Dragon Gardens Northwest was conceived in 1999 by Eric Paulson and his Bonsai teacher, Walter Liew. Under the tutelage of Mr. & Mrs. Liew, Eric studied the art of bonsai and developed the business plan for Dragon Gardens Northwest.

He began Dragon Gardens NW by relocating his family to Lake Oswego, Oregon in 1999. Walter and Ann Liew continue to be a valuable resource and inspiration to Dragon Gardens NW, offering pearls of wisdom and invaluable advice.

After leaving Hawaii and his sports medicine career, Eric Paulson used his Liberal arts degree from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA to help develop Dragon Gardens NW. Eric's wife Heidi and his mother Sylvia (both PLU alums) provided amazing support and advice, while Eric's father, Jon, also a PLU alumni,continues to offer valuable design, production and purchasing expertise, based on his Masters of Arts in Ceramics and his experience as a ceramic artist and art history/ ceramics professor for the past 35+ years...the mud's in the blood...

Dragon Gardens Northwest's facilities are located in the near the core of Portland, in the industrial neighborhood of Swan Island (located 3 minutes and 3 turns from I-5...) Our 10,000 square foot warehouse is nested within the Portland Flower Market, a 120,000 square facility open to trade professionals and members, serving Portland's floral and design industry. We also maintain a greenhouse and nursery (can yard) in Woodburn, OR

Our initial site was in Tualtin off Stafford Road. After 6 months their we mov3ed into a warehouse in Estacada, and finally in 2003 we moved into the Portland Flower Market and Eric Paulson was voted onto the Board of Directors for the Oregon Flower Growers Association. Later that year, Kelly Leffingwell joined us at the warehouse, provide us with a much needed sense of organization and tidiness. Kelly now manages the inside sales at the warehouse while Eric concentrates on outside sales and 'containers direct.'

We spent 2000-2002, learning the industry and meeting customers. At the end of 2003, we severed our ties with a California based pottery importer and became an independent, direct importer. That year we focused on the newly expanded Vietnamese market for most of our product.

In the Fall of 2004, Eric traveled to China to visit a number of manufacturers and develop the relationships needed to import and offer high quality, competitively priced ceramic products.

In 2005, we continued to grow, offering a more diverse slection of stoneware, earthenware and slip cast ceramics.

In the Fall of 2006, we returned to China and developed a significant relationships with a number of factories, guarenteeing us top quality, price and timeliness. We also set up the ability to offer numerous products within one container (e.g. indoor, rustic, glazed, concrete, stones, etc, all in one container).

We also began our initial offering of mixed pallets from Vietnam in the Fall of 2006.

Outside of Dragon gardens NW, Eric continues to enjoy raising his four kids and continues to hone his bonsai skills and knowledge, while Kelly continues to write fiction, poetry and handicap the ponies.

We have learned a great deal of from the wonderful people we have met during this journey and look forward to the opportunity to apply this knowledge in serving you and your business.