Its been 2 years and a couple of days. This review is long overdue! Its been a busy time, putting out yummy things for you wonderful people who love us so much and tell us so! I should stop the long ass appreciation speech and just say, you people are everything to us, without you all, we're nothing, literally. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
When I set out for florspace, I really was at the breaking point, fiddling with store-bought bags that didn't really get me anywhere. Like clothes, shoes and everything else, there was always something so wrong with the bags in stores. By 'bags in stores' I really mean the mass-produced kinds. With little income to spare for Chloes and Vuittons and Kate Spades, I have to look at the more affordable range on the floor. I've been a bag lady all my life. When I go to a store, unconsciously, I'll end up looking at bags. Still not sure why, but somehow I'd always end up scrutinizing one or maybe, if I get lucky, lugging one home too! The exhilaration of bagging a new bag is just pure joy. That is until, said bag, has a problem. Size, color, texture, style, durability, utility & sometimes, even overusage disintegration and/or the smell of "vegan" leather can be so 'wrong' that it has to be stuffed into the back of the wardrobe. I feel bad, for the earth really, going thru bag after bag, purse after purse for years and years with the buy-and-throw attitude rolling on faster and faster, more and more. It got worse in the recent years when mass-produced bags started flooding the market from China. I was very pissed when the fakes started flooding in. I have the utmost respect for most designers and feel absolutely disgusted when their designs are simply stolen, copied and sold as if it was the most natural thing in the world. There was even a time when I spend spotting fakes in the street for the sake of it, I still do it now. I even reported a lot of listings on ebay because they're hawking fake bags. Whats the difference between selling a fake purse on ebay and stealing? With imminent depressing factors in the world, I decided I couldn't take it no more one day and decided to make my own bags for myself. Hell, if I'm so pissed with what's available, I should do something about it. After months of trial, florspace was born, as a way to share and as a means to feed myself coz I was sick of the corporate life about that time as well.
And yes, like every other business, we do have ugly episodes. Even though florspace was born to share the love for quality handmade things, like it always should have been, it is definitely tough to please everyone. Its easy to say, I can't please everyone anyways, but difficult to say when to draw the line, which comments are hitting below the belt. We are customers ourselves at some point, everyone is, and recognizing the difficulties in business, we try our best to play nice. It can be taken for granted and thats where things can start to get messy. Over the internet, over emails, words are words. Its dangerous, I think, coz ever so often, it gets misinterpreted. I'm so lucky to have DH who is a wordy expert, a social discourse linguist who deciphers my misconceptions and misinterpretations. I'm lucky to say its still pretty unusual, so I pray it stays that way. Still people can sometimes be annoying, intentional or not, I don't really have an idea. But I do have a natural tendency to make peace most of the time. Everytime an episode arises, I re-read wonderful things so many other people have said and feel better. Its still funny how one bad review can really just cancel out all the good things that have been said.
On business opportunities, we did receive quite a number of requests recently. Due to manpower shortage, the fear of becoming yet another mass production corporation & the desire to keep things smaller, more exclusive and of a higher quality, we've decided not to go anywhere yet. We're open for wholesale orders, not consignment because of a pretty bad experience. Hmm. I'll be happy to work for collaborations too! (silkscreen people, are you hearing this? ;+)
In the next years to come (I hope!), I do wanna strive so much to make better & yummier things, search the world for more yummy fabrics (another japan trip next year!), procrastinate less and take life's lemons and make them into Spanish Fly. Of course, spread the general niceness. ;+)
Hmm.....I need cake & bubbly.
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