I agree, there should be time given to preview. This is an investment for a tree you will be caring for. I don’t like the spirit of it.
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I think in total they had about 36-38. Trees were being taken down as they sold which is different from other years. I kind of liked the trees staying up so you could admire the work while simultaneously wallowing in your sorrow for not having bought anything. 
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I get that, but I also like the surprise aspect of it.
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I agree. I was going to also comment that not all the trees are styled by Ryan.
Students definitely have there hands on the trees at Mirai.
Also a preview of whats for sale is definitely needed. This is talked about every tree Mirai sale @Eve
This gives one time to think about what they would like to purchase.
I personally would like to browse the Mirai garden to purchase a tree.
Yugen has the right idea. Previewing is not a solution (though it also wouldn’t hurt).
The only way to try to make everyone happy would be to have far more trees for sale, generally at lower prices. But even then there are inevitably going to be a bunch of unhappy people.
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Welp, I think we’ve thoroughly beat this dead horse lol. Taking the convo a different way…which one was your favorite tree and of the remaining trees which would you buy if price wasn’t a concern?
I had a few that I really liked, but now that they’re down the only one that I can really remember is that pond cypress. Probably because that’s a species I own and therefore I could see myself buying.
As far as what I’d buy of the remaining, this would be it. I’m surprised that it’s still available.
Or maybe this Doug fir
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I love that western juniper. I have some unstyled shinpaku stock in my garden and I’ve definitely been oggling the pictures of the western juniper for inspiration.
That Doug fir reminds me of how the loblollly grow here, so I’ll be using that for inspiration. I’ve never seen a pine with a lollipop top. That one is perfect.
It’s be this one for me.
Mostly because I spent several hours decandling it in 2019. It’s always exciting to go back and see the progress on trees that you’ve worked after being absent for several months. You get a little attached. It’s also a little disappointing when you get back and one has been sold.
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Oh man, I bet. That’s awesome that you get a chance to work on it too. I had some money set aside to modify my car, but I’m thinking of using it on a Mirai class instead. Only issue is that I’d probably only ever take one class and would that even really be productive at that point? 
I learned more in my first year than I had in the previous 15 of reading/YouTube. Take that with a grain of salt ;).
Also, I’m still driving an 18 yr old beater pick-up as the trade-off 
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@Eve @Bonsai_Bentley @Farley @chuckwheat
I’m disappointed because Mirai is about community, and this most recent sale showed that first and foremost they are a business. I have watched and listened to hundreds of hours from from Ryan as we all have and it’s hard to not feel like you are part of the family. But the reality is that most of us can not afford to be a part of the family. Most of the featured potters work is too expensive,(unless you do shohin). In person classes are I’m assuming not cheap. The trees them selves are unattainable for most of us. It just creates this weird feeling of being on the outside looking in.
I’ve seen discussion about creating cheaper trees for more people,(the trees were not overpriced, it’s just too expensive of material),or how Mirai is not a tree mill and this and that. But at the end of the day it’s not about money as much as a lot of us to just want to be included. I understand that’s a tricky thing to figure out when Mirai needs to make money. But I saw someone else say that, Mirai is a learning center first, so wouldn’t inclusion of your student be important? Maybe there is a middle ground between world class trees and cheap. Maybe if we all had similar material the learning process could be more hands on, instead of again just looking in from the outside.
I love Mirai, I love Ryan, I love the team. And I think that’s why it’s hard, because like myself I’m sure a lot of us just want to be a part of that team. The reality of this sale was that out of the entire community a few dozen can afford to get a tree, so why make it public? To make other feel hopeless? I’m sure that’s not the intent. But the Mirai team could have saved time and money just creating an exclusive email to people they know can even afford the trees posted.
I have heard Ryan speak extensively on how the Japanese bonsai culture has shifted because of money, and I just hope that the same does not happen here, just as It’s getting momentum. Mirai live students may not be the biggest portion of money that comes in, but without us it’s just a garden out in St. Helens, that runs off a small group of people with deep pockets.
