On The Road for Flaxbloom
When I travel Flaxbloom is my focus and I see opportunities everywhere. Sourcing fabric, meeting crafts people and immersing myself in creative communities is the life-blood of my business.
When I am searching for things, I become very focused on the” hunt”. Armed with my phone with photos of my family and pets I strike up conversations with people.
I suppose I have a boundless curiosity coupled with natural optimism when I travel and this leads me to the back of shops, markets and to spend time in galleries and shops as well. I am happy to ask advice and information from anyone and I’ve met some interesting people, from a pearl dealer in Hong Kong to a clove farmer in Lovina in Indonesia.
This gentleman was welcoming despite his grim expression- it was just his “formal photo” face which afterwards broke into a huge smile.
I also get to see some fantastic things and meet lovely people and it is often on my early morning walks that I get the chance to talk to people and am sometimes invited in to meet the family.
On this particular trip alone I found beautiful handcrafted leather work, solo dressmakers and beautiful cotton material.
I am also interested in people and their stories. We were looking in a shop in Hanoi and I saw this beautiful woman in the back of a shop. I asked to meet her and it turns out she was my Mother’s age- born in 1923 and I was able to show her photos of my Mum.
I also happen to love motorbikes and although I have my licence, I prefer to be on the back of them! I can see so much from there and can shout “go back” when I see something interesting.
Much of the time away from New Zealand is hot and hard work and it’s just lucky that I love it! After living in Asia for some years in the 1990’s I love everything about these hot and wild countries.