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This past month we have been in Bali working with our incredible team and artisans. This has been our first month-long design trip and it has truly been an amazing, busy, and inspiring month. I have been working on quality control for our Fall production, sourcing and hand selecting eco-friendly fabrics for upcoming collections, shooting our upcoming fall collection, developing and fitting our Spring and Summer 2023 styles, meeting new artisans, and learning about more heritage techniques such as hand-crocheting and a traditional Balinese embroidery technique called kerawang.
I landed in Bali and could not wait to see my team and get to work. A huge smile stretches across my face the moment I land, I’ve arrived at my second home. The first week was spent fitting spring/ summer designs for our upcoming trade show and checking our final fit samples for our fall production. There were some new team members to meet and get to know, so we enjoyed spending time together. I also met with Tia to work on our new hangtags, all made from recycled materials. The following week we had our photoshoot for our fall collection at a beautiful modern villa in Umalas. I always love seeing the collection come together, I can feel everyone’s passion and hard work that went into crafting each style. I shot the collection myself and cannot wait for it to launch. It’s a collection of feminine, elevated, timeless styles that I hope you all will love just as much as I do.
I traveled to the northern part of Bali with our manufacturing partner, Fia to meet with Ilut in her village. Ilut is working on our crochet pieces and I was so eager to meet her, learn her story and watch as she worked on her craft. It was incredible to see her hand crochet- her hand and fingers moving so quickly to create a beautiful piece. It was an experience that I’ll never forget. Meeting her family, getting to know them and spending time with them was one of my favorite parts of my trip. It's moments like this that inspire me and are why I started Paneors. Being able to support Ilut and her family, and to support this heritage technique means so much to me.
I had the privilege of meeting with an additional manufacturing partner this trip who we are very excited to start working with. Dewa, who you will meet in our upcoming Meet the Maker Series has such a love and passion for creating handcrafted garments. His team all share his passion for the craft and are very skilled in each of their heritage techniques. I learned about kerawang, a traditional Balinese embroidery technique that is very durable and beautiful. The women guide the embroidery needle which moves swiftly through the fabric to create the pattern and hand cut all of the openwork. It was such an honor to learn about this heritage technique and watch these incredible artisans move with such grace and ease.
I couldn’t miss visiting our wonderful fabric supplier on Java Island who feels like family, so I flew to visit our team there and to see what beautiful eco-friendly deadstock fabrics they have left. I always feel like a kid in a candy shop when I get to their deadstock warehouse, Opening up the rolls of fabric to see what beautiful prints and colors lay beneath. I was able to find a selection of gorgeous prints and solid colors in natural-based fibers that I can’t wait to design into these fabric for upcoming collections. It was a quick 24 hours before I headed back to Bali to check on our sample development.
The remaining weeks of my trip are spent fitting samples, adjusting each style to fit perfectly, editing our photoshoot images, getting our website ready for the fall launch, early morning video calls with our social media intern, and spending time with our incredible team here.
Weekend trips help me reconnect to the beautiful island, spending time at the beach, and venturing to the north to immerse myself in the jungle and greenery. Time spent in nature fuels my soul and energizes me for a new week. While my time here is coming to an end, I’m looking forward to being back in California, knowing I will be back soon.
To see more videos and behind-the-scenes of our trip, make sure to follow us on Instagram. Want to learn more about our amazing artisans? Check out our makers series here.
xx,
Lauren
P.S. Mark your calendars, our fall collection launches October 13th!
