If you've been following along on social media since the beginning then you probably have an idea of how all of this came to be and what this is all about...but I'm going to assume that you haven't and start at the very beginning. Because I think knowing the backstory might be useful/interesting?
(Apologies in advance. This might be the most lengthy post that will ever appear here.)
The idea for what has become Nomadic Citizen was born in 2011 in New, Delhi India. Specifically, in a little rooftop flat that I was renting in South Delhi. I had moved there for a year to volunteer and after a few months was finally beginning to find my groove. I loved learning about and being a part of a new culture (and one with such a rich history at that!). I was making good friends. I loved wandering the markets. I loved the food. And the textiles...I loved the textiles. One day I stumbled upon a vintage textile seller and repairer in the back lanes of yet another market. Every now and then I would visit his little shop, crammed high with vintage scarves and fabrics, and he would explain their history to me: what part of India they originated in, what tribe created them, why they were likely created, and how they were made. I listened to the stories and was fascinated. On a volunteer budget I couldn't afford much in that little shop, but before leaving I did purchase one beautiful phulkari scarf that is perhaps my most treasured souvenir and reminder of those 10 months I spent in India. I'd always had a genuine love for learning about different cultures and history - and prior to moving to India I was developing an interest in interior design and textiles but it was there, in New Delhi, that my love of handcrafted textiles really began to blossom. And after working in the entertainment industry for a few years I'd grown a bit disillusioned by it all and had a desire to do something more...meaningful. Which is how I ended up volunteering in India. I remember wondering at the time if there was a way I could combine all of that together: travel, learning about cultures different than my own, handmade textiles, and doing good.
And with that, the seed was planted.
A few months later I returned home to Toronto and the seed that was planted remained just that -- a seed buried away. I think, like most creative people (dreamers?), I was always coming up with ideas of how I could be my own boss and create something I was passionate about but those ideas never lasted and quickly fizzled away. But ever time this idea came to mind, I got excited. And over the years every time the idea came back to me, I came up with every excuse and reason why I couldn't make it anything more than an idea. When I moved into my apartment in 2013 I fell in love with the process of making it my own...and the things I loved hunting for the most? Textiles. Textiles and those little accessories that make a house a home. And in my search I was looking for things that reminded me of my travels. Things that were perfectly imperfect. Things that were true to their origins but felt updated just enough to fit into my space.
Finally in 2014 I decided I would give it a go. I'd write down this idea that had been simmering for three years and try to make something of it. Perhaps, fuelled by the many people I saw on social media taking a chance on themselves and their dreams, I decided to take a chance on myself.
I spent the next several weeks and months shaping what I wanted this, at the time, unnamed project to be. I started doing research. I started telling people about my idea -- something I'd never done before. And then the perfect name came to me and it felt real. And it felt right. And everything kind of just fell into place...what I wanted it to be and how I wanted it to work.
Fast forward another year to 2015 and I headed back to India in the late Fall to meet with some of the organizations I'd been corresponding with who could help me bring my vision, Nomadic Citizen, to life. I returned from my three weeks in India pumped and excited by all I'd seen, what I'd learn, the people I'd met, and the possibilities. Nomadic Citizen could really happen.
And then I did nothing.
Fear and self doubt crept back in and it paralyzed me. I did absolutely nothing. For seven months. No progress. And then I had a chat with a friend who, without knowing it, gave me the kick in the ass I needed to get back to work.
And that's just what I did.
I took what I'd learned in India and revisited my initial idea -- tweaking it and tightening it. I got back on email with the contacts I made and moved forward. I did it in a way that was, at the same time, much smaller and bigger than I was originally intending. I got back on social media and started connecting with (and reconnecting with) like-minded brands. Fear tried to creep in and I'd kick it in the arse -- not this time fear! It's not gonna happen!
Which brings us to the present.
The first two Nomadic Citizen shipments arrived a few weeks ago from the cooperatives I'm collaborating with in West India and Ghana. Very exciting (as seen in this totally unstaged photo). Things are happening and I'm preparing for a Fall 2016 launch.
Do I still feel fear and doubt myself? Absolutely. Do I have it all figured out now? Not in the least. But I try and remind myself that small steps forward are still steps forward. And I'm excited by what's to come.
