorcountyliving.com
PatriciashoPPe.com
doorcountyliving.com
Autumn 2013 Door County Living 5
ART SCENE
One-of-a-Kind Accessories
for a One-of-a-Kind You
The Linden Gallery is filled with Asian art and artifacts. “Our aim is to be a platform to share Asian
culture with the Midwest,” says Brian Linden.
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Egg Harbor AleFest
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Saturday, September 21st | 1-5pm | VIP Admission at Noon
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Visit EggHarborDoorCounty.org for details & more fun!
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‘One of the Top Ten Coolest Small Towns in America’
‘Best Parade’ ‘Best Fireworks Display’ ‘Best Shopping Experience’
‘The Best Wisconsin Town for Galleries and Art Scene’
6 Door County Living Autumn 2013
is internationally held in high regard.
The only place he shows his work in the
world is the Linden Gallery, a credit to
the Lindens’ reputation in Asia.
their gallery. Brian says, “It’s still funny for
people to come in and say, ‘Do people buy
these things?’ But if you look at architectural magazines this stuff is eternal.”
Brian says, “When he goes to England, he’s met by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and we’re the only gallery that
shows his work in the world. He feels
comfortable with us.”
While the Lindens are successful and
respected in art circles, they would still
like to see new, local faces enter the gal-
Occasionally, the Lindens feel as if the
pieces they’ve attained are too valuable to
sell, such as the Tibetan manuscript case
that was found in a Tibetan temple and
now sits near the altar area in the gallery.
But, ultimately, their goal is to serve as
cultural ambassadors between Asia and
Wisconsin, so they include write-ups
with timelines about certain pieces for
visitors to better access a cultural perspective.
The diversity of the items – in genre
and price – is impressive. An assumption
many people may have about the gallery,
since it looks like a museum, is it’s probably expensive. Brian reassures, “It’s very
affordable. There’s a 1,000-year-old plate
and they can get it for $45…people are
blown away.”
The Lindens say their client base is also
diverse; they even have customers who
fly into Door County specifically to visit
doorcountyliving.com
lery – they cannot be cultural ambassadors if people don’t first step through
their doors. Jeanee says, “The curiosity
is not the same [about the Lindens and
their work in Door County, as it is in
China]; when it’s in your own backyard,
you take it for granted.”
Text - Avant Garde Book
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920-818-0805
doorcountyliving.com
paintings - pottery
jewelry - glass - dolls
wood -Amish quilts,
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Amish Quilt & Holiday Craft Shows 2013
Thursday, Oct. 10 through Sunday Oct. 13
Mr. G’s Hall - Hwy 57, Jacksonport
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Daily
Open Daily 9 - 5 &Winter
Weekends (Fri., Sat., Sun.)
6275 Hwy. 57
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[email protected]
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Purses . Jewelry . Destination Beads
Computer Bags . iPad Bags + More
7730 HWY 42 . EGG HARBOR
On the corner of Hwy 42
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920-868-2083
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Autumn 2013 Door County Living 7