The Cupertino Courier

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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Feng shui consultant and real estate agent Jo Preston (left) gives coffee shop owner Jackie Streeter tips for making The Coffee Society at the Library more inviting for customers.

Feng shui is a way to create tranquility

By Joanne Griffith Domingue

Jackie Streeter wasn't sure what to expect when she contacted a feng shui consultant for help with her new Cupertino business. But the results went beyond what she ever imagined.

The Coffee Society, a coffee house Streeter bought last November with her sons, was off to a slow start. In June she heard feng shui consultant Jo Preston speak at a Cupertino Chamber of Commerce breakfast.

"Hmmm," Streeter said. "She might have something." Basic feng shui applications include things such as clearing clutter, adding mirrors and plants, and rearranging furniture--all to create a more harmonious environment.

So Streeter invited Preston to the Coffee Society for a one-hour consultation. Several weeks later, after she had implemented some of Preston's suggestions, Streeter saw changes in the business.

"Ever since she's been in, positive things have been happening," Streeter said. "I have noticed new faces, better receipts. I was so surprised. I was totally ignorant of feng shui. It is not just moving stuff around. And it goes way beyond just putting plants in the shop."

Preston suggested putting a mirror behind the cash register for increased prosperity. "Right after we put in that mirror, receipts improved," Streeter said. The staff said, "'It's really odd--but it seems busier.'"

Mirrors are important in feng shui. They suggest more space and endless opportunities. And behind a cash register, they are thought to reflect and double the money going into the register.

Preston advised Streeter about some blank areas in the shop that needed color. In feng shui, naked walls reflect few choices. Bright colors are rejuvenating. Preston suggested adding a display of mugs for purchase and a tea display for more color.

In a feng shui floor plan, the money center or wealth corner is in the left rear spot in a room or the left rear room in a home. At the Coffee Society that's where the fruit drinks are made, a good moneymaker for the shop. So Preston suggested ways to bring more attention to the smoothie corner.

Streeter still has a list of feng shui applications in the works for the shop. She's ordering plants. The first ones she put in died because the spot is too sunny. So she's planning to use silk plants. Feng shui practitioners suggest using live or silk plants, but not dried plants as they have no life left in them.

Streeter is also considering adding two large flowerpots filled with colorful plants on either side of the front entrance. These are door guardians, Preston said. They encourage positive energy to flow into the shop and guard the doors so the energy does not flow out too fast.

For her smoothie corner, Streeter is planning new signage to give the area more emphasis.

"It does take time," Preston said. "You don't choose things just to make do."

A year ago Streeter was vice president of engineering at Apple Computer where she had worked for 20 years. Then, "I outsourced myself," she said. "I had a chance to do something new." Her son said, "Let's do a business."

So they did. Streeter, with her sons Dan St. Peter and Billy Streeter as partners, bought the Coffee Society on Nov. 16. It is in the front corner of the new Cupertino Library. "I can't believe I'm doing this," Streeter said.

The Coffee Society features Peter James coffee, a high-end bean that is winning followers in Cupertino. "Several people say, 'I'm changing coffee shops,' " Streeter said.

After the feng shui consultation, not only is business better, but other opportunities have come along, including three calls with tempting job offers.

"Right now I'm building the business," she said. "But I'm still in the mix career-wise."

Ancient philosophy

Some might consider feng shui (pronounced fung SHWAY) just a bit of new-age chatter. In fact, feng shui principles have been around for thousands of years. The roots are in ancient Chinese culture. But feng shui also embraces universal common sense.

Feng shui is the art of placement, a system of thoughtful arrangement of furniture and objects, artwork and plants to create a harmonious environment. It is purposefully arranging things for positive results.

Twenty years ago, not much was written about feng shui and few knew what it was. Today books such as 10-Minute Clutter Control: Easy Feng Shui Tips for Getting Organized, by Skye Alexander, or The Everything Feng Shui Book: Create Harmony and Peace in Any Room, by Katina Z. Jones, are in bookstores and libraries.

"It is getting more mainstream, especially in our area," said Marina Lighthouse, a certified feng shui consultant in Los Altos. "People are looking at it [feng shui] as a consideration when buying or selling a home. If people go into a real estate office today, they can expect Realtors will have knowledge of feng shui."

Most people have experienced homes or shops where they immediately feel comfortable, enjoy spending time and want to return. And most have also walked into a house or business and wanted to walk right back out. For some reason the space evoked bad karma, a bad energy.

Feng shui addresses reasons why a place does not feel right. People live healthier, happier, more prosperous lives when home and work environments are harmonious.

To achieve harmony, feng shui practitioners suggest cures or practical solutions to produce a certain effect.

Feng shui means wind and water that together are harnessed to produce energy. This energy is called chi (pronounced chee) and is a vital force that animates and moves through everything. Feng shui cures allow the chi to move freely through an environment.

A common first step in feng shui is to clean house and clear out clutter. Like a clogged pipe, clutter keeps the chi from flowing freely.

"Get rid of things you don't like, that trigger unhappy memories," Preston said. "Surround yourself with things you love."

Another step is to consider furniture arrangement. If you can open the front door and see out the back, it is thought that the chi will race out too fast. Placing plants or moving furniture, maybe adding a screen, can slow down the chi.

A cure might also mean rearranging furniture so you can walk freely through a room.

The goal is for the energy to flow in and through like a gently moving stream. It shouldn't rush so fast it races out the back door without time to bestow life-giving benefits. But neither should it move so slowly that it stagnates. When that happens, people feel sick.

But with feng shui there are remedies. "Everything can be fixed with a sincere heart and good intentions," Lighthouse said.

The way to feng shui

To learn more about feng shui, there are many books available. Websites also offer information, but some just want to sell such products as candles and plants. Check the Yellow Pages for feng shui consultants in this area.

To be certified, a feng shui consultant has followed a particular course of study and received a certificate. Fees for a one-hour consultation range from $165 up to $500 or $600 for a home. Some practitioners have a two-hour minimum. Fees for a business begin at $175 an hour for a small business.

Sunnyvale-Cupertino Adult Community Education (ACE) offers a class this fall in feng shui, taught by Lighthouse: "Do You Know the Way to Feng Shui?" The class begins Sept. 5 and runs four weeks from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The class will cover feng shui basics, relationships, luck and prosperity and real estate. For more information, call 408.522.2700 or check the ACE Website, www.ace.fuhsd.org