[Yak] Report on meeting Dr. Aspler

I want to let everybody on Orchid know about the wonderful
evening I spent with Dr. Aspler. I was fortunate to be in
Thailand for few weeks and paid a visit to our own "Mr. Orchid"
at his busy office/workshop in Bangkok. When we arrived, Dr.
Aspler introduced himself and served us tea. After that he gave
us a tour of the facility and then we were driven across town to
a riverside r estaurant. There we spent a lovely evening enjoying
a fabulous seven course dinner (In all honesty I lost track
after about five). The delicacies included all sorts of exotic
gourmet treats for the palate and the eyes. I learned that Dr.
Aspler is a very warm, gifted and generous man. He has traveled
all over and lived in Israel and France, and for the
last 14 years, in Thailand.

Originally trained as a medical doctor, he became disillusioned
and set out to find more meaning in his life, which ultimately
brought him to Thailand. He is a tireless ball of energy, and
devotes all his free time (and money) to Orchid with barely any
acknowledgment. It is difficult to imagine how, after putting in
ten hours at the shop, he goes home and spends the entire
evening, well into the night, personally sorting through and
managing the hundreds of messages that come into Orchid and
through the entire website each day.

One of the most wonderful aspects of this field is the shared
passion for creating jewelry. Well, Dr. Aspler has clearly been
bitten by the jewelry bug. We exchanged ideas and experiences
and I came away feeling quite privileged to have spent the
evening with Dr. Aspler. It was a truly delightful to enjoy his
hospitality, grapple with his incredible knowledge, try to
comprehend his insightful observations about life, and also
share a mutual love and affliction (for jewelry).

All I can say, is Thank you Hanuman, for all you do.

Kap Kuhn Kap,
Alan Revere

Thank you so much, Alan, for taking the time to recount such a
lovely experience. And for giving us a bigger picture of Dr.
Aspler. It made me want to go to meet him! You too have been
very generous with your suggestions on this line and as a
neophyte to metalsmithing (just 4 years learning on the side),
your input as well as everyone else’s has been such a gift in my
life. I love getting all my Orchid messages and sorting through
to find those I need to save right away. I now have 2 completed
high density “Orchid” disks. I look forward to being able to take
a class at the academy some time. Very appreciatively, Shael
Barger @shael_barger

Alan and Doctor Aspler: some time ago there was an email asking
for ideas how to make Orchid self supporting. I feel bad that
Dr. Aspler spends so many hours keeping this list free of spam
etc. and know that someday it will be just too much to keep up
with. I know he asked not to post ideas on this yet, but what
ever became of that? I would glady pay a subscription fee for
this service if it ever came to that. Being heavily involved in
internet commerce and web development with my wife and self, we
might have some ideas. Also am hoping to attend the academy this summer! Dave

Hi Dave, The project continues to build. We are constructing a
world jewelry site. When a report is ready we will copy it to the
list, and in fact list members may be asked to volunteer for some
content building sub-projects once we stabilize funding and
ensure a steady income to allow Dr. Aspler and I to concentrate
on the project. A number of avenues are being looked at to keep
Ganoksin going and make it grow. Dr. Aspler and I are working on
a series of proposals to fund the site. We are both committed to
free access so as not to deny people the chance to participate.
There will, however, be donation options of various kinds and,
rather like public radio, ganoksin may have to have a once a year
(very limited and polite) funding drive. For instance, we are
thinking of asking for a voluntary donation of three hours pay a
year to the site, this evens out different labor rates across the
world. This can only provide a small part of the funding
necessary and we want to do it right, do a good solid job of
stabilizing and expansion. Both Hanuman (service@ganoksin.com)
and I (@Charles_Lewton-Brain) would welcome ideas and comments
off list at this time.

This is still early to discuss this all out on the list, and I
would ask Orchidians to wait a little longer until we can give
you a sense of the scope and plan that is being worked on. You
will be asked for your comments later. Thanks! Charles

Charles Lewton-Brain
Box 1624, Ste M, Calgary, Alberta, T2P 2L7, Canada