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You wrote (In part):
“I’m disappointed because Mirai is about community, and this most recent sale showed that first and foremost they are a business. I have watched and listened to hundreds of hours from from Ryan as we all have and it’s hard to not feel like you are part of the family. But the reality is that most of us can not afford to be a part of the family. Most of the featured potters work is too expensive,(unless you do shohin). In person classes are I’m assuming not cheap. The trees them selves are unattainable for most of us. It just creates this weird feeling of being on the outside looking in.”
I don’t feel that way at all. To me, the community part is about learning and sharing techniques and experiences that allow each of us to develop our own trees, not just about owning a pot or tree that passed through Mirai.
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If you think owning something from Mirai was my point, then you missed the point.
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I have sort of been holding back responding to this thread to make sure my thoughts aren’t just a knee jerk reaction. I remember way back nearly 30 years ago when I first started Bonsai, filled with enthusiasm and fire. I also remember the same feeling of I am never going to be able to compete or afford what the big boys are doing and have. Bonsai has been apart of my life one way or another for such a long time, the one thing I have learnt from it all is you got to do the time, you have to grow into it, mature with it. There is no point laying awake at night wanting a $4000 tree and not having the skills to keep it being a $4000 tree. Yes the trees on this and past sales are indeed a lot of money, but your paying for time and expertise. The absolute beauty of Mirai is that you can learn the skills to produce your own trees to a high level, but you must start with great material. Of course we have to cut our teeth on cheep starter material and learn our way(doing the time) it is far better to spend $250 on a great piece of material and put the time into developing something that has the potential to become a really nice Bonsai. As you mature into Bonsai so does your life and expectations, things become easier and we have more expendable income to use for other things. I will say I have been a member of Mirai for over two years and live in Spain, I recently took a three or four month break from Mirai as I found I had caught up and was getting frustrated with listening to the same questions and answers on the live Q and A etc. I did miss the streams and now I have re subscribed I have so much to choose from to watch. I do believe that Ryan is probably the foremost Bonsai educator in the world right now, but you can’t please everyone all of the time. For me, I wouldn’t even consider buying even if I could a tree in the tree sale without first seeing it. that’s jut me. but there is some great trees there. if you can’t afford them, buy get material and take advantage of the Mirai way of learning and make your own. if you check out my posts. you’ll see a Sabina juniper that I paid €400 two years ago. I think you would agree its pretty nice tree
Be smart, do the time and invest in great material.
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Mirai live students may not be the biggest portion of money that comes in, but without us it’s just a garden out in St. Helens, that runs off a small group of people with deep pockets.
On the contrary, I would guess that the mirai live memberships are where the bulk of the income for Mirai comes from. These tree sales are probably a bonus.
Judging by how quickly the trees sell, I think that Ryan is undervaluing the trees, if anything. Bonsai is an art, and art is worth what people are willing to pay for. Im not saying that to be elitist, I cant afford the trees at their current price, lol.
If I was Ryan I would increase prices on my trees, and use these sales as an opportunity for students to sell some cheaper trees on consignment. It would help them to pay for their in person classes and add to Mirai’s coffers without diluting the Mirai brand by pumping out cheap trees to appeal to the masses.
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I just re-read your post and don’t think I missed the point, unless you didn’t state it clearly. You basically say (several times) that you don’t feel included in the community because the potters work is too expensive and the trees are unattainable. How else is that to be interpreted?
I won’t argue the point further but if you want to rephrase your thinking to make your meaning clearer, I’ll be open to what you have to say.
Yeah super bummed as I have been saving since last year for this sale and it went live early and I didn’t know about that and joined in to see fewer trees than expected and higher price points. Dang.
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I got on right at ten.within 10 minutes most the trees were sold except some rather expensive ones.
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I did get onto the store until later in the day. So I never got to see most of the trees. Is there any way someone @Eve can post pictures of the sold trees somewhere? I just want to see them.