Victoria Beckham.

Many years ago when I went through a nasty time at work, I decided to try and set up my own Tie and Dye business. It wouldn’t be a proper business but I would buy beautiful clothes from my favourite shops, materials of fine cotton, wonderful silk and of course amazing linen! Linen is my favourite material, fit for Kings and Queens, who also loved the material too. Back then I was on a measly £6.50 an hour, so it was expensive buying the items of clothing, I made sure they were perfect with no flaws and that the tags were still with the item. Then the dyes and salts had to be bought and the various extras, elastic bands, buttons, gloves, apron bowls and strings of various sizes thick and thin.

I would gather over many months the clothes that I loved and bought, then on an appointed day I would only tie but not dye the same day. I love tying the items of clothing, the pleasure it gave me was fabulous, my heart would be pounding with sheer joy, I usually did this in the Living room and when the children was at school. I would have everything around me string, buttons, elastic bands, my mind would buzz with the excitement of what I was about to create from the plain white cloth. I would be careful to remove the tags and place them all together so I could remember what I’d paid for each item and so hopefully make a small profit. I’d bought a Tagger Gun and 5000 tags, so it would still look professional at the end. Then on another day I would choose which colour I would be using for the dye, the colour is very important for the item, for if it’s a certain colour it won’t sell, for example a black dress for a baby won’t sell, so the right colour for the right top is essential.

Over the years when the children was small I’d drag them to this event and that event sometimes in marquees, garden centres or famous tourist attractions, other times yearly festivals! All four of us would be there, I did OK but when I thought I’d be at a Craft event, not everything there would be 100% craft, for some events other ‘craft’s people clearly got their items from the warehouse! With those people, there was no craft involved, no passion, no satisfaction of a job started and completed! So those people would sell their items cheap! They had put no time and effort into it, if was tie and dye they were all the same, but various sizes and colours!

Thankfully people did buy from me, and without asking me to reduce an item! They recognized a proper craft and skill, when they saw it, and when they fell in love with an item, the colour made no difference to them or the size! People have bought sizes too small for them and told me or their friend with them, “I’ll lose weight; I have to have this top!” The item clearly did not fit them, but as I have no two items the same, they would buy the item. They would also be informed to wash them item separately twice before washing it with their other clothing.

So this went on for many years, I forgot to also mention there was also the price of the stall or space, gazebo, tables, chairs and of course lots of petrol to get to the far away events! Some days I would make a total loss! Other days I would break even and very rarely I would have a fantastic day! If the event was outside, the sun or rain would make a huge difference, for sunny and hot was fantastic – rain and storm not good! On those days it felt like a waste of time getting out of bed! And I would feel blue for many weeks after, especially when I’d put my heart and soul into everything I did! I do nothing in half measure! As time went on our debts mounted .... so it was very important to us to try and make some money, slowly I felt like I was sinking, always hopeful for the next event to be THE event, but it never was, it was like a vicious circle, excitement for the event, always tie dying something for the next event, selling some things and adding even more to my collection in the now growing suitcases at home! Then ten years ago, I had an idea, I thought it was too farfetched, so I dismissed it! Occasionally the thoughts would return ... and sometimes I would run with it and just dream!

Eight years ago I met a fantastic person. She is the most skilled person I have ever met! Her name is Bal, you name it, she can do it, WOW! I am in awe of her, there is nothing she can’t do! Her speciality is sewing; she can make anything, repair anything, and make amazing things from scratch, I often say to her, “Your brain in amazing, I would love to have 1% of idea that is in your wonderful mind,” she just smiles modestly. My silly, over-the-top dream just didn’t go away and so armed with my idea I met up with Bal for a meal at my favourite place to eat, Jimmy Spices! It was my treat, as we’d just got paid, I didn’t tell her why I wanted to meet up with her. So this is what I proposed to her, I told her my ‘dream’, what I wanted to do, what I wanted us to do, an assignment together. I said to Bal, “I want to buy the finest linen materials I can find, that I’d look on the internet for the best place to go, then with the material I’d tie and dye it and I wanted her to then look at photos and videos of Victoria Beckham and make her three fitted dresses, they would be in three different colours, styles and designs. I told her I’d do my part to the best of my ability and I would trust her to do her thing! Bal was excited (thank goodness) for I wasn’t sure how she would take the info. I said to Bal when the dresses was finished I’d post them to Victoria via Special Delivery that we would include info about ourselves and what we as individuals have done. I wanted Victoria to have one of the dress as a gift   from us and the other two dresses I wanted £2,500 each. I was SO broke I had to borrow the money from four different trusted friends, who believed in me, for the linen, and trip to Belfast, so this price was to repay them back, I had never done that before, but this was a once in a life time opportunity, it was now or never, I was confident this would at last work and I really wanted to repay them all back with interest, I’d boldly told them they would get their money back, within 3-6 months.

In return we wanted Victoria to commission us to make another dress for her and for her to pass on our details to rich, trendy friends or acquaintances who like quirky clothes, that wouldn’t cost them the earth but would pay us good money for our hard work. We wanted her to pass on our details to those she knew who would be seriously interested in our one-off items that we did as a team. Now you may be thinking, it seems that Bal is doing all the hard work, wrong, it was my idea I took her on board, and although she loves her work she needed to at last be paid good money for her skills.   

