The experience also left him more sensitive to the air he breathes. Shortly after returning to work at his candle factory, Kitira had to leave — the fragrance was too much for him. The next day he returned with a mask, which he wore for several days until he had grown accustomed to the smell.

“For the first time, I understood the reactions of people with allergies and how fragrances can affect them,” he said. It also got him thinking about how many chemicals enter the body on a daily basis.

Since then, Kitira has been focusing on the use of more natural oils. He's also adding more eco-friendly selections to the Vance Kitira International collection of natural and nature-inspired accessories, botanicals, tabletop and serveware. But his appreciation for nature and sensitivity to the natural elements is actually something that has been with him all of his life.

Kitira grew up in Thailand as one of eight children. Life wasn't always easy, but the family pulled together, worked hard and the children were strengthened by their parents' examples. In later years, Kitira earned a B.S. degree in forestry from Thailand's Kasetsart University. He was several months short of completing the school's master's program in environmental management when he was awarded a government scholarship to study in the United States. Kitira used it to earn his masters in wood product engineering from the State University of New York at Syracuse.

Soon after arriving in the United States., a contact in Thailand sent silk flowers that Kitira and a friend began selling to a florist shop. Kitira ended up marrying the friend, and in 1980, the couple launched an importing business that brought in Thai baskets, silk flowers and pottery.

In 1991, the marriage ended. Kitira left the company and returned to Thailand where he spent a short time as a Buddhist monk, meditating daily. It was also around that time, in 1992, that he made an investment in the future. “A friend of mine, also a forester, and I came upon a parcel of land for sale in Thailand,” he said. “I purchased 40 acres and planted over 400,000 teak seedlings, intending at the time for the land to be for my family's use in future years.”

A year later, with planting completed, he returned to the United States and began operating as Vance Kitira International in Little Falls, N.J., importing home accents, garden furniture, gift items and textiles from Thailand. Today, from catalog sales and corporate showrooms in Atlanta at Americasmart's Gardens and in New York at 7 West, Kitira maintains a strong customer base of high-end specialty stores and larger chains such as Pottery Barn and Coldwater Creek.

The plantation's teak trees aren't large enough to be harvested yet, but residuals from the thinning process are being transformed into clothing trees, wall racks and candleholders. Local bamboo stems are the forms for his highly successful Timber Candle Collection, the development of which brought Thailand's Prime Minister to Kitira's New York showroom several years ago. “Dr. Chinnawat was very interested in our company as a case study of how trade can be successfully developed between Thailand and the U.S. It was quite an honor to be visited by the Prime Minister and his delegation.”

Kitira's home is in Franklin Lakes, N.J., but he spends about every third month in Thailand, working on product development and the company's catalogs. He also uses the opportunity to help improve the lives of his workers and others. “I know that working at the plantation is simply not sufficient to sustain (the caretaker and his family). So I have assisted him in expanding his business of raising free-range chickens, hoping that this will provide them with additional income.”

Vance Kitira International recently donated block toy tables to orphanages, centers and schools in Thailand and the United States. “It fills me with joy to watch the children gather around these tables and build whatever ideas are in their imaginations … so involved in their construction projects that any hardships in their lives vanish, if even for a few minutes.”

One of the many things Kitira enjoys doing in his spare time is reading and reflecting on proverbs, a favorite of which was penned by Anne Frank, “I don't think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that still remains.”

As a designer, Kitira's ability to see and feel what can be developed from that beauty comes naturally, and reflects a commitment to protecting and respecting the serenity and balance of nature. “Being close to nature my entire life I think has given me the ability to feel things deeply and appreciate the beauty in everything.”