The Friday Five: February 20th
Happy Friday lovelies.
I'm starting a new weekly blog segment giving updates on Encircled, and what I was up to for the past week with the business, and personally.
I already give updates in our weekly emails, but lately it's felt like there is SO much I want to share, and not enough space to share it in.
We'll see how it goes but my intent is to have one post up every Friday with ideas to enrich your life and also keep you in the loop on the behind the scenes happenings with the business.
Every Friday I'll answer 5 questions.
Feel free to email me any questions you want to ask me, or my blog readers, and I'll happily put them out to the universe.
1. What was cooking this week?
Since leaving management consulting in late November, I've been home a lot more than usual (save for a surf trip!). It will sound strange but consulting keeps you on the road 3-5 days a week. So, actually being home 7 days a week is a huge transition. I rarely cooked a meal for myself in the past 4 years. I lived off of takeout.
But, I love cooking. I don't know about you, but there is something about following a recipe, and making something that tastes amazing that brings me pure joy.
This week I made Raw-Vegan Cookie Dough Bites.
Yes.
They taste AMAZING, and took about 10 minutes to make. I recommend putting them in the fridge on parchment paper, which will make them a bit less sticky.
If you want more healthy recipe ideas, check out my Pinterest Board on Eating Healthy & Eating Well (because food is meant to be enjoyed).
2. What's new with Encircled?
The past few weeks were eye-opening in terms of production and supply chain challenges. As some of you know, our leggings were further delayed (shipping Feb 23rd), and along the way the fabric was temporarily lost for our Maxi skirts, we also ran out of drawstring, and then the tags had to be replaced because they were blank on one side.
Next, our Chrysalis Cardi fabric took forever to ship, the snaps were sold out in the colour we wanted, and tags had to also be replaced.
So, yeah.
I'm not from a fashion background, so the supply chain side has always been a mystery. I've also found this industry is not always the easiest to work within in Canada. The cost to customer service ratio is just not there.
All I want to do is have quality made garments in stock all the time for you, our lovely customers at a sustainable price for us to run and grow our business. So, I'm re-evaluating our supplier base, and going to fabric shows in LA and Miami in the next month to get options (and hopefully some new cool, eco fibers!).
On a positive note, our prototype of our new-to-be-named dressy sweat pant is ready!
3. What did you watch on Netflix this week?
I haven't had cable for about 4 years, but I do love my Netflix. I carved out a few hours on the past long weekend to relax and watch a few movies that I highly recommend.
Virunga is a documentary about the Virunga National Park, one of the last homes of mountain Gorillas, and other rare and endangered species. The park lies within Eastern Congo, an area fraught with conflict from Rebel armies, and full of Poachers, and impending UK Oil giants, who want a piece of the natural resources.
The courage, and conviction shown by the Park employees in this film is unreal.
Virguna is up for an Oscar this year. I truly hope it wins, because this issue needs more awareness, and an Oscar win would do just that.
Undefeated is a documentary that tells the story of the Mannassas High School football team as they try to build a winning team with minimal resources. This school is located in a severely impoverished area of Memphis, Tennessee.
As an ex-competitive athlete, who was blessed to have many amazing coaches, this movie literally brought me to tears. Coach Courtney is unbelievably dedicated to his team, and volunteers his time, usually at a cost to his family to make sure the players can achieve their dreams.
I just heard that Undeafeted won an Oscar for Best Documentary, and it was well-deserved.
4. Where are you traveling to next?
After being home for almost 6 weeks, you know I'm itching to go somewhere.
I'm heading to Los Angeles in the first week of March for a textile show!
I've been to Cali but never to LA so I'm hoping to sneak out early from the show to experience a little bit of the city before jetting back to Toronto.
5. Did you DIY anything this week?
I'm a huge DIY-er. Especially since I went from salary, to zero salary. I also believe DIY is a great way to re-use, reduce and recycle things.
I was cleaning this weekend, and found several Photo Books that I had created from a few big trips I took a couple of years ago. It made me realize that I no longer, this digital age, print photos.
Crazy!
I definitely want to start to catalogue my trips better. I found this amazing post from Kelly Purkey on how to create a travel binder.
That's it for this Friday!
Don't forget to email me your questions (contact at encircled.ca).
Also, I'd love to hear YOUR responses. Pick a question, and put your answer in the comments below.
With wanderlust,
Chief Fashionpreneur, encircled
Love travel? Join our League of Travelistas -- a community for women who love to travel. Click her to request access to our private facebook group.
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