Travel can inspire you in so many ways! For me, it's all about color, pattern and design!

There are a quite a few things in life that I'm passionate about. Textiles (which is my main career or "job"...but I am one of the fortunate ones who absolutely LOVES my job!). I always tell my two (great) sons, "If you love your job, you'll never have to work a day in your life!". Whoever came up with that saying obviously loved what they do too! I'm fortunate that on Sunday night, I look forward to coming into my shop and studio the next day! I'm my own boss so I can go at my own pace, which has been a blessing, and a choice that I decided to make a long, long time ago. 

I knew at a very young age that I couldn't work for anyone so I decided to venture into becoming my own boss. What spurred me on was a life changing trip I made, after years of traveling around, working at a design firm and waitressing in the evenings. I moved to Europe at the age of 29 living in both Germany and Italy (Rome) for a total of two years. That is a story for another day! 

 But after returning to the U.S., I had an opportunity to become an independent sales agent for several European textile mills. And I've been doing it every since!

This has allowed me freedom, time to travel and to foster my creativity in so many ways. I now help design the textiles that I sell to large fabric wholesalers across the U.S. including the cruise ships and hotel industry. 

And in the process of traveling, I was inspired by the many beautiful things I'd see in my travels. Especially so were the hand made products made mostly by women. In so many cases, the women work at home and are desperate to support their families and making crafts and products at home is their only way to help their families. 

Their creativity is amazing and their stories even more so! What we take for granted every day is something these women can only dream of. 

So I came up with the idea of Material World. It was a way for me to travel, experience the many amazing cultures and locales across the world, and to curate and find products that I wanted to share with my community.

Mostly every item I buy is hand made or made by someone and from countries all over the world. I have hats and beach totes from Madagascar, beaded clutch bags and jewelry from Bali, Indonesia, kaftans from Egypt and Greece, hand woven silk velvet Ikat pillows and bags from Turkey, block printed robes from both India and Turkey. Even some things made in the good ole U.S.A. like felted soap and jewelry. I try to support small artisans and things are not found on Amazon. Sometimes it's difficult but so far, I'm sourcing from small businesses that don't sell on those platforms.

So I've been in my studio all day (it's raining here in West Palm Beach so it's perfect to hunker down and get lost in creating!). 

I've made some great photo collages with items from my shop...resort wear! Perfect for days onboard your favorite cruise, a vacation to Tuscany, at a resort in the Caribbean, or just for a day of shopping around town!

I hope you enjoy them! They were so fun to make! I'm obsessed with learning new tools to showcase my products and my creativity! Like Capcut! 

Not easy for an old gal like to me to master but I keep plugging away! You're never too old to learn something new! Hopefully that'll keep me young!

Have a great weekend!