Polka Dot Grove
Meet my Polka Dot Grove sweatshirt, the third in the theme of storytelling (my vineyard tee and locally grown polka dots tee being the other two).
A pastel rainbow, a cheery lemon sun, and a grove of trees, with ripening dots. The bottom border is reminiscent of a basket to harvest the fruit in, or carry a picnic to be enjoyed on the plaid grass.
A fuzzy sweatshirt is something I'm always reaching for, when AC is blasting in restaurants and grocery stores. Early mornings outside, road trips, poolside, watching movies on the couch; I find a zip up hoodie the perfect solution to many chilly summer conundrums. Specifically proportioned for high rise skirts, made from ring spun cotton (softer and more durable than standard cotton), with an all important zipper (why does that make a hoodie better?) this sweatshirt is a completer piece for our Summer attire. Sizes S-XXL and they run true - I'm in the Small.
My business is marked by impossible circumstances.
Every season of my business has been impossible: from starting it with little time, money, and know how; to my current season of one woman running a decidedly-not-one-woman-show.
The past few months, as I've been pondering storytelling, I've come up with yours and mine: We live impossible stories and we do impossible things (I grow polka dots on trees). Take a look back at what you've overcome; a look forward at where you're headed; and even at your to do list today. So much of it has been unexpected, far more complex and overwhelming than we could have planned for.
For a while now, I've been waiting to take the next step to increase the amount I can produce - a factory? an additional sewist? moving away from made-to-order?
After years of building, I'm surprised to find myself knee deep in slow fashion and fair trade, with eyes opened to the plight of people affected by the current fashion system (from those who make it, to those who wear it, to those who dispose of it). I see that a solution to all these fashion related problems is impossible.
But oh wait. I was raised on the streets of Impossible. The impossibility of my journey so far, has given me hope for an impossible future.
Grab your trusty sweatshirt in the shop. Wear her while you go, and remember you steward impossible things. You do it well. Struggling is not evidence of failure, but speaks to the scale of the mountains you're moving.
XO
Emily