Essaouira…I could breathe again…with a side of Sidi Kaouki!

Tie Dye Treasure

On Sunday morning I boarded an 8:30am Supratours bus from Marrakech to Essaouira.  I had honestly been looking forward to this trip from day one of product development.  Though not all my samples are completely finished I felt good about leaving Marrakech and my work behind for a few days.  I needed to clear my head and figure out the next steps.  That required more thinking, as if I hadn’t already been doing enough of that.  I had been put in touch with another designer who spends a lot of time in Essaouira and she and I had been emailing before my trip so I was also looking forward to meeting her. 

The drive to Essaouira was pretty and you could feel the beach getting closer and closer.  On the way I saw a goat hanging out and dining up in an argan tree.  I had read about this so knew it was normal but what a funny sight it was.  The houses along the way changed from pink and red to white and blue.  When I got off the bus it was like a breath of fresh air.  Cool and fresh.  Such a difference from the heat in Marrakech.  I was already in love.  My hotel was in the medina so I made my way into the walled city in search of it.  The air was damp, the sky was gray and it was somewhat early on a Sunday morning during Ramadan so all of those things might have contributed to the slightly eerie feeling.  Either way I was happy to be there. 

After finding my hotel and dropping off my stuff I met my new friend.  It was so nice to meet someone I could chat with in English.  She was going through some of the same challenges as I was and in some cases she had already experienced some of the challenges I am currently experiencing.  We sat inside a beautiful courtyard cafe and sipped mint tea and shared stories.  4 hours must have passed like this.  It was perfect.  I was introduced to her local friends and found myself experiencing Morocco the way I had always imagined it to be.  We sat outside her friend’s shop and chatted about the country, Ramadan, artisans work and the amount of tourism in Morocco, especially Marrakech.  I really felt good being in this town.  I already knew I didn’t want to return to Marrakech.  Hmmm, was there any way I could move my business here? 

Over the course of 3 days I sunbathed on the windy city beach, took leisurely strolls, watched sunsets and the ocean, watched the fisherman bring in the morning catch, sipped on mint tea and chatted with the locals of this town.  Everyone was so friendly and so mellow.  There was none of the aggression or hustle and bustle found in Marrakech.  Maybe being more relaxed just comes with the territory when you live in a coastal town.  Each time I leave Marrakech and return I find myself feeling that it’s a lot like how New York is/was for me.  I love the energy and excitement of it but I’m always happy to take a break from it. 

I must mention that as a former FIT graduate, lover of fashion and textiles I spend a lot of time looking to see what people are wearing.  Particularly women.  During my time in Morocco I have seen women wear djellabas which depending on the fabric and the print and how much detailing and trim it has the potential to be impressive or just awful.  But among all the animal print and shiny djellabas out ther I have seen a handful of women wearing saris.  I have been immediately drawn to these amazing lightweight fabrics as they remind me of Indian saris but also because of the patterns.  They look like yards and yards of beautifully tie dyed fabric.  Every time I see one of these women I just want to run up to her and inspect her garment but instead I remind myself to just ask someone where these come from.  Who wears them?  The women in the south.  Who prints the designs?  The men in the south.  Why do they only wear them in the south?  It’s hotter in the south.  Why don’t the girls in Marrakech wear them?  The girls in Marrakech are more “modern”.  If I had the option I’d definitely be going the sari route.  So these have been some of the answers I’ve gotten though they have not been consistent.  Someone told me that they actually come from Mauritania and not Morocco at all.  I still can’t really tell you exactly where they come from but all I know is that I want them….all of them!  I imagine them draped around the home, on beds, windows and I can also seem them at the beach worn as a sarong  and wrapped around the body or laying on a beach chair.  Anyway, I haven’t seen these around the souks in Marrakech only on women in Casablanca and Rabat and occasionally at the taxi station in Marrakech.  But in Essaouira I found the treasure.  In the shop of one of my new Souiri friends were these tie dyed fabrics.  Three nights in a row I went into the shop and all three nights I found myself fondling the fabrics and trying to decide which one would come home with me.  I finally decided on one.  I must practice self control, it is Ramadan, you know. 

 After the third day I really didn’t want to leave as I had found exactly what I was craving but I was told I should check out a town a few towns along the way.  Sidi Kaouki.  It’s known for it’s super windy waters and has become famous for windsurfing.  Ok, I’m no windsurfer but why not? 

