Speed Bumps.

I have arrived to the point where I have done all I can possibly do and now everything is in a magical limbo where I have nothing left to work on, and I have nothing solid in my hands. The we- don't- have- enough- time- for- this- waiting game. This feeling follows me everywhere. When we first ventured into Mended Mosaic, I wanted everything I had ever looked for in fashion to become a reality. We walked in blind and walked out with a product that got an enthusiastic response. The next year we came back and refined what we started with and again, came back and were even more pleased with the results. After learning everything we did the first round, we were able to take that education and melt it together with vision. At this point in my business, I have reached a new level of critique. Centimeter by centimeter; stitch by stitch. Custom zippers, custom buttons, an upgrade with our labels…. all the little things are suddenly becoming speed bumps for time, because we really really really want to make it just right. I know that its all a part of the process, but its like sending back a meal over and over again until its absolutely perfect. When is the point where you have to just eat your food, and accept it for what it is?

I can't.

I found this beautiful ornate piece of hardware I want to use for a clutch. After my sample came back, the design was so close to what I wanted. It was a great rough draft, anyway. However, the piece broke. I went back to the store to see if there was an alternative to this certain piece but there wasn't. I am hanging out with Denial and he is such poor company. I stare at the sample thinking that if I just adjust how it was made, then maybe? Of course, there is also the possibility that I am refusing to admit I have to change my vision.

It doesn't help that our time is ticking past us and I am at the point where I think I am finally starting to panic. It all just takes so much time. I just keep waiting for Tuesday when I will finally get back 4 jackets and a bag. I doubt I will be able to relax until then because I know I will be thinking that there has to be something else I can be doing.

But there isn't.

From here, we just wait. We wait until it comes back, make the proper adjustments and do again.

It all works out in the end, right?

The Little Things

The year 2010 for me has been about simplifying the noise. Its about time to weed out what isn't working for me, and nourish the things that are. I can feel myself growing up and seeing things more clearly. I can feel myself really envisioning what I want and then drawing a straight line from me to my goal. I know in the past I could feel myself floundering about, dabbling here and there, whatever felt good at the time. As the years pass, the teeter totter system has gotten less and less and I see very black and white on what I like, and what I don't.

If I look at what I have on paper, it looks damn good. And now I am ready for the next level.

With my personal evolution has also come a make-over in Mended Mosaic. This year I am producing an all new line, and discontinuing everything from before. It is a complete wipe out. My concentration isn't about the bells and whistles; its about everything put together to make the piece whole. The little things. This was all a part of it from the beginning, but its time to really dial it in.

The part most worthy of mentioning, that I am nearly busting with excitement about is: custom zipper pulls!

I can't believe that I am getting this giddy about it, but I am such a sucker for the little things. We are getting part of our logo carved into custom Mended Mosaic zipper pulls. This, my friends, is very cool.

Survival of the Fittest.

Two things I seem to forget when I return to Bali. The extreme humidity, first of all - and the power going out over the entire island. I am thankful that this time around our electric isn't hooked up to the water pump, so when the candles and flashlight are all we have, at least we can flush the toilet. So here I am sitting here in the candlelight, with just enough power to [hopefully] complete a post.

Today we ran around looking for new hardware. In some of these shops there is overwhelming visual stimulation: millions of bags of tiny little studs, grommets, zippers, closures, belt buckles, o-rings, d-rings, lobster clips, and on and on… True to form, today felt like a monopoly board and we were the pawns, following the suit of the dice.

Ending on a good note, rough drafts of 2 samples are back and 2 more to grab tomorrow. The jacket has incredible leather, tiny ruffles and tiny studs. Simple lines, flattering cut, and the sleeves are so nice and tailored. This victorian style jacket needs just a little more edge before its where I want it to be. So, onward I go, sitting with the jacket until I what it needs. I like to think our style has an underlying theme to it…edge and romance locked in the same room with no where to go. I am trying to bring the edge into this one, so it stays more Mended Mosaic, instead of Tea Time.

A little over 3 weeks and I keep telling myself that we are moving at a good pace, but patience has never been my best virtue. Even after we submit our samples, I'm right back in what Louie fondly calls my "office" with splayed out pieces of paper and a measuring tape, working on the next one. Even after my initial design is complete, I still keep trying new ideas like trying new dresses on my paper dolls …survival of the fittest, so to speak.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Our Own Little Slice of Heaven.

After years of spending our time here in one room, we finally decided to splurge a little and find a house to ourselves for this trip. Being post wedding, and we haven't taken a honeymoon yet, we opted for a more lavish stay on our work trip. After hours on the bike, sunburns, and little gangways later, somehow we stumbled on our own little slice of heaven. And I can't wait to have our visitors! Instead of rambling on and on about how wonderful it is, I took pictures to post. What a difference it has been already in having space to get into our creative zone. Welcome home.

Risk/Reward

Finding the hidden gems that you are specifically seeking is one of the toughest games I have ever played. I tend to be the type of person who finds a restaurant I like, the item on the menu that I like, and stick with it. I don't feel that I lack adventure in this way [although many may beg to differ] but why should I spread my wings if I am guaranteed to love my usual?? There are times when Louie and I go out to eat and we branch out into the edible unknown, but more often than not make eye contact and say: "Should've stuck with the usual".

