Orange is the New Black

Does anyone else remember that Banana Republic ad campaign a few years back that really pushed orange? There were orange scarves and orange coats and orange knit wool tights. Vogue even touted it as the new "bold neutral." Personally, I never bought into it. And I still don't.

One of my favorite artisans here, Rbia, loves orange. It's best with green in her opinion. It also goes well with brown and black. Or at least that's what she pointed to on the color chart I made for her. Many of her peers agree with her. Indeed, I know some candy marketers that would whole-heartedly agree with all of them.

One of the most interesting parts of my job (aside from the sheep's brain I kind of accidentally ate the other day) is walking the fine line between encouragement and constructive criticism. Rbia works so hard on her products. The time she spends at the association working on them takes away from her household duties, her work in the fields, and her family.

On the other hand I really want that time to be worthwhile. It's my job to tell her what my American eyes see, and what they saw tonight are handbags that could be vastly improved with a bit more attention to color combinations and improvements in technique and consistency.
The wonderful thing about Rbia is that she's open to new ideas and she doesn't (appear to) take criticism personally. We have lots to look forward to. Now if I could only get the whole "organizational management" project underway.

In other news: I saw the king twice this week. He's just as handsome as he is on TV. And tomorrow I'm taking my first "overnight" to see Matthew and Anny (see earlier post) so I'll have a whole new town to tell you about, along with the experience of an inter-city souk bus. Whoa, baby!

Update 27/01/2008: Orange is beginning to grow on me. After being bombarded by the colors over and over again while shopping in the souks for what seems like a hundred days straight, I'm coming around to Rbia's point of view. I still maintain that it is not completely appropriate for the American market though. The color chart I made for them has worked wonders, yet there are red and green bags on the looms as we speak! Imik s imik, (little by little) right?

The Big Feast

My horoscope for yesterday: Quality time with animals will transform your mood. Visit a stable to hang with the horses, go for a hike in the woods with your dog, or volunteer to help out at a rescue league.

Yesterday each family in my town slaughtered a sheep (or two, in my family's case) to commemorate the sacrifice of Ishmael (I know some you want to say, "Oooooh, Anjuli forgot; it was Isaac." Not here it wasn't.) Each house has a lovely, skinned sheep hanging in some shady spot on the roof, or in the living room. It's not really that gross, until you make the connection between what's on your plate and what's hanging upside down behind you . . .

OK, so my horoscope was a little off the mark (astrology is an imperfect science, OK?), but my mood was transformed. The whole ritual slaughtering of sheep thing was a little depressing. (I'm sheltered; I admit it.) Later in the day, however, we got dressed up, put on some make-up, and strolled about town, visiting other families. I met about twenty women I'd never seen before. There was some dancing (girls only), a whole lot of cookies, a little tea, and my favorite treat of all: coffee. Yum. I also made an amazing discovery. Widade, my one English student, owns a sewing machine! Sewing machines are kind of rare here, so this is a huge boon for my association. It's all about making connections.