All Things Oriental
123 Beach Road
Vineyard Haven, MA 02568
508/693.8375
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About Us
The year was 1962 and Joan
Potter found herself living
in Singapore, surrounded by
beauty. "That was the
year I began my tremendously
passionate love affair with
Asian design and decor,"
Joan remembers.
It was also the year that she
began contemplating the idea
of exporting the gorgeous Hong
Kong and Singapore treasures
back to the United States.
Following her heart, Joan began
buying items that she found
irrisistible, including some
that needed a bit of her TLC
in the form of refinishing.
After amassing a gorgeous collection
of antiques, she and a dear
friend, who was at the time
the Italian Ambassador's wife,
decided to plan high-end antique
shows for diplomatic corps'
ladies. "It turned out
to be the most exciting thing,"
she recounts. "We had
the first show at my house,
and by 11am, we had sold everything."
From there, Joan's insatiable
appetite for finding beautiful
things led her into a partnership
where she helped to develop
a line of new porcelain. Later,
she also started her own jewelry
line, aptly called JCP Jewelry,
that was sold at Bergdorff's
and other exclusive stores.
She also made silk cushions
and sold those to B. Altmans.
"What I've always enjoyed
most is simply being surrounded
by these incredibly beautiful
treasures," Joan explains.
It's that passion -- and the
knowledge base that backs it
up -- that has made Joan Potter
a much-sought-after expert
in her field. Over the years,
she has been featured in magazines
and newspapers worldwide, and
today she boasts a very devoted
celebrity clientele.
"What we have as our greatest
strength," Joan says,
"is that we lived overseas
for more than 40 years. Because
of that, we have tremendous
contacts, and there's nothing
they can't find for us.
"That is the singularly
most important thing,"
Joan continues. "I don't
go to Buyers Markets or tradeshows.
I shop at very out-of-the-way
stores in very small, very
out-of-the-way villages. When
I'm in these towns where no
English is spoken, it's my
contacts that make all the
difference for me. That's how
I'm able to consistently acquire
the most beautiful pieces."
Today, Joan splits her time
between Martha's Vineyard and
her flat in Shanghai. And what
does she enjoy most? "There's
nothing greater than educating
our clients, in my own way."
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