Simple Fly Chic
Simple Fly was born the weekend I bought a sewing machine from a Craigslist ad as a birthday gift to myself. Shortly after, my husband went camping with his family for five days and I practically sewed our house down. He said only this, "At least you aren't held back by how it's 'supposed' to be done." And he smiled.
I am not afraid to design without a degree in design and I'm not held back by many things. For this, I thank my parents who gave me space and a warm house. I am a simple fly girl who lives in a very small house (tiny-house living before it was 'cool') with my kind and sarcastic husband and our 2 cats, bubba and boo. I'm lucky to have a detached workspace where I can work late - it's this night owl's dream come true.
So.....sewing led me back to jewelry which I did in my 20's and the rest is a bit of history and a bit of the present which looks like a workspace filled with leather and fabrics to love. If I ever come back as someone else I will do exactly this.. as me.
If I could have coffee with anyone it would be Salvatore Ferragamo and I would thank him for the inspiration and for his 'Rolina' shoe. Peace to you Salvatore you brave young soul.
Eighteen years ago I lived in a small apartment in the North End, focused on black & white photography and travel. Most of my time was spent in the darkroom printing where that pinhole of light filled me up and brought the places I traveled back to life one more time. One weekday, a friend and kind man who loved birds and repaired guitars, Boehike, stopped by with a pair of shoes he'd picked up at a local thrift store. They were stamped in gold on the inside with the name 'Rolina'. He said he thought I should have them. I did have them for several years until I repaid them to the thrift store due to a move and the ill fit (they weren't my size). Sixteen years later and two years into my sewing craze mentioned above, I was thumbing through Harper Bazaar and saw a deep red long-sleeved shirt in a tiny photo that begged to be seen. The fabric was deep and rich and I could feel it without touching it. This led to a google search which led to a website with images from a runway show. These images were exactly and the only description possible for my deep love of taupe. It quite literally stunned me for days and filled my sleep. I don't really follow the latest designers, who they are, what they design, how they made it as designers or the ways they have failed. I haven't studied this and haven't been drawn to it.. The runway show said 'Salvatore Ferragamo' and suddenly I had one designer to love.
One more year of time passes and my friend is trying to view my Etsy shop from her iPhone. She asks what to search and I say, "Search 'Rolina' and at least one of my items will appear." She does and it does so we talk while she looks around in my shop. Five days later, with curiosity, I search all of Etsy using only the keyword 'rolina' to see what appears. There are three things: two of my shop's items and a listing for a vintage pair of shoes gold stamped with 'rolina' inside. I click on the shoe listing and it tells me these shoes were designed by Salvatore Ferragamo.
Some shoes will never be filled but may very well take you where you are supposed to go. Gratitude never gets lost, it knows where to go and how to get there.
