The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-08
CALIFORNIA BRIO-A-BRAO.

While all generous and prosperous
people are seeking Christmas gifts there
will be many among us DESTROYS of finding
something essentially Californian in ma
terial and workmanship to send to their
far-off friends. When later or the host of
tourists comes to enjoy the winter sunshine
of the Pacific Coast there will be not few
who will seek to find some dainty of treas
ure of beauty or utility to serve them as a
souvenir of scenes in this fair land when
they are far away.
Where will the Christmas-seeker find
the Californian gift for his friend? What
will the tourist be able to obtain as SOU
venir? There are things made in Cali
fornia to supply the double demand.
There are shells and photographs and
considerable variety OF articles made of
orange, olive or manZanita wood. There
are also, no doubt, some other things.
But ali these are as trifles to the innumera-
BILE articles of beauty, utility or perhaps of
decoration that might be fashioned by our
art and taste out of the wide variety of
material which profuse nature has given
US for employment in just such uses.
The most casual observer of Christmas
shopping who notes the toys and brica
brac sent to US from Europe and the East
ern States can hardly fail to perceive that
their attractiveness or excellence is due al
most wholly to the work put upon them;
the material itself in most cases having
little beauty or value of any kind. He
who knows anything of California needs
but little reflection upon what he has seen
of these imported goods to reach the con-
clusion that in the material for making
such articles California is far richer than
the countries that supply them. We need
but art and energy to turn our advantages
Of this kind into sources of great profit.
Indeed, in some instances not much art is
needed. Some of the wood of this State
requires no more than a mere polishing to
become an object of beauty not inferior to
anything that handicraft can do.
Articles of nature to serve the demand
for gifts and souvenirs have a double
value. They are not only directly profta-
BILE to the producer, but they are among
the most effective advertisements that
country can send forth. The popular de-
sire to see Paris springs largely from the
delight given by all the beautiful work
Partisan artisans furnish for such pur-
poses. Almost every American home has
something in its decoration or its orna-
ments that suggests Europe and Is a con-
tinual enticement to US to go abroad Cal
ifornia should have Just such pleasing ad
vertisements of her beauty all over this
country at least, if not all over the world.
The only way to stimulate decorative art
in California is to create demand for it.
If every Christmas shopper during the
holidays should at least ask to see what
the merchants have in the way of Cali
fornia products the merchants would soon
begin to give orders for them. Such in
dustries as we have of the kind would be
expanded and new ones created during the
coming year. We must not wait for tour
lists to start the demand. We must start it
ourselves by sending lovely gifts to the
East, and thus interesting the people there,
so that those who visit California will look
for such articles when they arrive here.
California, we must remember, is ours, and
upon US depends her welfare.