Wednesday 30 March 2011

Beginnings

I've been mulling an idea over in my head for a few years now, desiring to once again run my own business but wanting total control over the time invested. At first I was leaning towards a brick-and-mortar shop, focused on items related to my passions: gardening, knitting, reading, travel, and pretty things in general. I spent hours writing in my little notebook lists of what makes me happy, what I want out of life, and what I would do in this pipe-dream store of mine when I won the lottery and could afford to open it. A couple of years, many pages, and a few revelations (kijiji! etsy! local craft fairs!) later, I realized that venues had opened up online and locally that would allow me to create this dream, in a risk-free format what would give me the independence and creative license I desired. Some more brainstorming, research, and experimenting lead to the opening of Roses & Purls, and I look forward to adding on to this simple beginning and to hopefully watch it blossom.
Why this?
My grandmother taught me to knit when I was about 5, and my mom taught me to sew in elementary school and I have been coming up with "bid ideas" ever since. Combine that with a love of all things pretty and sparkly, and especially of stones (I'm one of those people who cannot go home from the beach without my pockets full), and a love of Indian textiles, and we have the basis for my first two items: a set of gemstone and crystal stitch markers, designed to be pretty but fun to mix and match based on the traditional "meanings" of the stones. The first set of scarves, in a dusty purple colour, are truly eco-friendly-upcycled: they are cut from the sari I wore to my graduation party after finishing my undergraduate degrees.