life in the fast lane...

Yesterday I thought it was Saturday and was told only Friday- Yeh an extra day this week....then on the way home Monish pointed out 2 weeks before we start our tour....I have been running like a crazy person thinking I start out next week!

 

Our workshop is rocking along at a crazy speed- so much khadi to chase, indigo and traditional dye colours to organize....hand work for a our women, getting it into machine room and then cleaning and labelling and packing to send.

Monsoon has finished, weather is finally dry and heating up and so many staff off sick with a vile fever.

 

We really realise how much we depend on each and every member of our team.

Madly trying to train people in a second task so they can act as back up if our primary person is away.

I must admit I am a bit of a princess, I am so used having my very helpful staff find things for me, answer questions like "how many? show me?.... help!"

Key people away and we are all scrambling to find the things they know....and we all realise how well we work together.

We have started a new gentleman to be my production assistant/our workshop production manager...idea he has a big picture idea of what is happening, which comes next and lines things up.

He keeps our machine men focused and consistent quality coming out. Generally they are good, but it can be they get into chat-fest and work slows down, one or two can't talk and work at all so if chatting not checked we have rejected pieces.

If our lads who check send things back they like to grumble.

So like the ladies we have a production register and my production assistant's job is to monitor rejects and record them.... so they can't be swept under the carpet.

The two machine guys who consistently chat and make a mess are on notice- straighten up, mate.

Should be good for us all- usually a bit of gentle 'encouragement' helps focus. This has worked wonderfully well with our ladies.

 

 My Baba looking so cute...finally got the maggot problem in his nose cleaned up and all on the mend...poor middle aged man, that he is.

 He is such a funny fellow....

 Ladies in training with new ideas...scrummy shaggy coats coming for our Anna Madam [ Anna Reynolds] I really enjoy her cloth and she has the guys in the stitching room smiling with her out of the box approaches in her garment construction.... you will have to follow her to see what she has hitting CLOTH.

This week has been huge, did I say that before ? so many orders finished and out....I think today I can draw breath a little...
Fingers crossed with my Production Assistant, I think he will be fine. I had to be careful and not hug him yesterday- not the done thing in India!! as I watched him pick up on and handle details I would usually have to follow up.
Creative Arts Safaris season is getting going, our Teachers Tour are just arriving, we are off on our Rajasthan tour in 2 weeks and it will be the last in the present format, once we start our Gurjarat Tour next year we will take Ahmedabad out of the Raj tour and can go visit some other wonderful places we have not been to on tour for a few years....
Almost closing date for our Glorious Ghana tour- we have a great bunch joining us, it is going to be fun!
Bengal Tour is already full, everything is in place...a big yeh AND we already have a list for 2018. Cool.
Tours we definitely earn our keep, we work hard looking after everyone, sharing information etc, etc and etc but it is also a lot of fun. A change is as good as a holiday, as they same. They are our holidays, it seems. We dream of a loll around do nothing type one, one day but I wander how we would cope
I am off upstairs now to finish off our workshop shop. Once tourist season hits we have plenty of visitors here in the workshop...I leave them upstairs and they have great fun trying on things. It is cute.