The morning of departure I sat in a bus for about 35 minutes.  Apparently the bus had some issue that was being worked on.  One by one the passengers got off the bus.  I guess this was a sign that I should probably do the same.  Instead I waited a bit longer.  A guy got on the bus and asked if anyone was going to Sidi Kaouki so that they could fill up a taxi.  This was my sign.  The taxi ride was about 3o minutes and what a lovely ride it was.  So quiet and calm.  When we finally reached Sidi Kaouki I knew instantly that spending the night was probably a mistake.  Besides a really beautiful beach with some donkeys, camels and a few beach chairs on it there was absolutely nothing much around.  Bad idea for girl on her own who already has issues of having too many thoughts in her little head. 

I found my hotel which was run by a French couple.  I found my lime green/turquoise room.  Wow!  I dropped off my bags and headed for the beach as quickly as I could.  I mean, really, what else was I going to do?  After paying way too much for a beach chair, why? I asked.  The answer being that there were not as many tourists in Sidi Kaouki as there are in Essaouira.  Ok, I guess that makes sense…sort of.  And after having more than my share of sand blown in my face and after reading enough of my book, attempting to study my Moroccan Arabic as the pages blew all over the place I started to really freak out.  What was I thinking?  Why was I spending the night?  What was I going to do with myself for the next seven hours?

Answer to that question…I took a walk, a long walk.  I saw a donkey that was sitting in the sand rollover.  I’m not kidding.  He actually rolled over.  Hey, it got me laughing.  I went to the only beach/windsurfer cafe in town and my what a disappointment that was.  It was becoming clear to me that this town really followed the practice of when there’s no competition around you are entitled to jack up your prices and not provide much in return.  I read my book some more.  Oh, it was almost time for sunset so I walked along the beach and took a seat on some rocks.  Lovely.  2 more hours for bed and counting.

Time for bed.  I had already planned my escape from this town for after breakfast.  I wasn’t so sure how I was going to be getting back to Essaouira as I had basically been dumped in a parking lot but regardless, I was getting out.  Overall, Sidi Kaouki was a bit too bizarro for me.

 

 

Tea for two...how could we not linger for hours?

 

Catch of the day

 

Essaouira View

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Ramadan

I got my introduction to Ramadan today when this morning I went to pick up some bread for breakfast and found that the two little shops in the village and the “bakery” were closed.  Aahhh, fun at 7am on a Saturday morning.  And to add to that, yesterday we moved back one hour on the clock.  I still don’t really understand why as some people have changed their clocks and others won’t and in the end everyone is really just on their own time.  Very confusing. 

I went to the medina to run some errands but also because I was really curious about what happens in this town during Ramadan.  Ever since I got here people have been warning me about Ramadan and how everything basically shuts down not to mention peoples moods.  I’ve been warned to leave Morocco for the next month.  I have also been advised that I should try to get invited to as many homes as possible to break the fast.  It’s supposed to be great.   Unfortunately I can’t really leave Morocco though I am planning an escape.  Tomorrow I am boarding an 8:30am bus to Essaouira and I can’t wait. 

I’m not sure how long I will be gone but I am definitely planning on spending some quality time on the beach.  Since I can’t completely relax, I don’t know, it’s just how I am, I am hoping to work on my business plan and get my thoughts in some sort of order before I come back to Marrakech to tackle phase two of my work. 

I promise to take lots of pics and hopefully I will come back a new and improved me.

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Couscous Friday

First of all, please forgive my half bird logo on the site.  Obviously I have been giving my site a makeover but not doing the best job of it.  Working on this and hope to have it resolved any day now. 

Yesterday was my official deadline for having completed samples.  With the exception of a few items which I know are pretty close to being done, I have met my deadline!!  Ok, so I worked today with an artisan to get a bag and one belt finished and I still have two more belts to go but that’s not too bad. I guess that shows me what a little focus and determination can do. 

This morning at our appointment we started off the day with mint tea, bread, fresh butter, jam which I assume was homemade, honey and olive oil.  Love this stuff.  We worked on two items that have been taking quite some time to finish.  The first was a small leather handbag that is actually pieced and joined with a type of embroidered hand stitch.  There is also embroidery on the front of the bag.  Small bag = a lot of work.  The second item is a belt.  Really a simple belt with wood buckle but between the artisans, me and my assistant and actually my first assistant was a part of this too, we have come up with about a hundred different ways of making this wood buckle work.  Metal all around, rivets on back, metal clippy things, wood glue, paste made for woodwork, punch holes in the wood and stitch it on, etc, etc, etc…honestly we’d come up with everything.  I’d had an idea for this belt a few weeks back but kept getting resistance.  I was told it wasn’t going to work, it was too complicated or they didn’t understand.  I let it slide as they showed me their sample attempts none of which I was in love with or even liked.  They all seemed very crafty in a not so good way and homemade.  I just continued to repeat myself until finally someone decided to try it.  Today I got to see the finished product and I must say, nice job.  It turned out exactly as I had envisioned it.  Smooth, polished, clean and simple.  I think it’s going to be a great everyday kind of belt…translation…top seller….or at least I hope so or the artisans might not be too happy about working with me in the future.

