North-Side Shop Beautifully Blends African and Asian Culture

Ka-Chook, Ka-Chook — the earthy sound of hollow wood resonates and a woman apologizes. "I'm sorry," she says, thinking she may have knocked something over. "You didn't break anything," says Fred Martin, owner of The Realm, a furniture and artifact shop on Chicago Avenue. "That's the sound it is supposed to make," he explains reassuringly. Martin gestures to a weathered wooden carving hanging over a large sculpture combining teak driftwood and a dragon sculpted from resin and sawdust, "It's a bell for an elephant. They're so quiet that unless they're wearing this, someone might not hear it coming."

Specializing in both African and Asian artifacts as well as unique furniture, The Realm sells a pretty eclectic blend of imported wares. Like the shop, the owner embodies this same blend of eclectics; Martin is an African-American man with a strong connection to Asian culture.

Growing up on Chicago's south-side in the Robert Taylor homes, Martin's early experiences couldn't have been further from the exotic. However, that all changed in the 70's when he enlisted in the military during the Vietnam Era. Later, Martin met a Thai-born woman in North Carolina on a blind date who would later become his wife.

In 1989, Martin took a trip to the Far-East and was so enamored with the culture and artifacts he saw that he wanted to bring a taste of the region to share with family and friends back in the states.

Today Martin is fluent in the Thai language and has a keen eye for Asian art. At the Realm, African ceramics and tribal motifs are mixed in with carved dragons and Chinese Immortals. The store reflects Martin's 42 years of furniture making experience. He has spent several years living overseas in different Asian cities, training from who he refers to as "local masters of carving," learning age-old secrets to restoring and repairing wooden furniture. Besides the antique replicas and original artwork available, the store showcases many of Martin's original furniture designs.

Martin holds the harmony of cultures in high esteem. During his '89 trip through the Golden Triangle, Martin visited many artists throughout mainland China in Guangzhou, Zhengzhou, and Kowloon. Martin was particularly impressed by Hong Kong, observing that,"… there were people of many nations— like African, Indian and Arab— all managing to live together in small quarters and everything was still clean and orderly… There was a real sense of brotherhood."

Martin and his wife are also members of the Thai Community Church in Forest Park where Martin is the Vice President of the church board council. Although 85 to 90 percent of the congregation is Thai/ Chinese, the Lutheran church offers a bilingual service in Thai and English.

For this year's Thanksgiving service, the church featured a big unveiling: A Thai-folk-art style tapestry depicting ten scenes from the life of Christ. Unlike traditional Thai painting, work in the folk-art style is rarely seen, making this piece very special.

The church commissioned Reverend Sawwai from Changmai (a city in Northern Thailand) to make this tapestry. The detailed design took the artist only a week and half to complete. Martin's reverence for the piece was easily noticed. "This is the only one like it in existence," he said proudly.