Most people think of their job or office as a home away from home. It's where we spend the majority of our time either mindlessly slaving away or happily humming along. I'm willing to bet that most of us have decorated our little work spaces as a reflection of ourselves. Giving our spaces a personal touch is what makes work feel a little more like home and seeing something familiar, a plant or family picture, drives us to work a bit harder so we can get home to unwind and spend some quality time with our loved ones.
But what if you work from home? Or leave your job and get home to your other job?
If you've ever wondered what I leave and then get home to then this is an insider's look at the Ziva's Closet work space!
By day I work at a janitorial supply company as a store manager/sales support. By night I am creating, designing, sewing, packaging, and mailing out all the Boho fashion of your little girls dreams! Obviously I need a creative outlet because selling toilet paper is not creative at all. You could say I'm the Bruce Wayne/Batman of the toilet paper world! I fight fashion crimes instead of actual crimes! But all joking aside, I get to fill my days with doing work and then coming home to doing something that lets me fill that creative void!
I'm not gonna lie, Ziva's Closet can be quite the mix of relaxing, fun, and stressful. It offers me the chance to zone out of a busy, hectic, monotonous day and allows me to zone in to something creative, challenging, and fun. Some times it's like putting a puzzle together, and we all know what putting a puzzle together is like. In the beginning, we can see the bigger picture (and we foolishly tell ourselves that we can do this in no time at all), then the process of putting it together begins! There is frustration, challenges, and lots of time and effort that goes into building one. In the end we are left with a sense of accomplishment, pride, joy, and the knowledge and experience to put another puzzle together!
And where are puzzles usually worked on? Maybe your kitchen table or living room floor? For me, Ziva's Closet pieces come together in my work space. Everything I need is right there. "A place for everything and everything in it's place" right? Some days that applies to my work space but, let's face it, most days I like to think of it as organized chaos. Busy days are usually those organized chaos type of days and I prefer it that way. I like to dedicate 1-2 hours a day after I get home from my first job & 4 hours every Sunday to working on orders or putting together a new release. Being an avid Netflix watcher, I usually have a show playing in the background (these days it's The Office) and some days Ziva comes in to help. No one worry, no child labor laws are being broken! Ziva loves to help out by cutting the thread after I serge a piece together or she will sit on my lap and help me hold the fabric off the ground while I sew. It allows me to spend time with her and teach her the value of work. Although how much can a 4 year old learn about the value of work? All she knows is that she gets to spend time with mommy and she sees the joy it brings me when I'm busy sewing cute outfits for other little girls. If that isn't a win/win situation, then I don't know what is!
Putting a dress, skirt, or top starts with finding the perfect pattern. I snag patterns up when I think it would be a good fit for my brand or sometimes it's just because I like it. The pattern needs to scream "Where Boho Meets Casual" and I like to pull inspiration from an outfit and then hunt down a pattern to fit what I need (sometimes they have to be slightly modified ie the veruca dress) After I find a pattern then I go searching for the fabric I think most fits the pattern. Sometimes I know when things wont work out or look right (ie: prints too big or too small etc). And sometimes I have to hold off releasing something because I can't find the right fabric for the pattern. Eventually you find just the right fit to make your piece come to life. Once I have the right pattern and perfect fabric together, then the real work begins. Fabric is cut , serged, and sewn by me. And depending on the piece I'm making it can take anywhere from 1-3 hours to put one piece together from start to finish.
It all sounds so nice and streamlined when I type it out like that but the truth is that a lot more goes into each piece that goes out. I like to think that it's something I'm making for my little Ziva, and it needs to be perfect for her to wear! Each corner of my work space has a use/function and by the time an outfit is complete it has danced around the room from station to station. This is more than my home away from home, it really and truly is my home. I am forever grateful that I get to have this creative outlet and still be able to spend time with my family. And of course I am thankful for each and every one of you that shops, supports, and shares Ziva's Closet. If home is where the heart is then every single thing sewn in my little work space has a little bit of my heart in it.