Neither of us works full time but part time so we had time to start our assignment straight away. I went to Belfast and got the wonderful linen from there, three different cream shades and textures. I dyed the first material navy, the second black, and the third gray.

It took me two weeks from start to finish and I was very pleased with the results. I drove over to Bal’s house and she showed me her hand drawn designs for Victoria’s dresses, I was impressed. I left my precious materials with Bal, she told me she had looked up her height and dress size. I told her there was no rush to make, the dresses for it takes time to do a masterpiece, and I wanted three of them.

Seven weeks later, Bal came to my home with the three dresses, on hangers in suite bags, she took them out and hang them on the wall, I was stunned! They were magnificent! It was the first time I had seen my tie and dye made into dresses, she showed me the labels she had also made, of my Company name, Sui Generis Crafts, sewn beautifully into each dress, she had delivered, she didn’t let me down, I couldn’t have asked for a better, trusted person to do the job, there is no one I know personally who could have done a better job, she reminded me of the three men in the Bible who I had read about, Bezalel and Oholiab of them it was said, “ I have filled them with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, intelligence and skill of all kinds of crafts, he will create beautiful objects from gold, silver, bronze, he is skilled in cutting and setting gemstones and in carving wood yes he is a master in every craft!” I have also appointed, Oholiab to be his assistant I have given special skill to all the naturally talented crafts. Exodus Chapter 31 and Huram for he is a craftsman skilled in bronze....” 1 Kings Chapter 7 verse 13. This was Bal she came into this category, of the elite! For she was not taught this skill, this was in her before birth! Of that I am convinced; anyway I can’t praise her enough, yet she was on pittance like me .... two very talented people, I was struggling more than her, for at least she was able to make things for close family and friends, me I couldn’t sew on a button!

I took many photos of the dresses, front, back and close up details, for this was our copyright I photo copied the covering letter about ourselves and included our background, names, addresses and mobile numbers, I had asked Bal to bring a letter of reference, from someone who was special to her who wasn’t to do with work or a relative I also did the same, these letters were photocopied and all correspondent was placed unfolded in a large brown envelope. Now I knew what sizes the dress was with the suit bags, I went and bought a large box and carefully placed the dresses in the box with the envelope on top. It was sent by Special Delivery to Mrs Victoria Beckham, Fashion Designer, Mother, Singer and Married to David Beckham ......

I was in the Staff Meeting three months later with everyone else, when the door suddenly opened and there was Victoria Beckham! With her small entourage, she asked for me by name, I wasn’t sure what she was going to say next after I revealed myself. I raised my hand and said, “I am Jan,” she said without smiling, “I  have also got you and Bal enough work to keep you going for years, your craftsmanship is amazing, would it be possible to speak to you both in private after the meeting?” I told her Bal worked at another site and.... it was then my Manager spoke up, and said to Victoria, “Welcome, it is lovely to meet you, would you like a drink?” Victoria replied, “No thank you” Jenny my Manager said, “Can you tell me what this is all about?” There was a buzz of excitement in the air; to me it seemed surreal, unreal like I was dreaming again, but this time it seemed TOO real! Victoria said, “I would like to speak to Jan Jones and Bal Kaur, Jenny said “Bal doesn’t work at this site, and of course you can speak with Jan.”

I was excused from the meeting there and then I was introduced to the people who were with Victoria, they all shook hands with me, I said to Victoria, “I would like us to meet up with Bal too if she had the time”, she said, “I have the time, can we meet up today?” I said, “I would ring Bal and let her know that you are here and see what she says.”

Bal did not believe me that I was in the same room as Victoria! I hand the phone to Victoria who introduced herself.... within the hour we were all back at my place! I was wishing I’d hovered before I went to work and not left it to do after work! Never mind! Over coffee Victoria said she didn’t want us to make her another dress as she has her own clothing brand and didn’t want anything to get in the way of that, which we fully understood. She gave us a cheque for more than we had asked her for! She said, “You would be giving them away at that price, it’s time to think BIG now, there are people I know with money....” I won’t disclose the amount, let’s just say, it takes a lot for me to cry with joy, it’s been a long time since I have done that! But cry I did and Bal just kept laughing as she looked at the cheque!

Victoria was amazing, I have always admired her, I am SO glad that I did follow my dream. She had with her in a beautiful handmade, tie and dyed looking leather bound book, names of friends and acquaintances, who was expecting our call, she had emailed them and told them about us. The amount of contacts was almost overwhelming, but we would still take our time and would work with each Client as one-off individuals, each item would be a masterpiece! All of them wanted us to make beautiful clothes for them.

After many years with the company, I left within a week; I was on £7.50 an hour!!! Bal was on less than me, for she hadn’t been with the company as long as I had. I was able to pay of all our depressing debts, the mortgage was also paid off, and I treated myself to my favourite car a proper mini, not those big ones you see on the streets and in gray of course, my favourite colour. I had my hair done at the hair dressers the last time I’d been to the hair dressers was before I’d got married! Our lives changed forever that day. Don’t be afraid to dream. I hope I have inspired you, to make that phone call or write that letter, who knows where it will lead you.                                  

 This story is of course fiction, my first, I hope you enjoyed it.