Consultants

"Did you think of this idea really, really late at night when you were really bored?"

That is a fair question, one asked by 10-year-old Jessa when she and her mother were helping us pick out fabrics. It is always a bit awkward when someone ask what I do for work. "I, umm... have a company that makes skirts." People always ask if I'm serious.

In my defense, the original idea was not to sew skirts. I wanted to have a company that helped people, but the original medium for doing that was to make ski jackets and pants. I love skiing. I'm not a designer by any means, but at least I could test out the ski clothes on the snow.

Unfortunately for my ego though, the market research and logistics suggested that skirts were the way to go. Skirts are much simpler, and they are commonly made in Southern India where I have some great friends that I can trust. Besides, skirts fit in with the basic idea that I've been trying to figure out for years: Have a profitable company with the main goal of helping people.

So far, so good. I've been in India for about three weeks now and I have a little over one week left. I have been able to work with some of the most amazing people while here. Jessa and her mom, Teresa, are a couple of those amazing people.

They go to the same church building that I do here in India and I called them to ask some advice on fabrics. Not only did they take time to talk with me on the phone, they went to the fabric store with me to show me what would wash well, wear well, and generally be good for skirts. Jessa was the fashion consultant that helped match up the colors and patterns and Teresa was the fabric guru. We spent hours in that store, and the only shopping they did besides helping me was a few minutes to buy fabric to help someone else. Great people and I'm thankful for their help.

("I still don't get why you're sewing skirts")