We have a lovely large 5 bedroom house with a pool and a studio for our "Hot Tin Roof" clothing line. What we did not expect was the leaky roof that we cannot seemed to get repaired without signing away our life for another 2 years on this lease or the electrical issues that are down right dangerous.
We are tired of worrying about house issues, we paid too much for this type of treatment. We are moving to the Middle of the World on the 15th of January. We are so excited that the rent for our two bedroom house with studio and pool is $300.00 that is one fifth of what we are paying today and we get to take all our muttlies with us.
The blog has suffered as I have been trying to produce a line of clothing for larger women. The people involved have been just extraordinary with their help and ideas. Hot Tin Roof is off and running with lots of cotton clothing that is just so comfortable I hate to take the samples off.
Why a clothing line, well, I am a large woman size 18. I am tired of not having clothing that fits well and is soft and breathable along with fitting my ever evolving personality. I also believe that I have an obligation to share how I sew. There is no feeling that comes close to the one that you get when you complete something that you have designed and it is hand sewn.
I had started with three local women and for three months it was a great relationship. I spent three months teaching them to producing a shirt, a skirt and dress for themselves. We then tackled a large size woman's dress. They really outdid themselves and I felt secure to let them produce the product in their homes. It was my dream that they could be there for family and still have sufficient time to sew. That type of thinking was a mistake, they were paid but we got nothing back in product. I am a mother and wife too, but have always worked either in the home or out; needless to say I was disappointed.
It was time to stop and rethink my strategy for producing a product. Their contracts were cancelled, we paid the compensation and started retooling the product process first. We were thinking about part time and contractors when Etsy threw us another challenge. They changed the policy on what was considered "Handmade". A designer(me) could have their design produced by a company(outsourced) and as long as I designed the product it was considered handmade. I would have to announce my production methods somewhere in my page that it was manufactured but still my design. Designers like myself cannot compete with outsourced production and it was so far removed from my dream.
It was back to the drawing board for how to compete in the new marketplace. I understand that there is no emotion in business decisions but it was hard to tell my heart. I had finally gotten to the place in my life that allowed me to do what I had always wanted and I was still climbing over very high walls to accomplish my goals.
The saying that when a door closes a window opens happened for me too. I decided to be a host house on a website that allows world travelers to exchange room and board for 4-5 hours of work. It is called, "www.Workway.info". We have had 3 young women from Argentina and one from Australia for two months who have learned quickly to sew, design and suggest great alternative designs for clothing.
The collaboration has been awesome for all of us, especially me, who thinks I know what is best. It has allowed me to relax and enjoy teaching them how to hand sew, allowing them creative freedom on the product line and the relationships we have formed with each other has been precious. It has been a learning experience from the get-go as only one spoke perfect English so I am learning Spanish as an extra reward.
I recently returned from Cuenca where I babysat for a friend's pets and while I was there learned that there might be an opportunity to have a trunk sale of my items for the expats wives that are hard to fit.
Ecuadorian clothing is small and it is hard to find clothing once yours starts to give up the ship. I am taking this as another opportunity to make people happy. I will be selling my clothing with a few smaller sizes and in kits for people who would like to try to produce it themselves. I am so excited about this new adventure. Wish me luck!
Long sleeved lagenlook with applique
Paula with her sheep with wool applique
This is our clothes line photo shoot with me!