The day was a lot longer than I had planned.  I really thought that we could get the job of finishing up the lining, zipper and strap for the bag and attaching the leather to the buckle done in half a day.  We were there until 5:30.  6pm if you count our coffee break after all the work was done.  Lucky for us it was Friday which meant couscous.  Apparently Friday is the day where everyone has couscous in Morocco.  “Why Friday?”, I asked, well, because Friday is the big prayer day and on Fridays some people will actually bring couscous dishes to the mosque to feed those less fortunate.  Couscous is a dish that can feed many.  I learned this first hand when a few weekends ago I asked our housekeeper to please make me a couscous.  In my mind I thought this could be something small that I could have over the weekend since I was the only one around.  When I was on my way out that evening for my crepe date, I was told by my assistant that I really should stick around. I didn’t quite understand until I saw the size of the dish she was using…not to mention the number of hours it took her to prepare it.  Needless to say, I canceled my plans, my assistant stayed for dinner and we invited one of the neighbors.  If there had been other people around that weekend we would have invited them too. 

Back to couscous Fridays.  So, I took a mini break from watching my samples being worked on and I was invited into the artisans home, which was right next door to the atelier, to hang out with his wife in the kitchen while she prepared the couscous.  Every time I am invited into a Moroccan home I can’t help but think how different it is from the world I know.  My American life…even how different it is from what it was like growing up in my “American life” in a Cuban/Croatian home.  The kitchen was super hot as both burners were going…one with the couscous and the other with the vegetables and meat.  Unfortunately I couldn’t really communicate with the wife since she spoke no French and my Arabic is still very “chuiya” (little, you get the picture).  I sat on a tiny stool while I watched her cook.  I felt a bit awkward and I think she did too as I’m sure she must have felt like she was on exhibit for the foreigner but we smiled politely, cracked walnuts together and she continued making the couscous. 

The wife was younger than me and our lives couldn’t be more different.  She had a husband, child, house to take care of.  I was single, older than her, had no attachments and was in the next room working with all of the men while she got stuck in a hot kitchen on a hot day making couscous for all of us.  Did she enjoy it?  I wondered if she thought that was what marriage was going to be all about.  Did she have dreams of doing other things?  It really made me appreciate all of my liberties but it also made me think a lot about my project to work with the women of Morocco and how I was going to do it.  

Anyway, after we had our couscous, which was pretty great, we got back to work.  One thing I forgot to mention and this was my first experience seeing what I saw, was that a pipe kept popping up and being passed from one artisan to the other.  By the smell I knew exactly what it was but maybe I just found it too bizarro that I would be working with someone and they would be smoking the funny stuff in front of me.  Ok, I know, I’m a little uptight about these things but why was this the first time I was seeing this?  Obviously they didn’t find it strange at all.  Was everyone else just being polite?  Yes was the answer to that question.  “Everyone does it.”  It helps them focus.  Well, if that’s the case then go for it.  Anything that will allow them to focus and think more creatively is fine by me.  Whatever works. 

At the end of the day I got some pretty nice product.

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Stress…again!!!

I mentioned I had a long weekend.  Why?  Perhaps you can imagine but if not I’ll be happy to fill you in.  Basically I am coming to a point where I need to start making some decisions about what I am doing on a personal level and also on a professional level.  Here it is….

Personal: 

-I’m trying to figure out my housing situation.  Do I stay in the village or do I try to find a place for the same cost but closer to the center?  I like the village but I sometimes feel a bit stuck.  Getting to the center is a bit of a trek and because I don’t have my own transportation, getting away on the weekends is not so simple.  Maybe my answer is to just invest in a bike or a mobilette?  Not sure yet what the best answer is. 

