John Chen, a friend of mine, had just acquired a boat factory and wanted me to feng shui it. Before anything else, I needed to walk the full property—the offices, the grounds, the site in its entirety. There is no shortcut to this step; only by moving through a space can you begin to sense where its Qi flows freely and where it does not.
The site holds nine buildings—and the address, 7200 Brian Dairy Road, had already been announced as much before I ever set foot on the property. Nine is among the most auspicious numbers in feng shui: a symbol of longevity, completeness, and the authority once reserved for emperors. It carries associations with fame, reputation, and the social world, and speaks to qualities of humanity and idealism. It marks the closing of personal and cosmic cycles alike. In Mandarin, “jiǔ”—the word for nine—echoes the word for “long-lasting,” and so the number has always carried with it the quiet promise of endurance.
The first thing that comes to me is the need for a blessing ceremony—specifically, the planting of money around the property. Prosperity, in this tradition, is something that must be seeded into the ground before it can grow. This practice has precedent in prominent institutional projects; when the Whitney Museum was being built, this same ritual was performed as part of the foundation work.
Blessing ceremony for C+T Composites
Next, I turn my attention to where John and his partner Patrick will work. In feng shui, the commanding position is everything—it is what allows a leader to see clearly, act decisively, and hold their vision without interference. For John and Patrick, whose ambitions include restarting manufacturing, unveiling new models, and launching a US-built adventure boat line, their offices must be positioned to carry that weight.
Architectural drawings showing the proposed plan for John & Patrick’s offices as well as the expansion for the full team.
Here is the link to the Marine Industry News announcing Catalina Yachts to restart production in the US: https://marineindustrynews.co.uk/catalina-yachts-to-restart-production-in-the-us/
To bring Feng Shui to a major company is a rare opportunity—one I do not take lightly. John and Patrick’s new venture together deserves nothing less than my full dedication.
