I want it all!!!

The shopping event has come and gone.  The follow up emails have been sent and now I’m not quite sure what I should be doing as I sit in my sisters apartment staring at my computer feeling like I should be productive but all I have the energy to do is exactly what I’m doing….staring at my computer and trying to enter a post that makes some sort of sense to you and to myself for that matter. 

Being back in NY feels like I never left.  Some things have changed like a subway ride now costs $2.25, that new “green”building was finally completed on 42nd and 6th avenue and the oh so many businesses that are now gone in Brooklyn but overall things are the same.  Things are still moving much in the same way as before and I seem to have just slipped right in there with everyone else.  I am one of the many who’s hustling through Union Square to transfer from one train to another.  I get up in the mornings and go get my coffee and a bagel (yes, I know I should lay off of them) from the corner guy.  I must say it has been exciting to be here during the holiday as it is my favorite time in NY…listening to Christmas music on the radio has been bringing me many happy moments….I’m a sucker for Christmas music. 

And already I’m putting the pressure on myself to get moving and make things happen.  That could be NY or it could just be me and my neurotic self or quite possibly it’s a combination of the two.  Either way it’s stressful and overwhelming. 

But overall, now that I’ve got this back I really don’t miss it.  Ok, I miss it because it’s what’s comfortable but I can leave tomorrow and be ok with my NY fix.  What I do miss is seeing sheep on mobilettes and cramming myself into a Mercedes cab filled with 6 other people, typically other women with large bottoms which ensure a tight fit.  I miss not knowing how chubby I really got since it went disguised in my “baggy is best” outfits….unfortunately or fortunately, there’s no hiding it now that I’m packing on the layers of clothes to keep warm. 

Anyway, I guess it’s true when they say you can’t have it all though I have a feeling I will probably always think I can and will probably always keep trying to get it all.  A girl can dream, right?

Reminder: Pop Up Souk Holiday Shopping Event

Just a reminder that tomorrow I will be participating in the Indagare Pop Up Souk Holiday Shopping Event in NYC.  The event will take place from December 1-3.  I am back in NY and will be there to debut my new collection of women’s handcrafted accessories (belts and bags).  As many of you already know, I have spent the last 6 months in Marrakech working with the local artisans to bring these ideas to life and I am now ready to share them with you!

In addition to my product, you’ll also get to shop for items from other designers and artisans from around the world.  If you have a minute, please stop by…would love to see you!!

http://www.indagare.com/passions/10/departments/173/8637

Last Night in Marrakech

As some of you may know, today is a religious holiday in Morocco called Eid.   Families celebrate by slaughtering a sheep and then spend the whole week visiting one another and OD’ing on sheep.  I imagine it’s a little like Thanksgiving minus the slaughtering part and replacing the turkey for sheep.  With that being said, the city had been preparing for it all week.  All week there were sheep everywhere and when I say everywhere I really mean everywhere.  Sheep were on corners waiting to be purchased and taken home where they would spend their last days until the big day.  They seemed so calm though I’m pretty sure they had no clue what was coming their way.  People were buying up their sheep and transporting them in every way possible.  I saw sheep in carts, sheep in the back of mini pick up trucks, sheep on mobilettes (my favorite visual and I was determined to capture that on film…coming soon to you) and I even heard one in someone’s trunk….really. (I was in a taxi and we were stuck in traffic when I heard a banging sound.  I thought it was the cars next to us and maybe that one hit the other but they weren’t moving….then I heard it again and put 2 and 2 together….and the taxi driver was just laughing so that confirmed it for me.)

While all of this was going on I spent the week running around from one artisan to the next all over town.  I traveled via bus, taxi and on foot to get everywhere I needed to go as quickly as I could as I still had a lot of outstanding samples I was waiting on and not a lot of time.  Zakaria was working on a lot of belt samples for me and I was a little nervous as the metal artisan he has been partnering with has been a little slow.  The other guy on the other side of town only had 3 belts and 4 bags and I had already seen the progress so was feeling confident that the work would be ready in time so I decided to work with Zakaria.

After all the running around I got to Zakaria’s atelier where he was with the metal guy, Ibrahim, and two other friends that I know from going to the atelier.  His atelier reminds me a little of what barber shops are probably like here in the US.  Friends will pop in throughout the day to chat and just hang out.  It’s kind of a nice environment as conversation and laughter  flows and I am made to feel like part of the group.  Everyone lends a hand if and when needed, including myself.

