Late summer is upon us, and WildWoodWear is getting ready for the bi-annual GET OFF THE GRID FEST in Spartanburg, S.C., August 18th ~ 20th. I will be giving a presentation, “An Introduction to Walking as a Sacred Practice: A Magical Portal to Living an Enchanted Life!” on Sunday, 1 ~ 2pm, on the main workshop stage. This festival is unique because it is entirely powered by solar energy. ALL WILDWOODWEARMERCHANDISE WILL BE ON CLEARANCE! Everything must go to make room for whatever is in store for the next line of Functional Clothing for Women Who Wander… Don’t miss this opportunity to snag a deal on a one-of-a-kind piece (that may never exist again.)

So, what is next for WildWoodWear?
Honestly, I have no idea. I am still patiently waiting for the Universe to show me the way forward. WildWoodWear is a 100% intuition-based divine business, so I try not to overthink and let Spirit guide me to the next steps. I have found so much joy in a divinely orchestrated process of creating and selling the designs I have dreamed up and then witnessing them come to fruition. Of course, my favorite part is meeting new friends at all the various WildWoodWear events. Oh, and wearing a pair of pants I designed on an 11-day trek to Mount Everest Base Camp was a highlight that I shall not soon forget.

It had been a huge dream of mine for as long as I can remember to have my own festival booth selling my cosmic creations. Many years ago, before this clothing project, I dreamed of selling my art at a festival… I was once a painter of giant colorful paintings, and then it was pen and ink drawings; later, it was block printing, and then I became obsessed with making magic wands. (Yes, real magic wands!) Although my medium changed frequently, I never lost the desire to have a big booth at some fabulous festival. I never felt like I had enough inventory (or know-how) to have a vendor’s booth… except once when I sold some art prints at my farmer’s market vegetable booth back when I grew an enthusiastically abundant garden. WildWoodWear was officially born this year, and this will be our fifth and last live event of the year. It’s a dream come true, for sure.

Last year, I booked a trip to a little village in India on the fly to meet with some master tailors, based only on a conversation I had with a new friend. Actually, a friend of a friend. Lol. It was a risky move for sure, but big risks are always worth it, even if they don’t go the way you expect them to.

I knew this idea would be challenging, but I did it anyway. You know… when you take a giant leap of faith on a creative impulse, and you have, literally, no clue as to what you are doing… just following your heart… and you take a big deep breath and leap? So far, it has felt like the steps have all been magically laid out before me… effortlessly.
Until now.

As I mentioned, I knew there would be a steep learning curve. Sometimes, you just don’t know exactly what is going to make something hard. In my case, surprisingly, it is the ideal fabric. My search for the perfect fabric has been a most disappointing endeavor, which is why I am going to stop “trying” so hard and wait for further instruction from the Universe. I recently canceled a trip to a textile trade show in New York because it felt overwhelming. I was also planning a trip to Vietnam, and possibly China, later this year to search for this coveted fabric, but honestly, it has become clear that I have been paddling way too hard upstream to make this happen. An intuition-based business doesn’t work that way. This is not the end of the WildWoodWear story, and I know more shall be revealed. For now, I will keep drawing my clothing designs, taking enchanted walks in the woods, and looking for the magic that I know is waiting for me.

xoxCollin