An Update....FINALLY!

Hey all!

SOOO much has been happening and it has been crazy around here.  We had a wonderful extended family Christmas with the Morton clan in Opunake...a tiny surf town in NZ.  This was my first summer Christmas and I actually really enjoyed it though I did miss the context of snow and cold and cozy homes which really is Christmas for me in a lot of ways.  It was really fun to enjoy a Christmas day water fight...and I spent a lot of time getting to know family members I did not know which was great.  New years was also fun with heaps of food and fireworks on our deck...several of which went awol and barreling toward our neighbors homes...luckily nothing was damaged in all the excitement though we did have a good laugh about it!

New Years on our deck.

We received our friends Matt and Karin in from Canada the end of December and  it has been great to catch up and to re-experience NZ through their eyes. Matt was our clever photographer who originally photographed our shoe designs.  His lovely wife Karin is the beautiful blond model in so many of our photos.  They are both very talented people and if you have a moment you should check out Matt's photography collection here.

Karin and Matt fresh off the plane

My parents also arrived here from Canada Feb 6th so I have had an influx of Canadian warmth to keep me going!  It has been really wonderful to see my parents again as it had been a little over a year since I saw them last.  They are enjoying the momentary break from the cold and we are enjoying showing them the sights of NZ as well as spending time together catching up.

Showing mom and dad our beach

Mom finding shells

Beautiful sunset

We decided to have Christmas together here in NZ , so we enjoyed an amazing dinner (courtesy of my mom), gifts (complete with several squirrel themed items which I was VERY happy about) and played vintage Christmas records which were always played over Christmas when I was a  kid.

Christmas in Feb

Presents! 

End of January we helped to move out our good friends Gem and Nathan to their new home in Auckland.  We were sad to see them go but are happy for their new adventures.  Together they create 'Hunter Gatherer' goodies.   If you haven't heard of their crafty wares, you should check out their quirky design and accessory work here.

Hunter Gatherer

Isaac and I have been VERY busy as we are also preparing to sell our wares at the upcoming festival of world music and dance  in Auckland called Jambalaya.  You should definitely check out this festival if you can...when I found it I drooled over the line up as I am a HUGE world music fan.  In essence, Isaac and I really just wanted to attend so we decided to also set up shop as our pieces really fit into the overall feel of the festival.  The festival also features workshops which include Tango, Swing, Beatboxing, Salsa, Hip Hop, Dance Hall, Contemporary, A Capella Singing, Samba drumming, African, Flying Trapeze and many more.  If you have a chance please come round for a dance, a workshop and a bit of a browse as it would be lovely to see you.  Festival information can be viewed here.

Another gorgeous sunset

We also are thrown back into a season of transition as we sadly have to leave our beautiful home on the coast as we can no longer afford it on our own.  This has been hard on us but we always knew this day would come so we are trying to be grateful for our beautiful summer and are searching to find a new place to live in Auckland city for April.  Both of us are excited for the change as it will be lovely to see our friends, have access to art and music and also be closer to Isaac's current work at Meadowlark.  We feel a bit torn to leave the beach as we are pretty tied to nature but as we have literally lived on the coast for a year over a variety of locations, I think I can give it up for the time being.  So...if you know of a 2 bedroom place with a garage in the city for rent...let us know!

Last one

We are back in a tight place financially and have been praying that our needs would be met.  Amazingly within a week of finding out we had to move we were featured like crazy on Etsy and I sold a few pairs of shoes.  We are so grateful to the Etsy community for their support!  Thank you Etsy for being so wonderful!  One piece that I was particularly honored to have my mukluks featured on was a handmade portrait of Mabel Pike...a Tlingit Native elder in Alaska who creates incredible moccasins.  Please take a moment to view her story here.   My parents arrival meant lots of food to eat...they are really so lovely and generous!  I seriously have gained five pounds since their arrival!  Please keep your fingers crossed for us that everything will come together.  I feel a surprising amount of peace about it all as we have really gone through this all year and have never lacked a place to live or food to eat.  I am looking forward to getting into a new place and NOT moving for 2 years....sigh...that would be great.

Shoes that I made for my friend Layce

Anyways...that's about us.  Hopefully I can see a few of your faces in the near future or bump into you at Jambalaya.  Thank you again for all your incredible love and support!

Love...Barb and Isaac