Once upon a time, I was gifted a cork purse from Portugal. I was delighted, to say the least. I’d seen plenty of wine and champagne corks in my lifetime, but never anything else made from cork until that moment. As a personal stylist, I’m always on the lookout for unique accessories, so I was intrigued. Okay, and it helped that it was beautiful and stylish. Naturally, I started wearing it.
You could say I have a thing for purses. I switch them out pretty frequently, always wanting to highlight a new one. But whenever I wore this cork purse people were mesmerized. No exaggeration! Strangers and friends would pepper me with questions:
“Can I touch it?” and then, “Wow, it’s so soft!”
“Cork...as in, wine? That kind of cork?”
“I’ve never seen a cork purse before!”
I had to make a line of cork handbags.
The go-getter in me immediately got to work, hunting down sheets of cork.
When I left my executive career to start my own business as a stylist, I knew – I’m talking super-strong-gut-feeling knew – three things:
1. Despite being in the second prime of my life (read: “middle-aged”), making a drastic industry swap, and facing an economic downslide, I’d make it;
2. I would design and launch a fashion line; and
3. I’d write a book. (This “a-ha!” moment was one of those 10pm, sliding into bed ones. and the universe shouted at me, “get your a-double-s back up, grab a notepad and write this shit down”. So I did. More on that later.)
And here we are, well past the beginning but oh-so-far from the happily ever after. Right in the middle of the journey, which is shaping up to be just as thrilling as that first jolt of inspiration. Want to come along for the ride?