Have you missed me?

Does anybody read blogs anymore?  I know that I haven't followed or written a blog in a very long time.  But sometimes it is just a nice venue to share things even though you have doubts as to whether or not anyone will ever see it.  

When I started my business almost ten years ago, social media played a very small part in my life.  I checked my email in the morning and again at night.  I didn't have a cell phone and subsequently never texted or emoji'd anyone.  Ahhh....those were the days.  I must admit I miss the simpler days quite often.  Now, if you don't stay up to date with all of the newest, latest apps or social media venues, it seems that you can quickly become irrelevant.  (sigh)

One thing that I DO like is that when I put something like a new bag or an idea for a bag out there on Facebook or Instagram, I get immediate feedback.  But the time it takes to keep up with all the social-ness sure takes away from the business of getting down to work! 

There are lots of things going on in the Sasaki Bags studio this year.  I ordered a supply of cork from Portugal and am enjoying working with that.  I also have some hand woven fabrics from the Hmong people in Thailand that participate in a Fair Trade platform.  I am experimenting with some different bag designs that excite me with those textiles and others. 

My journeys in life have taken me to some exotic places in the past and soon I will be trekking off to Bali on an adventure with a dear friend.....my daughter.  It has been 18 years since the two of us went to Maui for her graduation gift.  I think it is time that we explore another spot on this beautiful planet we live on.  I am eager to search for some of the ikat fabrics that are woven and dyed by the Balinese people.  Perhaps I will even find some luscious batiks.  Whatever I find, I know it will forever evoke the memories of our trip together. 

I believe that when you travel, it changes you.  It adds that extra color to my palette with which my memories are painted.  I see, touch and smell things that I have never before.  I can notice the differences in cultures and people while appreciating the similarities that bond us all together.  A smile is universal, even when I don't speak the native tongue. 

So as you follow me on this journey, be on the lookout for textiles made into bags that are all a little piece of me. 

a hui hou