Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Spell check & other grammatical errors
Busy, Busy, Busy!!
It’s been awhile but I’m back. Who knew getting a business started would be so time consuming? Just kidding. I love being busy especially with something I love doing.
Now back to the Evolution of LaLa Originals . As I’ve stated in prior entries, I’m creative in thought & design but I have no ability to sew. This being said, I needed someone to put my designs together. First came the sewing machine with no one to operate it. In comes Jenny Jen. The woman with a wealth of knowledge & know how. She read about sewing & had done some in the past. Between the two of us, the first 10 or so LaLa Originals Scarves were made, not that I sewed any. Jen would work her little perfectionist fingers to the bone after her job & on weekends. All she wanted was to help me succeed. So sweet!! After the first batch was completed, it was time to ramp up & I knew I had to outsource the sewing. Poor thing was exhausted.
I put an ad in Craigslist & asked everyone I knew if they knew any good seamstress’s. One day I was at a second hand store looking for treasures and like all things that have happened on this journey, I was at the register checking out & a woman’s card was in a basket at the counter. I gave her a call & she came over the next day for the interview.
Day 1 - We’ll call her “Lady X” as protect the innocent or guilty. Really depends on how you look at it. Just to embarrassing to reveal her real name. “Lady X” took one look at the brand new state of the art sewing machine & trembled. She explained that her sewing machine was at least 30 plus years old & had no idea how to work the one in front of her. At that moment I should have thanked her & ran, but I didn’t. I put on my “happy face” & proceeded to explain to her our needs. I could tell the instructions were not registering, as she looked like a deer in the headlights. Thinking she may learn better by doing, we carefully approached the machine. She tried threading the bobbin to no avail. This is where I was thanking GOD; Jenny Jen had showed me how to thread the bobbin & needle. I stepped in & got the machine set up & “Lady X” to the helm again. Her requirements were to sew a hem with a straight line. This is where the comedy of error began, but did not end. “Lady X” sat behind the New Computerized sewing machine & jammed the thread immediately. In trying to cut the tangled thread, she kept going to the back of the needle looking for the old cutter (which is no longer there) swiping over & over again with no luck. The thread was still attached. Handing her the scissors she cut the balled up thread. After several more attempts, I suggested she take the two pieces home & I’d stop by tomorrow & we’d attach them there. Wellllllll!!!!
Day 2 – “Lady X’s house. She left my house with two pieces in which she had to sew straight hems. She said she had been sewing for over 40 years, so I thought, “how hard can this be “ Well apparently pretty hard. I explained again the process of how to attach the two pieces & right there in front of me on her own machine the train wreck happened. “Lady X” was clearly frustrated, ripped the stitches out & said “ I need to iron the hem down” As she is the profession, her iron & ironing board were right there. In frenzy, she makes sure the steam on the iron is billowing & starts to iron the difficult hem. I look at her, sweat dripping from her brow & hammering that iron back & forth on the hem. As I’m looking at the steam towering off the material, I notice brown flakes all over the material. I scream (gently of course) “STOP there’s Iron deposits all over the material” She looked up & kept ironing. More forceful this time & with hand signals, I said” Please stop. Do not iron the rust into the material” With a sigh of relief, “Lady X” stepped away from the ironing board & made her way back to her turn of the century sewing machine. On her way there, dragging the dreaded scarf material behind her, stepping on it as if she could somehow maim it before she & it reached her machine. Again I had to intervene & save that scarf from a tragic ending. “Lady X’ sat at the helm again of her instrument of death & sewed the two pieces together as if she were in the sewing Olympics. So much speed, so little precision. Finally she & it were done. The scarf & I couldn’t wait to get out of there. What should have been a 15 minute appointment, took close to one & a half hours, all of my patience, & as much compassion as I could muster. My tears were being held back by the smile I had glued on my face earlier. I paid her & said I’d call her later. Later never came. I knew this was not a match.
Back to Craigslist...And then there's Natalie.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
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