About Dragonfly

Welcome to Dragonfly Design and Décor, Washington DC’s newest gallery of unique home furnishings and art from Asia. We invite you to enter a world of tranquility and beauty. Each of our pieces is hand selected in China, Tibet, Mongolia, and Vietnam. A purchase from Dragonfly goes beyond owning an extraordinary piece of furniture or art; it is preserving a piece of history. Each piece contains its own story of how it once was crafted and for whom; and now how it can be once again treasured in your home.

We invite you to browse our site, visit us at our gallery, sign up for our monthly newsletter, and enjoy the beauty of Asian design

About Kim Hessler

Fifteen years ago, Kim worked as a project manager for SAIC’s social services division. Her beat was Asia, and she fell in love with every aspect of this vast and intriguing continent.

She began collecting antiques and was fortunate to meet a generous, knowledgeable craftsman who shared how to discern stylistic nuances based on epochs, materials, use, and region.

After a decade of purchasing antiques for a small group of family and friends, Kim realized her dream of starting an import business using her personal connections to find the most amazing products.

Kim does all of the buying for Dragonfly, working directly with the suppliers she has met through her travels. Because of this hands-on approach, she can tell a story about almost every piece of merchandise she finds. Some have been salvaged from enclosed villages that are being replaced by high rises. Others come from remote areas where Kim had tea with sellers anxious to get rid of the “old stuff” so they could modernize their homes. Her Tibetan pieces have a deep emotional hold on her because older, ritual Buddhist items are being systematically removed and destroyed or “renovated” to eliminate the symbolic imagery. Being able to preserve the ancient rhythms of life that reside in furniture, tea pots, chairs, statuary, and more motivate Kim to share with others who recognize our connection with all cultures.

Kim is ASID certified and provides professional consultation for homes and places of business. Her book, Chinese provincial Furniture, Selections from the Late Qing Dynasty, published by Schiffer Press was just released.