Robert and Jo shared an interest in antiques which quickly expanded into a lifetime passion after their first trip to Japan when they ‘fell in love’ with authentic Japanese antiques, little of which was known of or available in Australia at the time.


“I am passionate about Japanese antiques and art developed over nearly 50 years of visiting Japan, the aesthetics are just so refined, so inventive yet functional”
Robert Joyce

Robert is one of the few ‘gaijin’ or foreigners, privileged to be able to attend auctions normally closed to the public, which has been key to their success after a chance meeting on their first visit. Now they carefully hand select and ‘uncover’ rare and unique pieces due to their relationships with auctioneers, collectors and dealers built over many decades. - there are many fascinating stories to be told from the early days.
Jo drove their first hire trucks to the port of Kobe herself, much to the amazement of the mostly male drivers at the time!


"Kazari is more than just an ancient word, it is a beautiful philosophy embracing a commitment to beauty, craftsmanship, design, sustainability and respect for the long life of an object"
Jo Maindonald

We discovered the antiquated Japanese word Kazari in an old jibiki (dictionary) and adopted it as our name. It has many levels of meaning including 'creating the extraordinary out of the ordinary', where utilitarian objects are transformed in their making into something special: a piece of art that functions, delights and surprises, what could be a simple functional piece of furniture for instance, becomes a show piece in it's own right.
A wonderful aspect of buying an antique object is that it is now recognised as ‘sustainable shopping’, no timber or natural resources have been cut down from current resources and the wood or metal has aged to have a rich patina and depth in colour." Jo Maindonald