By Emilie Irma Peters
The giraffe is an animal that is very picky, very choosy. It eats
only the topmost leaves of the tree. Sandy Springs resident Rosthema
Kastin, owner of the Galloping Giraffe at the Atlanta Decorative
Arts Center (ADAC) shares the philosophy of her favorite animal,
in that she selects only the finest accessories for her store.
"You must have pieces that warm your soul., " she said.
The Galloping Giraffe specializes in one-of-a-kind accessories
and Rosthema travels the world extensively searching for unusual,
distinctive pieces of quality and beauty. She has a great passion
for the search and says when she finds something wonderful and
talks to the artist about his or her creation it gives her gratification
like nothing else.
"Accessories are all about identifying and expressing the person"
she explained. "When you go into someone’s home you have an idea
of their loves and their inner soul by what you see around them"
Having grown up in a communist Romania, Rostema is thrilled and
proud to be an American and to have the opportunity to do what
she loves. "Communism is very stifling. You have to mask your
individuality. I remember as a little girl, a feeling of sadness
that there was a whole world out there I would never get to see.
America was like a mirage. It would be like someone saying to
you. ‘Would you like to go to Mars?’"
Then on a trip to Paris, Rostema’s family met a man from New York
who sponsored them to come to America on her father’s credentials
as an M.D. and researcher. She can remember crossing the ocean
on the S.S. United States and this man was on the dock waiting
for them.
"America took us in and gave us the opportunity to lead a beautiful
life. If you are willing to work, this country will give back
to you. In America we have an aristocracy of achievers. If you
are bright, creative and imaginative enough, this country will
repay you." She said.
Rosthema was 16 when she came to America. She was accepted at
Emory where she earned a degree in art history. She went on to
the New York School of Interior Design, received her final degree
at Georgia State and has remained in Atlanta ever since.
"In those days Atlanta was a small town. It was embraceable and
I felt I had the opportunity to grow with it," she said. Rostema
married here and all three of her children were born in Atlanta.
She has seen Atlanta grow and change with the influx of more foreigners
and Northerners. Because of this, she says there is more of a
market for contemporary art than ever before. She thinks this
diversity makes things exciting. "The more we branch out, the
richer we become. As we grow we stand on each other’s shoulders.
On your own you can only reach so far, but if you stand on someone’s
shoulders, you can reach even farther."
The Galloping Giraffe is home to exquisite works such as a 19th-century
Vietnamese Buddha (one of Rostema’s favorites); natural sand selenite
sculptures from South America; carved wooden pieces like "The
Rice Gatherer," made from one piece of mahogany by an Indonesian
carver; an 11th-century Khmer stone divinity from Cambodia. She
goes to the Orient for some of her treasures and some bright,
bold pieces of large-scale glass were custom made for the Galloping
Giraffe in Murano, Italy.
She has an affinity for contemporary art and partially attributes
that to being from Romania. "Europeans are more into the future
and the newness of things. Maybe because we have always been around
antiques and old buildings so they are not as exciting to us as
new things. Americans are more enamored of old things."
Rostema is an interior designer by profession and still tries
to take on one big project a year from the ground up. "Its very
gratifying to see something come to life from nothing. It’s like
giving birth. When the lights come on and the client says, ‘It’s
just what I hoped for.’ I am always proud of the last project
I truly body and soul to it."
Rostema would like to give something back to this country, to
make a contribution. She would like to become more proficient
in Spanish and Italian and continue to engage in her favorite
past times like skiing, reading, golfing and especially ballroom
dancing. " I would like to live forever. I am very up front and
gregarious. I like to share things.," she said. Like a giraffe.
Rosthema reaches for the top, elegant and poised, yet gentle and
sweet.
(Reproduced with permission from: Atlanta North NEWS paper, December,
1999).
THE HIGHEST BRANCH
ROMANIAN NATIVE ROSTEMA KASTIN’S PASSION IS FINDING DISTINCTIVE
ACCESSORIES
Rostema Katin travels the world searching for unusual and distinctive
pieces for her business, Galloping Giraffe. "Accessories are all
about identifying and expressing the person," she says.
Rostema Kastin has affinity for contemporary art and partially
attributes that to being from Romania. "Europeans are more into
the future and the newness of things, may be because we have always
been around antiques and old buildings so they are not as exciting
to us as new things, Americans are more enamored of old things,"
she says.