I live in a small town, 1 hour flight north of Sydney, Australia. I have travelled to USA three times in the last 3 months to show the new collection and catch up with island friends at 3 different shows. Each time I arrange a schedule for my husband, mum and mother-in-law to fill in my role with our 3 children (3, 5 and 12) for their various weekly activities.
The journey to Florida takes between 24 to 30 hours by the time you add up flying time and airport waiting time. It's crazy. Here is a photo of my flight over Sydney Harbour. WOW, always stunning, even on a grey day.
Once in Florida I am at work.... no time for jet lag, its straight into the warehouse for Lauren, Amy & I.
Here I am counting inventory the next morning after I arrived.
Look at those empty shelves behind me where the STARFISH TUNICS are almost sold out. More coming next week - can't wait to get that new NAVY / WHITE one.
Seen here on the catwalk @SurfExpo.
The day after that we take the 2 hour drive up to Orlando.
Here is my baby sister Amy & myself - getting ready to concentrate on driving on the right side of the road.... see the boxes and sarongs packed in the van behind us.
When we get there we offload 2 vehicles in horrid Florida humidity and start building the booth.
Now we are a bunch of island girls, so our booth is "built" with ... sugar , spice & well..... packing tape mostly.
Then its off for dinner and nights filled with wine and sarong rolling....
This new sarong packaging was only supposed to be for the new 2017 sarongs going forward, but since EVERYONE loved it, we find ourselves rolling and tying EVERY sarong in the warehouse.
Worth it, cause it does look cute and does make it easy for you retailers to display them.
SHOW TIME.... love catching up with "island friends".... now everyone is giving me a hard time about this photo as I am clearly being a slacker, sipping tea while everyone else is working, but I had this 3pm jet lag SLUMP going on.... serious... there is such a thing!
We had a lovely surprise bridal shower for Amy.... complete with cup cakes, gifts and champagne.
...and now I am back home, FINALLY caught up on all the order entry. WOW it was a busy show.... BEST SHOW EVER actually.
Apparently you guys like what I have put together for 2017. So nice of you all to make all of my hard work worthwhile.
Thank you island friends xx oooh ok and here is the wedding photo !! tears of love x
Sorry... one more... not sure if it is something borrowed or something BLUE, but those were "my" favorite bracelets (wear every day of the week) last week !
How my sailing around the Caribbean over 10 years ago has grown into a journey of another kind..... with so many wonderful island friends.
How lucky we are x
1 comment
Dear Kim,
I’m the island girl that introduced myself & started sharing the similarities in “our” backgrounds , then after sending an email only 1/2 complete, may as well fell off the side of the earth! Once again, my name is Kathleen Kelly. Originally from Mass, I grew up living on land during winter & on my family’s boat – a 1930’s Wheeler- from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Weekends in Spring & Fall were spent aboard the “Audrey V”. We had our neighborhood friends in Idlewell- a peninsula only accessible by bridge in Weymouth, Ma. where we braved frigid NE winters. My father worked 3 jobs and Mom stayed at home with us. Dad was a fireman, owned a small limousine service, and was the personal chauffeur for Mr & Mrs Cox & family who resided in a 52 room home called “The Oaks”. (As I grew up, I realized that “Jesse B” was Jesse Bancroft Cox – the heir to the Cox & Bancroft fortunes who owned Cox newspapers- The Wallstreet Journal, The Baron, and who knows what else. Disney World in Florida was being built during my early elementary school yrs- a place that I only read about and never dreamed of visiting coming from a hard working middle class family, but at the time, I had no idea how unusual our life really was. My dad would assist the aging superintendent of the Cox estate by “house sitting”. In retrospect, How fun it was, deciding which room to sleep in! My sister, Dody & I favored the “pink room” with the pink & white striped wallpaper, white high posted twin beds, extraordinary color coordinated bedding, custom carpets- a little girls dream! (My reason for adding this piece is to demonstrate just how small this global community is! How connected we are despite the continent we reside on, the color of our skin, language spoken, etc. But most clearly, those that have grown up sailing, cruising, navigating; Then, of course, polishing chrome, scraping & painting bottoms, cleaning barnacles; sanding, painting, varnishing; scrubbing fenders & bottom lines; Putting on & removing sail covers, bridge covers; setting the anchor, making “all preparations to get underway”, etc. Just to name a few familiar tasks delegated to crew/ family members, based on age& ability. I recall learning to row. My father would attach a long line to our dinghy so that we could practice our coordination without being swept out into the channel. I’m sure that I’m not the only one that remembers graduating to an outboard engine, or the horsepower of every motor going forward. As the middle child, I recall being responsible for removing / replacing canvas covers: on the hatches, flying bridge, windshield, back cockpit, bow cockpit – a unique but convenient and safe place to sit while under way. As kids, we loved ports with “up towns” as we called them, and always preferred docking vs being on a mooring or “on the hook”.
Massachusetts Bay and the surrounding area, from Newport, RI to Maine had endless harbors, islands both remote & inhabited to visit and explore. Some of our favorites were World’s End in Hingham, Mass. Nantasket Beach, Rockport, Marlboro, Scituate Harbor, Great Misery Island, Falmouth Harbor, along with 4 Martha’s Vineyard harbors: Edgartown, Oak Bluff’s, Vineyard Haven, Menemsha – all with their own drastically different characteristics, lifestyle and culture. Next time, I’ll share our relocation to Palm Beach, Fl. along with the following 3 decades of memories sailing & cruising through the Bahamas, Carribean and as far South to Venezuela and East to the Mediterranean.
All love from Kathleen Kelly,
Nutritionist and island girl residing in Jupiter, Fl.
PS: I would so love a chance to meet you & Lauren. I live so close to your warehouse! More to share, but I type slow. Also, not sure if this msg is pvt or might be posted, and I’ve probably already shared TMI not knowing!
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