Sunday, January 29, 2012

What Fantastic Friends I Have!

Needed to dash to Melbourne last week, a week premature, got on the plane with what i had on and with me (luckily i was on business up the Coast so had my lap top with me!!!)

It makes you wonder what would life be like without all the things we become so attached too, our comforts our dependance's the tools we use to work with.  (Lucky my host has all the chargers I need, bar one.)

I find myself dreaming of favourite jeans, shoe's, not to mention the bounty I had been preparing for the last month of wonderful stock to show to all my clients that was sitting on the floor of the Studio with Melbourne written on all the boxes, I had kind of finished packing, nearly ready, just needed a few tweaks, i woke up in sweat on Saturday morning in Melbourne what was i to do?????? Fly home, Fly back to Melb a day later??

Sole Trader, Self Employed, can't call the Secretary to finish the job for me,,,,,,,,thanks to the generosity and enthusiasm of some local friends we had a Skype Video link up! I got to look at tables, into boxes and sit in the 30c Heat of Sunday, instructing tireless pals about what was were and how to locate it.

It only took an hour or so, all ran very smoothly and at the end i was so overwhelmed that i had such lovely friends that could take some time out of their busy schedule to help me out.

Thank you so much Andrew and Tom i am Very Very Grateful.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Mixing your Towns

I know, I know its nothing like mixing your drinks, but i felt a little blasphemous today as i put a traditional poncho and traditional wrap skirt with another towns belt and shirt, in fact this is a mix of three towns, thankfully all from the same country! it just looked right!! What do you think?

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Latin America, Changing its Skin.

Bolivia, Mexico, Guatemala and Bolivia.....As we work towards our next visit to Melbourne town, we have been looking up the archives, cleaning the stock room and planning for a very busy week.

As we do this i am reminded of how many lovely things we import, how versatile they are and how easy it is to mix Vintage with New.

Here we have a traditional Bolivian hat worn by most women with pride just on the top of their heads so i  often wonder when i see them how they can walk without loosing them. They choose different colours of donkey grey and black, I am not sure if their is any reason for their choices.

Next the Hand Made, Hand Embroidered Blouse, each one completely different, over the years of buying them i am familiar with the similar types of embroidery but as each one is made individually they are never the same. Some women i buy from are neater makers than others, sometimes i get stock home and find it unfinished and often with the initials in pencil of the women who have embroidered them, it can be easily hidden by a label but often this stock is also unwashed which is my fault, as i pressure the girls to sell me what they can in the short time i have in their towns.

The belts on this outfit are from our Vintage collection, the first a hand woven piece of cotton, with the traditional colours of Guatemala, this and the other piece are old and over the years we see less and less of the traditional garments being worn cotton and indigo being used, these days some women prefer to buy a beautiful meterage of machine Icat with lurex to wear as a skirt and buy "wool" to weave as belts which is often Acrylic, i think they believe they are being progressive, but with 1st world knowledge we know acrylic will never last as long as Cotton.

The skirt is part of our Private Collection, often used for photo shoots and parades, its from Bolivia as well, although now the women of Bolivia (see above) buy Chineese Material often incredibly shiny and make their skirts from this, there is always meters and meters of fabric pleated onto a waistband made from ticking which is left with an extra 10cm to tie your skirt closed. You can also see these banana sellers wearing their hats, and their enviable plaits.

Were-ever we can we buy Vintage, we wish to chronicle, times past, traditions lost and be able to make these comparisons to show us all how Latin America is changing its skin.   For the better??????



Thursday, January 19, 2012

"MEET PHILLIPE"

This wonderful woman has her speciality, as we all do!
In her village she is the master of the dresses and when i first arrive i make a B-Line to her home to check in and see how my orders are going, her sisters and daughters can help too, but between you and me she's the business, efficient, trustworthy, we like her style and colour selections...................As you all know this makes business run more smoothly. Salute to Phiilipe, Thank you so much for your beautiful workx Muchismas Graciasx

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Last Wednesdays Sunset

Being unwell over the Christmas New Year period has give me a beautiful space to slow down, share with friends and enjoy the environs were we live.
This sunset is an example of this, natures ever-changing beauty that never ceases to amaze, we have had over 70mm of rain in the last 24hrs I had told a customer this morning, before i went to sleep i walked the property were we live and checked that the inundation was unlikely to do any damage overnight.
All part of living with nature, a conscious choice i made, a small plot with town power and a man made road to it, we are happy when it rains as we know this means the garden is watered and our tanks will be filling. That all the grateful veggies will be singing as they grow to nourish us in the heaven that we live in.
In the circle of friends i have here, we exchange what we have bounties of for what we do not have, I collected the last avocado that our tree will have this season, a fabulous currency that has brought me home with Flowers, Eggs, Plants, Cucumbers, Cakes..............I am so grateful that this garden keeps producing for us even when i'm away, I come home from a month overseas to Grasses of Rocket to get me going again and keep me in the garden, grounded, smiling and happy to be homex

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Hand Made Beauties


How do you choose when some one asks you to send them some photos of stock? 
Its easy to narrow things down by sleeve, colour, fabric, but with so many unbelievable hand, sewn hand embroidered pieces it always hard to choose, today i have selected two favorites from the 30 or so we photographed yesterday, knowing you love them as much as we do.  This for me is all about authenticity, colour and knowing that you are wearingsomething that not everyone else has.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Are the holidays over?

Are the holidays over?
Is it time to forget about the beach and try to wake earlier and march to the beat?
No longer a time to luxuriate in the endless reading material one comes across when your world slows down.  Or all those jobs you never get around to in a NORMAL week!
Thankfully were we live you can be on holidays all the time, our weekend umbrella was a pandanus palm  by the stunning beach made famous by Elle this Holidays.
We must begin by thanking all those lovely Las Ninas customers who contributed to our truly successful year. Thank you so muchx                     *Viva 2012*