My Whirling Turban visit.

So, this was the day I'd been counting down to, I'd travelled from Sydney to the beautiful mountains of Ubud, Indonesia & there I was, my first official day in Ubud, and I was off to meet Katherine at theWhirling Turban studios.

I waited for Katherine to collect me from a local cafe up the road from her studio (finding places in Indonesia can be more than a little difficult), then the next thing I knew, a scooter had whizzed up beside me & there was Katherine, "jump on" she said & we drove off to the studio.

                                                   

Me, Katherine & her lovely staff.

Ah paradise.

Once at the studio, Katherine showed me through the fabric room.. well, didn't I just come over all giddy, all of those stunning fabrics, all together there in one room, swoon! From delicate brocades to sparkly lame, & breathtaking hand dyed print fabrics that are so exquisitely unique (well that's because they are, these are one off's). Ladies, believe me, if you don't get your order in quick on some of the Whirling Turban fabrics, they don't last long, they ARE limited editions...I actually still pine for previous Whirling Turban fabrics that have since passed & will never return...But, don’t despair, there are always new & exciting fabrics coming through. Currently, there are some really gorgeous reproduction fabrics that you would be hard pressed picking whether they were actually authentic vintage!

Swoon worthy fabrics

Katherine then led me to the work/cutting room. I immediately spied the stunning new V8 dress, then another of my favourites, the gorgeous Peggy Would dress, ah, so much beauty, all in one room.. a gal could burst with happiness.

V8 dress, Vavoom

Peggy Would dress, offers the most sumptuous silhouette.

There is definitely a lot of love happening right there in that room. Katherine's girls were happily engrossed in the pieces that they were working on. You could feel what a cohesive work place it was. It had a real family feel to it, unlike the sterile work environment that I'm used to in my workplace.

Katherine then showed me yet another room. That room contained pattern archives, belonging to every woman that had ordered through Whirling Turban, her body measurements/patterns were carefully archived & even some complete body forms were kept from customer’s complete custom made pieces, it's all quite incredible. So much history right there in that room.

All the colours of the rainbow.

I can't imagine many other businesses caring so intently & this obviously stems from Katherine. Katherine is a gorgeous slip of a lady, with a sparkle in her eyes & the warmest of hearts. That was my first time actually meeting Katherine, though we seemed to have naturally built a friendship over the years through my interactions with Whirling Turban (a rare thing in this day & age). It was quite clear to me, as seen in Katherine’s enthusiasm for her dresses, that she is a perfectionist, driven by her passion to produce impeccably constructed dresses.

While I was there, I couldn't resist but purchase one of Whirling Turban’s gorgeous 1940 swimsuit inspired bra tops & a Hawaiian heaven corselet. So, we wandered back into the fabric room & picked out a stunning, blood red fabric for the bra top & the most perfect peacock blue colour in a locally woven sharkskin fabric, for the Hawaiian heaven corselet.

Squee my tops in the making.

Since my first purchase, my measurements have changed slightly over the years, so Katherine & her girls assisted by updating my body measurements. Now, this is a precise practice, & they all, ever so patiently and sweetly whizzed around me, measuring & jotting down figures, I was indeed in good hands. 

After this, Katherine took me into her home, this is the kind of person Katherine is, so open & welcoming. We walked through the two huge exquisite old recycled doors, Katherine explained that she had salvaged them and then had mother of pearl inlaid into them, sublime. The front yard is a tropical oasis, with a cacao tree (chocolate tree) in the front yard, plus the most gorgeous tropical plants, growing perfectly, as if from a movie scene. I simply adored the tiki carvings she has on her patio! We sat on her patio chatting about Whirling Turban , life in Ubud & a whole myriad of things; please see my next blog post for my interview with Katherine where I go into more detail about Whirling Turban & Katherine

Fabulous tikki

Cacao -chocolate tree <3

So, for now, take a look at the style of the pretties below that I’m waiting on, I will add some picys of the fit of these darlings in the next blog also. These two styles are just darling, they are both completely versatile. The bra top can be mixed with Capri’s & the Hawaiian heaven corselet will look perfect mixed with a vintage skirt, squee, I can’t wait to receive them.

Hawaiian Heaven

 

1940 Bra top, isn't the button detail so sweet.