Progress was being made but it was slow.  I ended up  being there until 11pm and I still needed my samples from the other guy.  With my Zakaria samples in hand I said goodbye to the boys and took my last mobilette ride of the trip back to my apartment.  I called the other guy to see if he was done and he wasn’t.  30 more minutes and he would be ready to drop off.  Ok, I really hoped that was true because it was now 11:30pm, I was extremely tired and still needed to pack so that I could wake up at 5am.  A few friends were over to wish me goodbye but also to keep me company while I packed.  Every 15 minutes or so I would call the artisan again only to get scrambled messages followed by hang ups.  This was not looking promising.  I was beginning to worry.  In the meantime, I continued to pack.  I left much of my stuff because yes, I know I will be back soon…I am determined.

The clock was ticking and still no samples.  12:30.  Now every time I called I got voicemail.  This was really not looking good.  I was just about done with my packing and all that was missing were my samples.  I called every number I had for the artisan but kept getting either voicemail or no reply at all.  My friends tried calling from their phones too but no answer.  All I knew was that I was not leaving Morocco without my samples.  I wasn’t quite sure how I would get my samples if no one was resp0nding to me but I was getting them.  This calling and no answer business went on for about another 30 minutes all the while I was keeping my cool…incredibly surprising.  Finally the artisan called me to tell me that in 10 minutes he would be at my apartment with my samples and in 10 minutes he was.  (Yeah, I think this had something to do with what I think was a semi-threatening phone call from my friend in Arabic.)  It was now 1am when I got a call to go outside.  When I got outside there was the artisan standing outside of his car with his partner in the backseat and some young guy in the passenger seat.  I should probably give you a better visual…the artisan is a salt and pepper bearded guy wearing a black djellaba, his partner in the backseat is also a bearded guy, the young guy was an unknown face.  Seeing these two characters in the dark, outside your apartment at 1am, is not the most comforting thing I’ve seen.  In fact, it felt a little creepy and definitely wrong.  Kind of felt like I was in a gangster movie or like I was making a drug deal or something….so not how I’ve done business in the past.

I grabbed the goods, paid for them and quickly made my way back into my apartment.  Bye, bye Marrakech!

New York, here I come!

2 weeks ago if you had asked me when I was going to NY I would have probably said I wasn’t ready yet.  Ask me the same question today and I am more than ready.  Not sure if it’s the upcoming holidays that have got me feeling nostalgic or the fact that launching my business is taking a lot longer and is a lot more difficult than I anticipated or perhaps I’m just homesick.  Whatever it is, I’m ready.

I’m ready to leave behind the hustle and bustle of Marrakech for the hustle and bustle of New York.  I’m ready to catch up with my sisters and old friends.  I’m ready to leave behind mint tea and replace it with chai lattes.  I’m ready to take a break from French and get back to plain and simple English.  I’m ready to pass on the crowded grand taxis and get back on the F train.  I’m ready to forget about the souks for a while and instead check out the latest museum exhibits and window displays where I can be inspired again.  I’m ready to see people from all over the world mix and mingle again…something that I seem to be missing a lot these days.  And one of the biggest things I’m ready for is to regroup and reconnect with myself and my vision and come up with a plan for the next phase. 

Even though I’m ready to go back home there is already a little part of me that is missing Marrakech but I’m not crying, at least not yet because I know I’ll be back soon.

 

Pop Up Souk Shopping Event

I am incredibly pleased and super excited to announce that I will be participating in the Indagare Pop Up Souk Holiday Shopping Event in NYC.  The event will take place from December 1-3 and I will be there too debuting my new collection of women’s handcrafted accessories (belts and bags).  I have spent a good portion of the last 6 months here in Marrakech working with the local artisans to bring these ideas to life so I am very happy to finally be able to share them with you. 

In addition to my product, there will be product from several other designers who have also worked with artisans from around the world.  If you have a minute, please stop by!

http://www.indagare.com/passions/10/departments/173/8637

 

Danica Cosic Design

 

Life, money, decisions…oh my!!!

One year later and I’m not quite sure if I am in a much better place than I was when I was crying my heart out in LA.  Ok, maybe the crying is less frequent these days and I cry for very different reasons but the feeling of not really knowing what  I’m doing with myself is still pretty much the same…except this time I’m all alone in a foreign country (although at times LA could probably be considered a foreign country).

