INCREDIBLE INDIA

I wish that every trip I took to India was as magical as the one above, but alas, not every trip consists of hippie pants and elephant rides. My normal surroundings look more like scenes from Slumdog Millionaire. For instance, this picture of the local fish market in the bay of Mumbai is my normal view from the taxi on the way to work. Not what you'd expect, right?

In the past three years I have been to India a total of 13 times. Yes.... THIRTEEN! The first seven trips were during the first six months I started my business. So while it sounds like a lot, it's mainly because the first six months I was scrambling trying to figure out what the heck I was doing! Since then, I don't have to go quite as often, but I do try to take an average of 1 to 2 trips a year. 

By this January I had my trip down: use my Priority Pass to fly through airport security, pop an Ambien for the 18 hour flight, make a beeline through customs, and then hop in my pre-scheduled car service to the Taj Hotel.

Then the work begins. This time I was in town solely to work on my summer and fall collections. For seven days I sat in an office maybe, MAYBE half the size of a freshman dorm room. Every day my manufacturer and I inspected the stones we are using to create J/Hadley's one-of-a-kind pieces.  I absolutely love the thrill of sourcing the most unique stones. To me, the type of stone speaks volumes about the quality of the jewelry, so we work like crazy to find the best, most affordable stones out there!

(one sample of what you'll see this Spring)

After the stones are selected and inspected, I do a rough sketch of each piece and direct how each stone is to be set. While it's fun, it is also exhausting! I always thought using brain power was to solve math problems and translate French phrases was tiring... but no. Thirty minutes of designing was the equivalent of taking the SATs! Each piece can cause anxiety, knowing that someone may or may not purchase this piece based on what is done in this tiny workroom. So each piece is labored over and carefully planned.

After the seven days of designing, I put my tired self back on a plane to NYC. And now, I'm stuck in limbo, waiting. It takes approximately six weeks for each piece to be polished, hand set, and then packed and shipped to our main office in New York. From there, the real fun begins! I can't wait to show you all the pieces we've been working so hard on..... so stay tuned for a Spring/Summer preview.