Talk + Panel
PARU in La Jolla: Crafting the New Modern Tea Shop

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Talk + Panel
PARU in La Jolla: Crafting the New Modern Tea Shop

Follow along as creative entrepreneurs Amy Truong and Lani Gobaleza chat with designers Miki Iwasaki and Jess Falstad of Sunset Projects about striking a delicate balance between tradition and modernity to bring PARU’s second location to La Jolla.

Similar to the first location in Point Loma, which the teams collaborated on previously, PARU on Girard will be a light, airy space grounded with natural materials. In addition to its carefully crafted design, the PARU experience will continue to be defined by its sensorial, educational experiences and commitment to omotenashi, or hospitality. Exclusive features include an art gallery that also serves as a private tasting room. During SDDW, visit PARU to sample their featured Design Week blend Okinawa Sugar, a well-balanced tea blend of wakoucha, oolong, and Okinawan black sugar crystals, developed in San Diego by Amy Truong.

BEHIND-THE SCENES TOUR

Also on Friday, September 10 6:30-7:30pm, join PARU founders, Amy Truong and Lani Gobaleza, and Sunset Projects designers, Miki Iwasaki and Jess Falstad, for a sneak peek of the progress on PARU’s second location in La Jolla, opening this fall. Guests will be given a behind-the-scenes tour that will explore the core design concepts and unique features that create a cordial atmosphere. The tour will conclude with a special tea demonstration and sampling led by Amy. This event requires pre-registration and has a limited capacity of 12. Reserve here.

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About the hosts

Sunset Projects

Miki Iwasaki is an artist whose curiosity in making things led him to pursue a career in architecture. He studied at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and Kyushu Institute of Design in Fukuoka, Japan, before receiving his Masters in Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Jess Falstad is a local designer, fabricator and writer. A graduate of Woodbury School of Architecture, her work focuses on architectural discourse and graphic narratives.

PARU

Co-founders Amy Truong and Lani Gobaleza met while studying at Meiji Gakuin University in Yokohama. After graduating, Amy worked in operations management for food and beverage companies in California. Lani, who grew up in southeast San Diego, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of California at Berkeley, and returned to Japan to participate in the JET Program and begin her writing and editing career. In 2017, Amy drew inspiration from her entrepreneurial grandfather and lifetime love of tea and tisanes and partnered with Lani to start PARU.

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