If every work of art has a story, isn't it natural that the gallery from which it comes from also has its own story to tell? That certainly is the case with Robyn Buntin of Honolulu, an antiques and art gallery located 848 Beretainia Street, a stone's throw from the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Named after its owner, Robyn Buntin has a specific focus on Asian art with a special emphasis on Chinese and Japanese artwork. Robyn Buntin also specializes in Hawaiian and Polynesian art. In addition to these specialties, the gallery also offers items from India, Tibet, Korea and Southeast Asia and also provides customized framing services as well.

While chatting with HAWAII ANTIQUES ART & COLLECTIBLES QUARTERLY in his office, which features flanking book-laden shelves, Buntin explained his gallery's approach to the art and antique business. "As we developed our gallery, it became clear that I didn't want to specialize in a particular field because I find the entire breadth of art to be exhilarating." noted Buntin. "The art quality of a painting or sculpture is more important to me than aspects like age or linkage to personalities or historical events. So, what we have found in doing business over the years is that if we follow what really moves us, there is a clientele that will respond in the same way." Educated at the University of California at Berkeley and the then brand new University of California at Santa Cruz, Buntin earned a degree in Psychology and Art. As a young artist, Buntin primarily worked as sculptor though he also dabbled in pottery and painting as well.

Buntin first moved to Hawaii in the early 70's and established a sculpture studio at The Foundry in Kaka'ako. There, he completed a commission for the Hawaii Carpenter's Union to create a relief portrait of the union's founder. At that time, The Foundry was an active cooperative of sculptors, glass blowers, potters, and painters. In 1973, Buntin and his wife moved to the former sugar mill town of Kea'au on the Big Island. Buntin got a deal on one of the town's old plantation houses that he renovated for use as his studio. Soon, Buntin's efforts led to his purchasing and renovating 20 other plantation style buildings which had stood in various states of disrepair for about a hundred years. Buntin worked on his own artwork and rented these other buildings to local businesses. While recovering varied items and objects from these buildings and buying up properties, Buntin and his wife decided to open their own antique store in Kea'au. The store featured items such as old kimonos, victrolas, aging postcards and old photographs. Customers included celebrities such as actor Andy Griffith as well as local residents.

Life moved at a comfortable pace for Buntin in Kea'au until 1978, when a disgruntled young man who was angry at a tenant in one of Buntin's buildings firebombed the town. The loss was devastating and the Buntins lost nearly all of their possessions including the work they had invested in the restoration of the old buildings. Buntin called the fire a "crossroads" in his life and opted to fulfill a longtime dream of living in Asia. So, after turning over the few properties he still owned on the Big Island to a manager, Buntin, his wife and their now growing family of three children left for Taiwan. However, living in Taiwan soon proved to be a disappointment for Buntin. So, the family opted to move again, this time to Japan.

In Japan, Buntin found teaching work at a university in Kyushu. The payment he derived from teaching at the university, combined with moneys from their properties in Hawaii, managed to sustain the family through their time in Japan. Eventually, the family moved back to Hawaii with 5 large crates of objects d'art and other items they bought while living in Japan. These objects allowed Buntin to open another antiques gallery in 1982 – a mere 360 square foot space - in Eaton Square in Waikiki. Despite the square being a "marvelous architectural space" for Buntin's gallery, complete with koi ponds and a courtyard, starting another antiques gallery proved much tougher the second time around.

"When we started at Eaton Square, it was very, very difficult" admitted Buntin, "because that was 1982 and it was a recession." However, a cure for the financial maladies inflicted by the economy eventually arrived. Buntin was fashioning some frames to fit some woodblock prints bought by a client and Buntin decided to offer picture framing as a service available to customers. "That turned out to be a great thing," stated Buntin. Soon, the framing department had expanded to such an extent that in a year, Buntin had to find a larger property.

So, Buntin relocated his framing line of business to a larger space in the Mendonca building in Chinatown. After five years in Waikiki, Buntin moved both the gallery and framing business to another downtown location, the Kawahara building. Buntin's business stayed in Chinatown for 10 years. Unfortunately, the neighborhood began to deteriorate by the time Buntin's tenure downtown was drawing to a close. "My lease was ending in Chinatown and the last couple of years had been horrible," stated Buntin "because it was a recession-it was the recession of the 90's." "The drug scene in Chinatown was so severe that we had five burglaries in the last year that we were there" noted Buntin.

Then Buntin found a space available at 848 South Beretania, signed a lease and has been a tenant ever since. Robyn Buntin of Honolulu actually takes up a much larger space now than when it first moved to that location. Two other businesses on month-to-month leases eventually moved, thus allowing Buntin and his staff to showcase a larger selection of paintings, sculptures and others items. Robyn Buntin features netsuke, Chinese scholar's table items such as brushes, jade carvings, woodblock prints as well as contemporary and traditional Hawaiian and Polynesian works of art.

Buntin also maintains a well organized and attractive website that features over 4,700 items with extensive digital photos taken of every object and item online. The website which has been up for ten years has proven to be a profit center for the gallery. Approximately one-third of revenues for Buntin derive from online purchases alone, many of these sales to international collectors. For the casual collector, Robyn Buntin may seem like an embarrassment of riches when it comes to Asian or Hawaiian art and objects. That is because Buntin maintains the higher standards demanded of antiques and works of art that have aesthetic and or conceptual merit. "What we sell requires, in many cases, some amount of knowledge or understanding" observed Buntin. "For us, we are what you call a destination gallery" emphasized Buntin. "Somebody said "Oh, if you like that particular thing, you should go see Robyn" and on that basis, we have built a loyal clientele over the years" stated Buntin. "There aren't a lot of these people but they have a very passionate interest in these things" said Buntin "and, as a consequence, we do very well."

Buntin has been delighted with the location for his gallery, due in no small part, to its location next to the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Buntin also maintains a fairly fluid schedule of travel every year to antique shows both on the mainland and in other countries. This year, he's slated to travel to Baltimore, Shanghai, Chicago, New York, Hong Kong and Beijing. The newest addition to his exhibition schedule, the Beijing International Chinese Antiques Fair, is organized by the Chinese government and Buntin is one of only 35 antiques dealers worldwide to be invited to this museum quality event. Buntin plans on taking his finest Chinese paintings, including a painting over four hundred years old and selling for $5 million dollars. The painting is by one of China's most famous painters of the Ming dynasty, Tang Yin.

As the story of Robyn Buntin of Honolulu draws to a close, Buntin noted that being an antiques dealer is a line of work that cannot be learned in colleges and universities but by buying and selling artworks and taking one's chances. "Over the years I have paid my tuition for real learning by making mistakes." admitted Buntin. "True learning in this business is experience." Of course, Buntin has gained more than he has lost. He has gained the ability to create a gallery which is every bit a work of art as the paintings and sculptures that rest within it.