Good cane karma

<p>Tucked away in an old brick building in Santa Rosa, a group of 20-somethings have lashed together a dream — and a sprouting business.</p><p>They build large bamboo structures for music festivals, receiving commissions ranging from $2,500 to $15,000.</p><p>The business, WabiSabi Collective, was hired to design and build the 60-foot-diameter tent pavilion being erected for next weekend's Harmony Festival at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.</p><p>The burgeoning operation is a classic West County tale, rooted in a history of community support, communal living and "good energy" encounters.</p><p>The three principals behind it are Santa Rosa native Brian Scharf, 27, his girlfriend, Yuba Campbell, 29, and their partner, Quinn Steckel, 21.</p><p>"We just formed this really great tripod of creative energy," said Steckel, who was raised in Alameda.</p><p>How they met, and how they came to run a bamboo business, is nearly as organic and free-growing as the giant wood grass stalks they rely on.</p><p>Scharf, who graduated from Santa Rosa High School, studied environmental design in college and was working at architecture firm Kellogg and Associates in Santa Rosa when he turned his attention to bamboo.</p><p>"It became a love affair," he said.</p><p>He took six months off in 2008 and travelled to Indonesia, where he studied with a local architect in a small village and with the help of villages learned the fundamentals of bamboo building.</p><p>"Everyone had techniques and knowledge to share," Scharf said. "They were just throwing wisdom down."</p><p>Before he returned to the United States, he filled a shipping container with bamboo. That stockpile was in storage last year when he got a call from a Harmony Festival organizer, asking if he would share his bamboo and build a structure. He and Campbell said yes, and went to work.</p><p>They spent a month living at the Green Valley Village, a communal environment outside Sebastopol. They laid plans to use 3,500 linear feet of bamboo to build several pagoda huts and other installations across the festival.</p><p>"I was blown away by it, the beauty of it, the gracefulness of it," said Jason Miller, Harmony Festival manager. "These structures are works of art."</p><p>Miller soon received calls from other festivals wanting to commission work from Scharf and Campbell. Soon the two were booked through the summer.</p><p>"We were on the road with bamboo for the rest of the summer," Scharf said. "Harmony definitely launched it for us. It showed people what we could do."</p><p>Scharf and Campbell happened upon Steckel at one of those festivals. She had studied textile design at California College of the Arts in Oakland and had the skills they needed to intertwine elaborate fabric designs with the bamboo.</p><p>This year, their designs will be a more central component of Harmony Festival.</p><p>"This year we took it to the next level. We hired them," Miller said. "It's exciting to see their dreams and goals become a reality."</p><p>For the past few weeks, a crew of about 30 volunteers have helped WabiSabi prepare for the festival, an annual celebration of all things countercultural.</p><p>They've lashed dozens of bamboo stalks with manila rope, dyed cloth, and soaked and shaped bamboo shards.</p><p>"We can't pay everybody right now, and that is probably the hardest aspect," Campbell said.</p><p>Unlike many traditional business startups, WabiSabi didn't start with the goal to make money. The partners conspired to make art, and the money began trickling in. Now they are grappling with how to bring the business operation in line with the artistic vision.</p><p>"That's all the stuff we're working on now," said Campbell, a Santa Cruz native who has assumed the role of project manager.</p><p>They want to expand their scope beyond festivals.</p><p>Earlier this year they organized an educational trip to Indonesia where participants studied bamboo design. Eight people attended their $1,400 course.</p><p>Now they aim to start designing bamboo installations for people's homes and weddings, and they hope to organize more community and educational events. Grant writing is certain to become part of their revenue model.</p><p>"We're on the path," Scharf said. "I don't know how it will manifest, but we're on the path."</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 703-1577 or nathan.halverson@pressdemocrat.com.</p>