-Funds are running low….STRESS!!!  I need to start earning a living.  In the past two months I have done nothing but spend.  Mind you, I’ve been quite thrifty but nonetheless this little spending habit of mine must come to an end.  Translation…I need a job.  What does an American with a lot of design and product development experience, mediocre French and  no Arabic do in Morocco?  Hmmm, still trying to figure that one out.  Actually, I do have some ideas but for some reason I am feeling really intimidated by this.  I’ll be honest, I’m scared and nervous.  Don’t ask why.  I probably wouldn’t have an answer that would make any real sense anyway.  If anyone has any thoughts or words of wisdom, I would be more than happy to listen. 

-Communinty or lack of community.  Ok, I’ll say it.  I’m lonely!  I have been very focused on my work for the past 2 months and have not made much time for socializing.  I have some friends here and some invitations but the weekends are rough….especially when you leave someone like me alone for way too long in my own head.  Every kind of thought imaginable runs starts making its way in there and with that every single emotion.   The majority of those emotions are not so good.  I’m not a needy person but I do enjoy the company of people…especially people I can connect with.  I’ve got an action list and this is one of the things I will begin making more of an effort with.

-Time has been flying by.  I am basically almost halfway through my trip which means I have already started thinking about my November 18th return to NY.  Honestly, I’m not so sure I want to return as that alone brings a whole other set of things to think about.  I’ll save that for further down the road. 

Business:

-I still need to write that business plan.  I think I have been working on it since before January in New York.  It’s quite possible that it might have been started in LA.  Procrastination?  Maybe.  But I must admit that I have not felt inspired to sit and write.  I feel like my thoughts are not clear and also like my focus may have shifted somewhat and that’s not necessarily a good thing.  I’m hoping to take a beach vacation next week and while I’m away I am planning to schedule some time just to writing. 

-I’ve got to start focusing on my marketing and sales plan.  I’ve got some ideas in mind but again this is something where I feel like I really need to set aside some time to sit down and focus and come up with a concrete plan.  I reviewed some of my marketing ideas (photo shoot idea, catalog, etc) with my friend and I think she may also help me execute some of these ideas.  Basically, the key is simplicity.  I am no professional photographer with a crazy budget.  I am just me in the village trying to get past phase one.  Again, any ideas send right this way.

-What if my product is not good enough?  I’ve started getting some feedback and though most of it is good I have had some “constructive” criticism.  I asked for it and in fact, I know I need it.  I need to start building that tough skin for when I’m really out there.  Most of the comments I received I had actually made myself so I know they are tweaks that need to be made.  Anyway, when I did hear the comments I don’t think I was prepared for them.  You can tell I’m not in sales when I tell you that I seriously thought I would vomit.  I tried my best to let the comments slide and kept reminding myself that I can’t be everything to everyone and that not everyone will like my stuff.  After about 2 hours with a really tight feeling in my stomach I decided I needed to relax and so I took a walk. 

-And lastly, how I am going to do everything?!?!   That, my friends, is the question that doesn’t seem to leave me alone.

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Almost there…I think

Ok, so it’s Monday night and I’ve had another long week and an even longer weekend.  I’m slowly, very slowly, beginning to understand that plans don’t necessarily mean a lot around here.  On Wednesday morning I had a 10am appointment with one of the women in the village.  She was going to come to the house to tweak an embroidery design she had done for me.  This was a bit trickly because the design she had done for me was actually now sewn into a bag which meant she would have to do some manipulating and embroidery trickery to achieve what I needed.  That was issue #1.  Issue #2 was that she didn’t show up until 11:30am.  As a New Yorker , I’m a bit anal about my time management.  I had a whole day planned and in my book I was supposed to be leaving the house with a finished bag/embroidery by 11:30am….not starting to work on it.  Annoying, but it’s ok, I’ll live.  \

My afternoon plans didn’t go very far either as I was only able to see one out of 4 artisans.  That left me with a whole afternoon open, with an assistant and with a lot of anxiety about how much still needed to be done.  Basically my hands were tied so what I did what any girl would do and my assistant and I went for a coffee.  The afternoon wasn’t completely wasted as we did a lot of talking, reviewing and discussing of pricing–my nemesis.  I am not much of a numbers person so I actually was happy that we had some time to chat about the business. 