Today is November 18th.  My original flight back to NY was for today.  It’s also a holiday in Morocco today (don’t ask me what holiday).  I’m sitting in my too big apartment, contemplating the day ahead of me and having my morning coffee.  Clearly I’m not going back to NY today.  For weeks I’ve been stressing about what to do about my flight.  Do I just go back as planned?  But then I ask myself, “And then what?”  Do I change it for a later date?  “And then what?”  Do I just not go back to NY at all?  “And then really what?”  Do I just go and spend the holidays, try to promote/sell my brand and then return to Marrakech in January?  “But what if no one buys my product…then what?????”  Still unanswered and I know I’ve probably made everyone in my path crazy just listening to all the rambling in my head.

I’ve also been dealing with the work/money issue.  Yes, those minor little details that are somehow so necessary in life.  Feeling like I finally needed to just buckle down and focus on getting a job here I printed out a bunch of copies of my nicely translated French resume and on Monday I pounded the pavement….literally.  I don’t think I’ve ever really had to do that to find a job before but as a very dear friend says, and which have become new words to live by, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”  I went out in search of a design/sales or basically any type of job I could find.  I dropped off my resume at several places and thinking that it might matter or impress people that I was a designer from New York I really made a point of emphasizing it…in French I might add.   After telling one woman about myself, my work, where I was from, she very kindly said that my French was good and then she followed by saying that my English must be good too.   Hello?!?!?  I just told her I was from New York!!!  Needless to say, I didn’t feel very hopeful at the end of the day. 

In between all of that I’ve been reaching out to local boutiques in hopes of at least getting the opportunity to meet with the owners/buyers to just show the collection but people are either not interested in my product, not interested in me and my story or really just don’t care as nearly all of the people I’ve contacted have not even bothered to acknowledge my attempt to reach out.  I’m beginning to think that whoever gave that tip about starting your business on the side while holding onto your day job might have had a point.

As happy as I am to have finally taken the step to do this I am also realizing (ok, I realized this the first night I got here) that it’s definitely not an easy step…and it’s just one step of many steps to come.  My horoscope for the month of November says that this month is all about great things happening in my career.  Everything I do now will be in order to help me get where I want to be in the next 3 years.  I really, really, really hope that’s the case because this little moment that I’m in right now kind of sucks. 

But, even after all of this, today I am feeling a sense of calm which is rare for me especially after 2 cups of coffee and finding myself with broken plans (thought I’d be spending the day cranking out product…not happening…it’s a holiday).  Maybe I’m beginning to trust that eventually things will work out as they should….that I will finally be in a better place and my business will finally be successful and I’ll finally meet that amazing partner.  Call me optimistic, call me naive, call me crazy….regardless, in the meantime, this girl will just keep on movin’ on.

Did someone say shopping???

I know, I know, I’ve been a little slow in updating my shop for you but I’m back and I hope I don’t disappoint.  Done a little scouring of the souks and I’ve found some cool and interesting new additions.  Please check out the Shop Wanderlust page….I think you’ll agree. 

Or, just click below, click on My Photos and then click on Albums…then take your pick…

http://picasaweb.google.com/danica.cosic/FeltedWoolItems#5392508933052095442

Remember, just email me at danica.cosic@gmail.com if you’ve got any questions or if you’re interested in making a purchase.  Enjoy!!!

The Cucumber Mystery

About a week ago I came home to a water filled kitchen and the worst thing was that I had absolutely no idea where it was coming from.  It wasn’t the fridge and as far as I could tell it wasn’t the sink either.  It was definitely a mystery to me.  I would squeegee it away at night only to find myself stepping in it once again in the morning.  I told the building owner about it, a large, slightly unpleasant woman (I’m being nice) about it in hopes that she could figure it out or at least have someone stop by to fix the problem.  She came up to my apartment and did a little inspecting.  In about 2 minutes she determined that a pipe in the wall had burst.  Hmmm, somehow I got the feeling that this was not the first time the pipe burst.  Anyway, the next day she was having someone come by to take care of it.  The next day was a Sunday…at 9am…after the big wedding I attended.  Ok, maybe another example of poor planning on my part but I had a problem and needed to deal with it.  Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? 

