When I started making travel accessories, back in 2007, I could dig into my huge collection of silks and other fabrics and just let the creativity flow freely. I already told you, I could not get enough of the Indian silks! I kept buying them as a mad woman resulting in me leaving BOM for ROT after three years with 20 boxes of fabrics added to the 5 I already had. I was unable to transform all this silk into little travel bags and jewelry pouches within a reasonable time. At the same time everywhere I went to sell my bags there were all these ladies trying to persuade me into selling them pieces of my fabics (which I brought with me as a props to pimp my stand).
So I started thinking…..
Just say (for arguments sake) that I am suffering from a addiction to buying great silks, but I am unable to process them in my current business, why not turn the fabric buying fettish into a second business? I am not hurting anyone, am I? I get to buy as much as I want of the most beautiful silks more often then now because they will stay with me for a while (in which time I will cherish them as my children) and after a while they will all find new homes with nice families. If I am lucky I get to adopt a piece that remains unsold. This sounded like a win-win situation to me!
I started out with a pilot last year, just to see if there are more addicts out there that fall for the stuff I fall for. The great respond I got encouraged me to take the shopping trip last October to Mumbai. I gave myself only one restriction (two actually if you count the finances too) and that is to only buy silk of the best quality, that I have never seen anywhere else before that is a treat to my senses (I know this sound as three variables, but it is more of a three-in-one package. In theory I could encounter a silk, that I have not seen anywhere else before, that is of top quality. But if I find so horribly hideous that it assults my senses, that would not be a treat, you see.)
Having lived in Mumbai I knew exactly when en where to go. October is a good month because of the abundance of silk fairs all over town. As all the Mumbaikars are getting ready for festival season silks will be bought and garments will be made.
I had a great trip and the result is visible in my Etsy shop. So far my win-win situation is working out for me. I just need to find an excuse to go more often!