Thursday was a big and long day for us.  We had blocked out the whole day to work  with another one of the artisans.  This was even an early day for us.  9am.  We usually don’t get started until 10am around here.  I was up and ready for it.  Yes, as per my calculations, this meant that 5 samples could be completed today and I could hand off 2 more and I would still have time to meet Zacaria at 6pm to finalize 2 belts and a bag.  Wrong, wrong, way wrong.  After sitting in my morning appointments atelier for about 30 minutes reviewing all that need to be done I started to get the feeling that something was up.  Each of the samples he needed to finish had just a minor tweak here and there.  No big deal, so when we kept talking about the same things but no one seemed to be doing any actual work I started to ask questions.  It turned out that the artisan we were working with who is also the guy in charge, just had a baby earlier that morning.  My assistant seemed to know this little bit of information and I was the only one out of the loop.  Of course I congratulated him and told my assistant to tell him that if he needed to leave we would be fine working with someone else.  Yeah, everyone was one step ahead of me once again.  He already had plans of leaving so that he could go see his wife and new baby but what he hadn’t figured out was the whole work thing and the fact that we blocked out the ENTIRE day to work with him.  I’m not an insensitive person but I really couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t just work with someone else?  I was there, the items were practically finished so why not let me make progress?  No, no, no and excuses that really didn’t make much sense to me were all I heard.  Now I was annoyed.  If I didn’t get to work on this product that would mean that this was another basically wasted day.  And remember, my deadline is in one week.  Something was seriously not working for me. 

After I took a deep breath we came to the agreement to come back in one hour.  Fine, I wanted to do some research for catalog printers in the neighborhood so this would give me enough time.  We did our research only to find that both places were closed for the rest of August.  With time to kill, we grabbed a coffee.

At the cafe, we seemed to spend a long time.  I was beginning to wonder what was up so my assistant called the artisan and they were still not ready for us.  And there was actually another misunderstanding on my part.  I thought that in one hour we would go back and they would have finished some of the samples and then we could continue with the rest.  Real story…in one hour our artisan would be back to begin some of the work.  One hour turned into 2 and at this point I was pretty annoyed.  We quickly tried to come up with a back up plan.  Who could we go to see now?  Who was available?  Luckily, Moustapha was ready for us so he was the lucky guy.  Actually I think I was the lucky girl.  When we got to him he worked on 2 belt samples which were both fairly easy and  straightforward and the outcome was pretty perfect.  I got to go home with some samples and that made up for most of my unproductive time. 

Next we headed to Zacaria as he had one belt to tweak and another one to figure out how to make.  By this time, the energy level was pretty low and the temperature was pretty high.  Even I was not my usual, go team go, cheerleader self.  My experience in much of product development is that the things you think are going to be the easiest turn out to be the most complicated.  The belt we were trying to figure out was a simple braided belt with tassels.  The problem was attaching the leather tassels to the wood with the metal.  I’d thought about this one without an answer.  Zacaria, who has been the brain in trying to solve our little construction puzzles wasn’t coming through today either.  Luckily, my assistant was feeling crafty and finally came up with a solution.  Yay!!

Though my week did not end exactly as I wanted it to I felt ok about the following week and my Ramadan deadline.  I really hope someone is listening.  Inchallah…

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So much to think about…

It’s Sunday night and I am sitting on the roof as I write this.  I think evenings have got to be my favorite time of day here.  The sky is completely full of stars and the moon, not quite a full moon anymore, is an incredible shade of gold as it sits low in the sky.  I won’t try to describe it further as I probably wouldn’t do it justice.  At night, this night included, a breeze begins blowing that brings on a cool air that would be so welcome during the daytime.  In the distance I can hear frogs, some other critters I can’t really identify and neighbors chatting away and playing music.  Life is calm in the village. 

The past two weeks have been great for me.  My work is finally coming to fruition.  It’s almost hard to believe that it’s really happening though this also brings me back to that question….the one I haven’t asked myself in about two months, “Now what?”  Actually I know what’s next…a lot of work.  I’m not scared of a lot of work.  All of this has been a lot of work so I know I can do it but I think that the part of me that can’t help but analyze and overanalyze everything has found me again.  Product development is something I love so it’s easy for me.  Selling on the other hand is not my thing…especially selling myself and my product.  And of course when I have one issue I begin to think about every other possible issue in my life–current and future.  Needless to say, I was full of emotions and thoughts this weekend.  Feeling a little sentimental about New York and also unsure about my future….again.  Thankfully tomorrow is Monday.  A new day and the beginning of a new work week.  With that, I’m off to bed.  Looking forward to another sunny day as well as sunnier thoughts.

