My name is Sean West, and I am a 21 year old kayaker/raft guide from Asheville, NC. I am also the founder (and only full time employee) of Wanderer Imports.
In the summer of 2005, I met someone selling Maori symbols for safe passage over water (the Hei-Matau fish hook) at a rock festival in North Carolina. Earlier in the year, I’d knocked out several teeth on a rapid called Oceana in the Tallulah Gorge, and figured I needed all the luck I could get. I bought three necklaces. I gave one each my two best friends and kept one for myself. We’ve all been wearing them since that day. These symbolize our friendship and protection on the river to us.
Wanderer Imports was founded last year, in an attempt to spread the positive meaning of these symbols to others and free up my time to paddle as much as possible. I try and do this through a 100% commitment to customer service and a great product. In order to keep our product great I work with a group of independent Balinese artisans who carve the pendants from beef bone. In order to keep customer servcice great, I work very hard to answer all customer questions and keep everyone happy. Please see some of our customer feedback for examples of people satisfied with our service.
In December 2007, I started selling them out of my trunk to friends and random passerby. Now, you can now find them at some select retail stores and or through this website. Check them out and get a few to share with friends.
