The interns and I painting.

Turning this into something. Not sure what yet?????

Well, Hello There.

I spent many evenings walking these beautiful valleys throughout May. Green became my favorite colour.

I passed! I can officially teach yoga, give me a call anytime. Purna was the first friend I made at the Ashram. She lives in the garden, enjoys long walks and trying to scare the local cats. We were tight.

This is Steve, the resident goat. JK. His name is not Steve and I am pretty sure he is a she. But Steve just suits him/her.

A perk of my new job at the Veggie place and my favorite topic- Food.

I was gone. Now I am back.

In the lat year and a half I have been searching for things a little beyond my sewing machine. I LOVE creating and always will, but I felt something was lacking. So I started to look for places outside of my studio that I could help. I love the excitement of small business and felt I had some experience in this area that I could contribute to another company. First I started working with a Mens clothing company and did so part time for about a year. It was interesting, I learned some things, they learned some things but at the end of day it for the most part was me creating ads and marketing strategies which were all driven by sales, sales, sales!  I wanted to find something a little deeper, so we politely parted ways.

Time went on, I continued to sew and searched for a new place I could help. I decide to volunteer. I thought maybe a new "job" would find me this way. I started with what I love-food. I became a part time cook at my local hospice and became an un paid employee at an organic veggie delivery place. This was a new company that was working to get healthy food into as many homes as possible. Both were a great fit. It allowed me to step out of my comfy sewing comfort zone and explore other passions I have. But at the end of the day, I am not a rich lady and as much as I would love to volunteer my life away, I need cash pay my bills. Luckily, my wish to work with another start up company was granted and I was hired part time by the Veggie place to help with all kinds of random stuff that a new business requires. It has been a great fit and its a job I can feel really good about.

So up until now, I have CHA CHA, Veggie place job and my volunteer chef (using this term loosely). I am diversifying and I am definitely not bored. But I want to add one more element to the mix. Yoga.
I have been practicing on and off since I was a teenager and in the last few years have really grown a deep appreciation and understanding of its benefits that are far beyond physical. So I decide to become a Yoga teacher. I want to be able share this amazing practice with others.  On May 1st I flew to California where I stayed in an ashram for 31 days and completed my Teacher Training Certificate at the Sivananda Yoga farm in Grass Valley. It was intense, difficult, fun, exciting and definitely out of my comfort zone. I am happy to say that I passed and I am currently using friends and family as guinea pigs as I get this teaching thing down.

So thats it,  that is where I have been and what I have been doing for the last 18 months or so. I am excited to be back in my sewing room, listening to library books on cd and watching ridiculous amounts of Netflix documentaries while I sew up a storm. I look forward to sharing progress pictures with you over the next two weeks. I will try to be more social media savvy and post pics on my Instagram and Twitter accounts.

I am always surprised by the amount of emails and messages I get from customers wanting to know where I am and when new bags will be available. I am just one small women in the crazy world of online retail and I am SO SO grateful for the love and support you all show me. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Lori Cha Cha

Before & After- How many handbags can you get out of one jacket?

The answer is usually two. Working with a waist length leather jacket I was able to make 2 slouchy shoulder bags and one leather Bear. I have been trying to figure out what to do with all the scraps and bits and pieces I have been hoarding for the last 7 years. I have always held onto the bins of scraps because I feel like one day I will find them a purpose. The scrap experiments usually go to Winston who then carries them around the house.

More Pictures of the Two Tone Slouchy Shoulder Bag
More Pictures of the Brown Slouchy Shoulder Bag

Winter in Cha Cha Land

Winter in Canada. Hibernating and sewing. Changing things up over here at Cha Cha, nothing stays the same forever. Still sewing, still taking old to new. I will keep you posted.

Making Samples, Enjoying California & Getting Back to Work.

This was my attempt to  make a tie. Now I just have to learn to tie a tie, not as easy as I thought.

The Boyfriend Bag- Dan has been testing out the prototype. I think its the perfect size and will work well for men or women.

Over the last few weeks Dan and I drove from San Diego to San Francisco with many beach town stops on the way.  Pictures really could not capture how pretty much of that state is, but I still took a few.

We had a chance to visit Farm Animal Sanctuary in Los Angles. They do wonderful work educating the public on the current state of factory farming. The hour long tour is one I will never forget, definitely a highlight of the trip for me. The have a few locations around the USA, I highly recommend a visit.

Santa Barbara- We only stopped here for lunch and a little walk, but it sure is a pretty little city.

Me- Trying to learn how to use my camera again.  

Our last stop was San Francisco. We did a lot of walking while we were there and my thighs are just starting to regain feeling. The hills are serious, I have never felt so out of shape!

It's great to go away and just as sweet to come home. After a year long break I am happy that today is my first day back at cha cha full time. Often stepping away from something is the best way to realize how much you appreciate it.

Here There & Everywhere.

Have You Heard of a Yurt?

 

Neither had I, until late one night, while browsing the web I decided to rent one for 4 days.
I had no idea what to expect after our 2.5 hour drive North of Toronto, but I can say I was very pleased.
 Here is the technical explanation of a Yurt, but to me it's defined as the kind of camping I can do. You get to fall asleep with the sounds of the forrest, but feel safe enough that you wont get eaten by a bear, plus you get to sleep in an actual bed.
This place is totally off the grid, 11 acres of private forest and lake, beaver ponds, fire pit and dock. No running water, electricity or other humans. Exactly what I need every now and then.
If you had of told me 5 years ago that I would be going to a place like this instead of a hotel with a pool and room service I would have thought you were crazy. But something about the simpler things get more and more appealing everyday.
 If you are looking for an escape from the real world, email me, I will pass on the name of the owners of this beautiful property. Simply Beautiful.

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My Backyard Friend

Watch out, I'm coming.

The Softest Thing in the World.

I am really not exagerating. This is probably the softest leather I have ever come in contact with. This Entourage Clutch was a pair of leather pants in it's previous life. I like to think the first owner who wore these spent a lot of time dancing, breaking them in and softening them up. This clutch is lined with vintage fabric making it even more full of history.