It doesn't just stop with food. I am that way with jeans, shoes, and colors. This is not to say that every once in a while the blue shard of glass in the dirt doesn't catch my attention and I am led slowly at a steady pace towards the shiny thing glimmering in the sun, but would I carry a bag in that same color? Nah. So I stick with what I am passionate about. The most rich, soft chocolate brown I can find. The perfect creme that reminds you of something you would find in an old antique trunk. A light buttery brown that looks like it is melting when you fold it. I know I like something when I catch myself going "ooOOOoOooo" upon discovery. And Louie made me swear I wouldn't say anything..................... but I even caught him "ooOoOo-ing" once.

But isn't it time that I risk ordering something that I might like…even more??

Bali demands risks of all kinds to find exactly what you're looking for, or even something you didn't know you were looking for. You will be disappointed a thousand times, and sweaty to boot by the end of it…and sometimes you won't find anything at all. Its not like there is an industrial sized JoAnne's around the corner. In fact, before I got here, I had no idea that the materials and hardware would be so spread out. You have to take risks to get rewards so you have to keep trucking on even when it seems like your dream fabric is no where to be found. I was told once that the view from the top of the mountain is so much sweeter when you climb it, rather than drive to it. It takes climbing a mountain to understand that feeling. Let me tell you, that person was right.

Chaos.

Today I woke up way before the sun. Jet lag? The way a child feels on Christmas Eve night? A bit of both, likely, and not to mention that my inner to-do lists are haunting my relaxation time. My anxiety is telling me five weeks is going to be hard-pressed to get everything done. I am committed to my planner to make sure everything is unfolding in a timely fashion so that when crunch time is just around the corner I can flash an award-winning smile and laugh in the face of procrastination.

However, in any business, I am sure this means the same thing: plan for the things you can control, and leave room for disaster on the things you cannot. On our house hunt yesterday we spoke with a man who was curious about our life in Chicago. Louie mentioned that he was excited to leave the chaos of home to which the man replied, "And then you get here and its just a different kind of chaos, no?" and we all laughed followed by that moment of silence and slow nodding.

And that leaves us to today. Preliminary responsibilities in tact-- we dive. I am a fan of Step One which is always accompanied by that distinct sense of fresh satisfaction. We get the keys to our house today!!! We meet with a couple tailors today for the first samples to come back. This all means we have pushed over the first domino. With our sit-bones finally adjusting to the scooter seat, sun on our backs, and a tape measure around my neck like a waving flag, we are off to find that olive green leather I've been dreaming about.




P.S. Louie wants me to say something. In Bali you're not supposed to flush toilet paper in the toilet. So above the toilet there is a sign in our bathroom that reads: "Thank you for not throwing anything into the closet". Maybe this is why I am the one who writes the blog. And so it begins. Random observations, signs, and commentary by Louie. The picture didn't come out, so I will get to that in the next few hours.

Lets do the Time Warp again.

The smell of sawdust always reminds me of my dad and his wood shop. The smell of roses reminds me of when I was a kid and my mom would bring these buckets of roses home from her shop that she couldn't sell anymore so we could take rose petal baths. When I smell these things, moments come back to me as if it were yesterday afternoon - trying desperately to get the sawdust off my socks, or feeling like a tiny regal bath tubber. I love triggers like this, like a time warp..like you could open your eyes to see those damn socks nearly falling off your feet before you run up every other stair to the kitchen.

Not only is flying 13 hours into the future its own time warp, but year after year we return to Bali and just getting into the airport has its own smell of familiarity. That initial walk outside …the air is so thick its like a blanket. So, wrapped by the heat of the tropics, hopping on our brand new scooter, we jump the back streets and gangways like we never left. Inside jokes from the last time we were here are a year old but here we are, laughing again. I have to take a moment to think how incredibly thankful I am to feel that Bali, Indonesia is a home away from home.

Only a few things have changes that i've noticed so far: a new Circle K, a few new stores, and some are gone. Mostly it all seems the same. Our favorite Balinese friends still work in the same restaurants and hang outside the same stores. They all remember our names and are thrilled that we are back again. When we tell them that we have gotten married, the excitement is nearly overwhelming. And of course..the wedding, too, feels like it was just yesterday.

At this point, the only thing left from our time warp is our skin acclimating to the sun. It will only take a few days for the sun to seep back into our bones and allow our skin to glow along with it. In just a few hours, I have a pretty impressive sunburn but Louie's farmer's tan trumps mine by far. Ha. Yep. We are definitely back in Bali. Its our first day back and I am signing off - we have a sunset on the beach to catch.

Preparation. For. Creation.

I never thought about starting a blog. The creative process has always been something that I have shared with only Louie, my family or close friends. With our departure right around the corner, all of a sudden I was having more and more people asking questions about what we do out in Bali, Indonesia when creating our next line. Whats first? Whats second?

I suppose the first step to sharing our process would be creating this blog, practice using proper capital letters and punctuation, and starting from the beginning.

And here we are. 4 days from leaving Chicago's 20 degree weather, 4 days from the constant creative process of finding fabrics, bits and bobs, working on shapes, stitches, buzzing around on the motorbike, and eating sushi on the ocean. 4 days from the zone. 4 days from the start of our 5 weeks in Bali.

So...5 weeks and 4 days until we are back in Chicago with Mended Mosaic's 2010 line.