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I’m on a roll…somewhat slow but rolling…

It’s Friday morning and I’ve just spent another great, crazy and productive week with the artisans.  Just to give you an idea of what a typical work day is for me these days, yesterday I was up and ready to meet one of the women in the village at 9:30am.  Our meeting with her was really at 10am but since she was scheduled to turn over an embroidery to me that I was then handing off to Sharif and Zacaria to use on a bag that day we decided it would be best to show up early.  The night before we stopped by her house and were greeted by about 4 kids under the age of 5 as well as the woman, her daughter and another woman.  We wanted to get a sense of where she was with the item and what her timing was.  Everyone was very happy to see us.  Part of me felt like a bully for showing up unannounced inquiring about my work but no one seemed to mind.  I like that.  She brought out the less than half completed embroidery and after noticing that the job was less than half done and due the next day I noticed the yellow spots allover the white fabric.  I cringe everytime I see these things and of course I always have to point them out.  And everytime someone assures me that they will wash the sample and all will be fine.  I keep my cool and go with trust and hope that when I see the sample again it’s both complete and free of yellow spots which I was told were saffron.  I was also assured that the embroidery would be complete by the next morning, yesterday at 10am.  Inchallah. 

When we stopped by the next morning at 9:30am we were greeted warmly.  Mother and daughter both had completed their embroidery samples and seemed very eager to hand them off.  Both looked good but the daughter’s embroidery which was the one I really needed as it was in the correct color for the bag sample being made today looked a bit off scale.  And yes, there were more yellow spots.  I’m seriously thinking of handing out an embroidery kit which includes white gloves the next time I request an embroidery job.  I just don’t think my heart is strong enough for this.  “No problem” they said.  “We’ll just wash it and iron it quickly.”  Ok, go for it.  I was surprised to see how quickly mother washed the sample and even more surprised to see that there were no spots.  Very impressed.  Of course their iron didn’t work so off we went back to the house to finish up the job before we headed out again.  At home we did a quick ironing job while I took some measurements and luckily even thought the sample looked off it was going to work.  At least I hoped so. 

Before heading to see Sharif and Zacaria, we had one stop to make at the two Moustapha’s.  The two Moustapha’s were working on 3 belts and one small bag for me.  I was told that by today all would be complete and I could pick up.  I was anxious because up until this point I have only been seeing bits and pieces from the Moustapha’s.  Their work has been nice but I’ve been antsy about not having been able to see a full sample yet.  When we arrived at the souk, the first Moustapha is very calm and cool.  He’s working on an order so we wait a few minutes while he composes himself and I guess makes himself ready for us.  It’s a little awkward as no one is really saying anything and whatever they are saying I can’t understand so I just take a seat in the tiny workspace.  After a few minutes he shows me a little more work that he has done though still not a complete sample.  Hmmm, what’s going on here?  Perhaps I can just spend the day here with him while he works on my items.  It turns out that he is very busy working on a production order which means my three little samples have taken a backseat.  It’s ok, my ego is not bruised.  I can wait though though not for much longer.  Ramadan is almost here which means I now have about 2 weeks left to get everything done.  We make an appointment with Moustapha for Tuesday.  I plan on showing up early, 10am here, and spending the whole day with him until he gets the samples done.  Always the optimist, I think we can do it. 

Now we can finally get on our way to Sharif and Zacaria with the semi wet but clean embroidery sample.  I’ve also got a belt sample that was completed yesterday but I think I need to tweak a little, poor design decision on my part but easy to fix.  After about 2 weeks of working together I think we’ve got a nice rapport going.  We listen to euro dance music while they work and I hover…it’s my job.  I think I’ve mentioned that working with these guys has been great though Sharif makes me nervous.  He’s very sweet and nice and he’s constantly making jokes that I can’t understand and honestly I don’t think anyone else really gets them either but at least he makes the effort and we laugh.  Aside from that, he’s a bit like a bull  in a china shop as the saying goes.  Everytime he moves I’m nervous about what he might hammer a rivet into or on what greasy, glue filled table he will lay my beautiful leather.  I’m constantly pointing out something or other that he’s done incorrectly.  I really hope he doesn’t take it personally, I do this with everyone.  It’s that perfectionist side of me. 

