Hi everyone! If you follow us on social media, you may have noticed that ReStrung has been on traveling the past few months. Well, when it's boiling hot in NOLA, you might as well hit the road. Here's a few highlights:
In June, my dear friend /consultant /collaborator /partner in crime - Ed, volunteered to drive my daughter and I all the way up to Delaware for Firefly Music Festival. We loaded up his 27' RV (named Priscilla), with lots of ReStrung jewelry and headed North. The festival was amazing, and huge, with over 85,000 festival-goers each day. We set up our little booth, set out our wares - and the people came, saw - and bought lots of ReStrung. We worked our butts off and it was an unforgettable experience. My personal favorite moment was watching Jack Johnson jamming out with The Lumineers - Unforgettable! After the fest, we headed down to Charleston, S.C., where we had lots of fun exploring and shopping. My daughter and I both had birthdays while on this trip, and it was so nice to spend mine with two people that I adore.
Next up was a stint in the Mediterranean - Cyprus to be exact. This was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. The water, the people, the food and the scenery - absolutely breathtaking! I could ramble on about the archaeological sites and all the fun that we had, but it the end, I am left with a feeling of awe at the sheer beauty of the place and the generosity of the people I met there. I hope to return again someday.
Following that, I was able to spend a week in beautiful Key West. which isn't any comparison to Cyprus, but still, there was much to see and do in the Keys. Learning more about Ernest Hemingway was a highlight, plus I stayed on a boat for most of the trip, and that in and of itself was an experience to remember.
After all this traveling, it was time to get back to work. I returned to NOLA with a 2 week countdown, during which we had to plan and prepare for the next trip: The POOL Trade Show in Las Vegas. This is an industry show for "emerging brands," meaning, small up and coming lines in the fashion and accessories market. With the help of our team and friends, we redesigned our entire booth so that it fit into one suitcase and two guitar cases. Since I was going to this show alone, everything needed to be lightweight, flat packed and assembled at the show. It was a logistical challenge, and I know I drove everyone nuts because I couldn't think or talk about anything else but this show until I felt like we had everything right. Well, I am proud to say that our team nailed it, and everything went off without a hitch. The show was scary and exciting. I met new friends and got to network with other industry folks from around the world - and I came home with orders from 26 new stockists...and counting - WOW!!
I returned to my beloved NOLA exhausted, but beaming with pride and excited for the upcoming months. My return also coincided with a project that I have been waiting to see launched: Blake Lively's much anticipated lifestyle website Preserve. The site celebrates American artisans who make things by hand. ReStrung is one of the featured artisans selected by Blake to be a part of this curated site. We couldn't be more proud to be included. And as a side note, I have to say that Blake is absolutely lovely. She spent an afternoon with us at the studio and was so interested in how I design our pieces and how we make things. We had a great time and are now looking forward to selling through her site. What an adventure!
So of course by now, our little ReStrung family is up to our eyeballs in jewelry-making, inventory management, organizing and more. Thankfully, we have more help. In addition to Eban, Kerry, Tara, Beth, Ed and myself, we have just welcomed Annika and Amiel to our production team. We are so excited and grateful to have them on board. As we move into our busy holiday season, it's good to know that we have a great team of dedicated and fun people who are excited to be a part of our growing business. I am grateful everyday for the amazing people have crossed my path. None of the growth and incredible opportunities I have experienced would be happening without them - or without you, our dear fans. We would not be able to do what we do without your love and support!