David Sussman, the owner of Gado Gado, is a volcanologist who has spent most of the last 20 years exploring and developing geothermal energy fields around the world. He began working as a geologist in Southeast Asia in 1986, moving a few years later with his wife Barbara, a teacher and database consultant, and their children to the Philippines and then Indonesia. David quickly developed an interest in Indonesian culture and traditions, and fostered long-lasting relationships with artisans who craft furniture and architectural pieces using centuries-old traditions. Working in the jungle, occasionally living in traditional teak houses on stilts, and surrounded by a rich culture, David began to collect architectural elements, antique furnishings, and indigenous art, initially without a clear idea of what he would do with it all.

When the family returned stateside, they brought with them enough furniture and architectural pieces to fill their own and several other homes. They opened Gado Gado in November 2000 in Santa Rosa's Railroad Square. The store has attracted the attention of home owners as well as designers, builders, and landscape architects with its unique products.

Several times each year David returns to Indonesia, Thailand and recently Burma in search of unique pieces to grace homes and gardens in the United States and Europe. He actively seeks out old and antique architectural elements from traditional houses and buildings that are being replaced by modern structures. His architectural pieces include carved solid teak doors and windows, pillars, capitals and bases, wall panels, and corbels. Sometimes he is able to buy an entire house! Many of these pieces were exposed to the tropical elements for a century or more. Gado Gado has a workshop in Central Java where the pieces are carefully checked and brought back to life by a small group of craftsmen who work exclusively with traditional methods and hand tools.

We believe there is something special about collecting and living with things that people of another culture actually lived with and used. Visitors to Gado Gado discover the richness of traditional handmade architecture and furnishings, and come away with ideas on how integrate this style and history into their own living spaces.