Yesterday we needed to make a trip to buy some antique brass cord for one of the belts he will begin working on.  I thought perhaps my assistant could go with Sharif but after second thought it was probably better that I go and pick just the right thickness and color.  So, Sharif and I got on the mobilette and zipped through town to the local hardware shop.  The ride was easy enough until all I could see ahead of me was a too big truck for a too small road and a fruit cart right next to it.  Hmmm, where was the mobilette to pass?  Duh, obviously between the two…exactly what I was afraid of.  As we rode through, my knee rammed right into the fruit cart and yes, I was knocked off the mobilette.  That hurt.  People rushed over to help me up but I was already up.  I’m not into looking like a fool for too long, ok, maybe sometimes I am, so I made sure I was up and back on the mobilette.  Sharif didn’t seemed very phased by it as we continued on our way.  All he said to me was “Ca va?” which basically was “Ok?”  No I wasn’t ca va!  I just banged my knee hard and fell off the back of a mobilette!  That kind of soured my mood for a bit (let me clarify, I wasn’t bitter but I wasn’t feeling as high as I had been) but I guess it made me feel better that it wasn’t just my samples that suffered Sharif’s wrath.  When we reached the hardware shop down the block we were told that the shopkeeper was at the mosque.  The guy across the street gave us a little stool and we sat outside of the shop waiting for the shop to re-open.  Sharif and I sat in silence with the occassional “Ca va?” follwed by “Ca va.”  He then proceeded to tell me in Arabic about how he had had some mobilette accidents in the past–he showed me the scars and then started playing with one of his teeth.  I wasn’t sure if he was going to pull it out or what to show me the damage but whatever he was planning I couldn’t look and really didn’t want to look.   I got the picture…basically what had happened to me was nothing.  It was ok, I was over it….sort of.  I kept thinking about the bruise I would surely have tomorrow but also about how I really hope this wouldn’t stop me from beginning my new jogging routine I wanted to start. 

Back at the atelier I felt like I needed something to lift my spirits.  At home chocolate would’ve been the only answer but since chocolate is a rare commodity here I opted for ice cream.  It worked.

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Moving along

Work in progress

 

Finally approved!

As I mentioned, I have been working with 3 different artisans plus the women in the village who are doing the embroidery work.  My deadline to have all final samples is in 2-3 weeks.  Hopefully 2 but I’m giving myself a week just in case.  You never know.  This past week we decided to spend with one of the artisans.  It’s actually a duo consisting of Sharif and Zacaria. 

We first handed off two designs to Sharif about 2 weeks ago and since then had been going to the souk every couple of days to follow up on him and see that things were moving along.  He started working on my samples immediately but there was definitely something missing in translation which was why this week was being spent in his atelier. 

On Tuesday my assistant and I showed up to begin work on two bags.  One is a small bag, actually the bag I gave the 4 Brothers to do, and a large tote.  Fairly simple, so I thought.  About a week ago, I finally found someone who could supply me with leather so I made my leather purchases.  Unfortunately I had to shift from my original color palette because it was just way too complicated for me to go this route at this point in time.  So, I chose colors as close to my originals but I had to lose the Spanish Red and go with a Cognac instead.  I’m ok with it as it’s a beautiful replacement.  I purchased enough leather just to cover my sampling so until a pattern and the construction were approved no one was getting the good stuff.  This meant that we would see trials in a lesser quality first. 

We began with the large tote.  The bag is pretty straightforward with the exception of some detailing which required a lot of thinking about how to construct the bag so that we could actually achieve the detailing as closely as I wanted.  The body of the bag was easy and after a few trials we finally figured out the handles.  This part of the product development process is my favorite.  I love constructions and challenging myself and the artisan to think of different ways to make things work.  Sharif and Zacaria were great to work with.  Sharif was more the brawn behind the operation and Zacaria definitely the brains.  I liked Zacaria.  When they said no I would show them a way that I thought it could work and Zacaria would totally go with it.  I didn’t hover over them at every moment but I quickly noticed when things were not done as perfectly as I wanted or when there a bottle of water sitting too close to my leather or when Sharif sewed on the little wooden pieces and they weren’t perfectly lined up.  Another one of those things I can’t help…as easy going as I can be I can be equally anal and since working on my product and my vision I think I’ve taken it up a notch.  Regardless, both Zacaria and Sharif were incredibly calm and patient with me.  Who knows, maybe they were regretting the fact that they took on my samples but if so they didn’t let on.  After 2 1/2 days I was finally able to approve the large tote. 

Next it was time to begin working on the little bag.  This little bag has unfortunately turned out to be one of the most difficult bags to make.  Before Zacaria and Sharif even started working on it I already had 3 samples of it.  Three very ugly samples that ended up costing me a lot of money.  (Yes, after accidentally walking into them at the souk I finally had to break down and pay those Brothers.  We negotiated a lower price though in my opinion not low enough.)  Sharif had also made two samples that were still not what I wanted.  Too big, not the right shape, too many pleats, flap too small.  Maybe I should have dropped this style.  Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be but I loved it too much and really believed in it.  So the work began by re-cutting the pattern.  Next was putting it together.  Not bad.  Then it was time to do the handstitching.  Did I want handstitching plus machine stitching or just machine?  All questions that needed to be answered.  After a fthird bag and a flap we all finally felt like it was time to make the real sample.  Friday morning we all showed up at 10am (yeah, things get started a little late around here) ready to wrap up this project.  I think we all thought that for sure we would be done by early afternoon but then something happened. 

