While I had the idea, a crude drawing and a name, I also had a quote from the design company for what it would cost to create a prototype. It was going to cost $7,500! While I had some savings, I certainly didn’t have $7,500 to develop a bag as any monies I earned from my business, went back into the business. So, I put the whole idea on the back-burner.
Brian and I had “met” via webcam and MSN Messenger at the end of April 2008, and in September we officially met face to face at Nandi airport, Fiji. It took a while, but in that 4½ months we had chatted, I had grown very fond of Brian and thought he was someone worth meeting. The regular delivery of flowers probably had something to do with the fact that I grew to like him, because initially, I was certainly not interested in any more than a friendship. He had two qualities, however, that I find very appealing – confidence and persistence!
Now, while this story is not about my love life per se, I thought I might share a very funny story about the first time we met.
I had received many warnings from girlfriends about going to Fiji to meet a guy I’d only known on the internet. He could be an axe murderer; he might have bad breath or body odour, or what if he dribbles? The last warning was “what if your pheromones don’t match?”. And, if you are wondering what pheromones are, you are not the only one, because when I told Brian prior to meeting that we had to now worry about the “pheromones”, he said: “what the hell are those?”
It was nerve racking to finally meet Brian, but he was waiting for me at the arrival gate of Nandi airport. I went into his arms and kissed him. But what was that smell? My goodness, he smelt like cat food! This is why he has been single for so long! He smells!
One of my characteristics (and I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing) is that I am terribly direct, so I asked pretty much immediately: “Have you been fishing?” “No” he replied. “So, what is that smell?” I asked. Poor guy! So while I walked off to get the shuttle bus organised, I thought: “Oh my God, what am I going to do? He’s lovely but he smells?” So, on the bus, I again asked him: “What is that smell?” and he replied: “It’s not my shirt is it?” So upon sniffing his bare arms and then the shirt, I was relieved to discover that it was his shirt indeed that stunk. Brian had ordered a Tommy Bahama shirt from the internet, but had not washed it prior to wearing it, and whatever chemical they used before packing it, had a dire effect on my sense of smell! What a relief! I still dislike that shirt immensely even though it has been washed several times and no longer smells of cat food.
Anyway, to make a long story longer, Brian and I had a wonderful trip in Fiji and it was the beginning of our two year courtship which spanned two continents.
I had told Brian about the SKBoot bag, which idea I had pretty much discarded. However, after returning back to Australia, Brian called me and said that he thought I should pursue the idea and that he would lend me some money to get it going. While that was a lovely and generous idea, I didn’t want to be “beholden” to someone in a business sense.
So, in November, when I had saved a bit more money, I called the design company with whom I had met some five months prior and asked to speak to their designer, Daniel. I was dismayed to learn that Daniel no longer worked for them, but they very kindly let me know his new contact details.
I called Daniel, and while he was working for another company, he agreed to work for me on a “contract” basis. So, about two weeks before Christmas 2008, Daniel and I met at a coffee shop to discuss design ideas.
What I loved and still love about Daniel, is that he is able to take my ideas and make them “real”. He can interpret exactly what I want in a “style” sense but add the “practicality” features to it. It’s similar to me being the architect – (great ideas but not very practical), and him being the builder and developer. After his initial “drawing” and that’s all it was but amazing nonetheless, Daniel went about designing the drawings on his computer. They were the most detailed and comprehensive drawings I had ever seen (not that I’d seen many), but when the Skboot bag drawings were finally submitted to the factory some months’ later, they said they were some of the best drawings they had ever seen.
Daniel submitted the final drawings to me in the New Year of 2009. But how was I going to get these drawings made into a Skboot bag?
In 2007-2008, I had belonged to a networking group called BNI (which is a worldwide organisation). After a year, I decided to leave the group to focus more on Miss-Organisation, which was running along very well, with the help of Rebekah, my assistant, and Skboot, but just before I left in about August 2008, a lady by the name of Cara Crundall (now Kenny) joined the group.
Cara ran a company called Global Sourcing Services (GSS) which specialised in getting products manufactured in China. GSS had people on the ground in China and they sourced the best factories for products as well as conducting stringent quality control. They also dealt with freight and logistics issues. When she joined BNI, I had mentioned to her that I would probably need her one day for a product I was working on.
Funnily enough, after returning from a month’s trip to Utah to see Brian in the New Year of 2009, I totally forgot about Cara, but it was suggested I call her during a meeting with a finance broker who I had also met through BNI. This finance broker was able to assist me with raising some more finance for Skboot.
It was the very next day that I contacted Cara Crundall, and the real work began! I was committed and there was no turning back.
Wil je meer informatie over de SKboot?? neem dan contact op via het contactformulier van Skiinformatie.nl