Sunday morning, 9am.  I’m up, I’m tired but I’m up.  I made a date and I was keeping it.  I waited and waited and finally the plumber arrived only to tell me or to tell the building owner that he would have to come back tomorrow with another guy.  It wasn’t very clear to me why I had to get up at 9am or why they couldn’t start the job and to be honest I had no clue what the guy was trying to say to me but, whatever.  I’m beginning to learn not to lose my patience over things like this because 9 out of 10 times I’m the only one getting worked up.

So, the next day he showed up again with a friend.  The building owner was in my apartment too.  My door was open and the three of them were going back and forth speaking in Arabic while I was in the next room, working, trying to take dictation in French.   Quiet would have been nice.  I continued to do my work and left the three of them to do whatever it was they were going to do.  I occassionally went to the kitchen to check on them….when things got too quiet.  At one point it was really quiet.  This made me nervous.  I went out and saw that they had banged out the wall and did a terrible job of plastering it.  I pointed this out to them and they said a bunch of stuff I couldn’t understand that probably meant that it was fine and enough.  A few minutes later they were gone and all they left behind was a mess. 

As I tried to clean up the chunks of tile and grout and sand I noticed that the cucumber I had sitting in a bowl on the counter was half gone.  Someone ate half the cucumber.  They didn’t bother to accompany the cucumber with the bread or the tomatoes or maybe some salt and olive oil…just half of the cucumber which they so indiscreetly left sitting on the counter. 

I must admit, it did look like a difficult job and it was clear that someone got hungry along the way but perhaps it would’ve been better if they just ate the whole thing, at least then I would have just thought I was crazy.  Oh well, it did make me laugh so bravo to the plumbers….the Great Pumpkin is still sitting on the counter….too bad they didn’t decide to run off with it….now that would’ve been funny…

Take a look…..

get a sneak peek at what I’ve been working on for the last 5 months and also some of the great projects Alan, of Still Images Photography, has been working on for me and in Marrakech…..check out www.still-images.net/blog/ 

Enjoy…and by the way, the complete launch of Danica Cosic Design is coming very soon!!!

Danica Got Her Groove Back

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been feeling a bit down.  I’ve been lacking motivation and inspiration in Marrakech, if you can believe that.  My usual stressors about how I am going to officially launch my business to provide the greatest results to questioning what I am doing in Morocco at this point in my life when my family and friends and all that’s really familiar is back in New York.  I have been missing things from my old life.  Not New York because I still don’t have much desire to go back but things like coffee in a to go cup, autumn and strolling down Brooklyn streets with that coffee to go cup in my hand, my pink kitchen utensils, Harlem, which was been the weirdest one so far considering I never really spent that much time up there to begin with (I guess homesickness can be unpredictable), rice and beans and hearing my mother yell at me in Spanish…maybe not the yelling but definitely the loud talking that Cubans are so good at, my sisters and a whole lot more. 

I was beginning to have another one of those “Now what?” moments.  (Every 5 months or so seems to be the trend.)  Here I am with a collection of bags and belts.  Wonderful.  What do I do with them now???  Well, the truth is is that I know very well what I need to do with them now and that’s the part that has been freaking me out.  I have been feeling down in the dumps thinking about how my fear of inadequacy and of not having the nerve to just make the initial leap has been getting the best of me….and I’ve let them.

Thinking about the future on a personal level was also making me feel bad.  As you know, I don’t want to go back to New York.  I love it but I’m just not ready to be there again….especially not in December….been there, done that and definitely don’t feel the need to do it again.  The fact is is that I’m not sure if I’ll ever be ready to be there again.  A big part of me doesn’t think so but I’ll save that for another day.

Anyway, taking all those thoughts plus the 101 other thoughts that are constantly racing in my head made for a me that was not my usual me….until this morning.  Last night before bed I made a to do list for myself….I listed all the shops in Marrakech that I needed to contact as well as a bunch of US shops I want to contact and I made the leap.  I woke up feeling a sense of purpose (and a tiny bit of clarity) again.  I was ready to tackle the next phase of this project which was the reason for this trip in the first place.  I keep thinking about how so many people are counting on me including myself.  I’ve got artisans waiting for work and the thought of knowing I would disappoint them because I was scared of making a phone call or scared of people judging my work was unacceptable and really just ridiculous. 

So I am proud to say that this morning, I officially got my groove back.  Stay tuned….