By 1pm, the bag was about half way finished.  We were getting ready to put on the rivets when in fact we did not have the correct size rivets.  I dug through my bag to see if by chance I had the right size but I only had the next size up.  Zacaria and Sharif dug through their supplies and came up with every size rivet but the size I needed.  I was really getting frustrated at this point.  Throughout this whole sampling experience I am finding that nothing is ever quite ready.  There is always something that’s missing or something that I need to run to the souk to get…all of which end up costing me a lot of time and money…I guess this is my introduction into the world of being a small business owner.  Needless to say, the rivets were something else we didn’t have.  This time it was Sharif who was going to go out and find them.  At this point my assistant and I decided it would be a good time to take a break and run some errands I needed to take care of. 

Upon our return an hour later, we walked into the atelier and that’s when I saw it.  My cute little bag which was so close to being done had a big old stain right on the front.  I tried to remain calm but I knew what lie ahead wasn’t good.  I showed them the spot and they tried to tell me to wait a little bit to see if it went away but I knew better.  That was an oil stain and it was going nowhere.  Zacaria in his very calm manner explained that the oil from the machine had leaked onto the bag.  He asked me if I wanted him to remake it and as much as I didn’t want to be difficult I knew there was no other choice.  He was completely understanding.  The afternoon was hot, we had been working on these samples all week and I think that by this point everyone was ready for a break.  Luckily, Sharif lived right across the street and we had all just been invited back to his place for a couscous lunch. 

I was super excited.  As you know, I spend a lot of time alone here or with other people who are alone here so I haven’t had many opportunities to experience the whole family home cooked meal thing.  We walked into the apartment and we were greeted by two women who I imagined were Sharif’s wife and mother in law and two young guys.  We took off our shoes and sat on the cushions laid on the floor and waited for our lunch to arrive.  A few  minutes later, the biggest plate of couscous that I have ever seen in my life was placed on the small table in front of us.  It looked amazing and tasted even better.  After the couscous was taken away, the bowl of fresh figs and the watermelon followed.  I think I was the happiest girl alive.  Not only did I get to experience this wonderful meal but being welcome into their home meant a lot to me.  

After thank you’s and kisses, we all headed back to the atelier to tackle my little bag.  We cranked up the music and got to work cutting and re-sewing and stitching.  Jokes were made, Arabic lessons were given (to me) and after a long week it was finally coming to an end.  My bag was done and it was perfect.  Exactly as I had envisioned it.  I was so incredibly happy and proud of the work that we had all accomplished.  (Of course I had to do a little photo shoot.)  After discussing pricing and all those details I really felt like I had really connected with the artisans.  We worked as a team and accomplished what we needed to accomplish.  I felt very positive about our future working relationship and so did they.  I wrapped my bags and carried them out of the atelier as if they were my babies.  No one was getting their hands on these until it was time to present them. 

I must note that while I have been spending my days working with the artisans my nights have been spent with visits from the embroidery ladies.  A week ago, I was ready to change my whole business plan again so that it only included working with the women artisans because I was having such a rough time with the men but this week it was the exact opposite.  The women were dropping off embroidery samples that were meant to be final samples that I could use for the bag constructions.  I’m not sure what happened but the work they were turning in to me was not of the same level or quality as the work I had approved or requested.  I was really struggling to get good samples.  As with a lot of other things this was really frustrating.  Apparently the women were just having a really hard time with what I wanted.  The embroidery work they do is done with some sort of counting system where they count the number of stitches and figure it out with the weave of the fabric.  When I created the embroidery designs, I did not follow any sort of count system.  I just created a general idea of the shapes I wanted to see and the stitch type.  In addition to having difficulties following my direction, the women were turning in work that was just unacceptable.  One woman turned in work that was beautiful but the ground cloth was dirty.  Maybe not a big deal to some but I can’t show a dirty product.  Someone else turned in a job that was great except for a section that obviously did not match the original.  Needless to say this too has become a challenge and for me an even greater challenge is the fact that I must rely solely on my assistant to get my point across to the women.  Anyway, a few of the women are tweaking and should be turning in revised work this week.  I really hope all goes as planned.

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