PRODUCTION 2012 PERSPECTIVES: THE BACKWARDS SIDE OF ISTANBUL
As I sit in the hotel room on the last day of this production/sampling trip, I reflect on what has happened in the last 19 days. Of course, I am proud of what Julien and myself have accomplished in our time here, as it is no small feat. (I must add that Julien is tenderly asleep, snoring his arse off at 11:45am. )
The days were long and daunting, and I know we couldn’t be happier to come home feeling like war heroes. Here are some of the things I have learned along the way this time around ….
As you may well know from my past blogs and for those of you who know me personally, I like loads of ice in my drinks. I was stuck not knowing how to ask for lots of ice since this is a foreign country and I don’t speak Turkish! Now the first thing I learned was that ice is an absolute luxury here. 9 out of 10 restaurants do not posses an ice maker. If they do have ice, all I have to say now is “cup bal bus” meaning cup “lots of ice.” As always, my drinks must stay refreshing and cold. I would have it no other way.
The second thing I realized yet again when I was here is that everywhere on the streets of Istanbul, especially in the bazaar, the saying “one mans trash is another mans treasure” is as true as true can be.
I never really understood what that fully meant until I started analyzing everything here as if I was the Terminator. You can find anything your heart can imagine in this city. But you can also find a ton of trash. (For example, paper bracelets that look like leather?? Ya, I know. Weird!)
The third and final and probably most important thing I learned is that life is all about waiting. Doesn’t matter what your doing, who you are with, or what you are waiting for.
You will always be waiting.
As a child, you wait to grow up. As a teen, you wait to hit puberty and graduate high school. As a young adult, you wait for university to end and go into the working world. The working world is where I thought I could finally control the waiting and minimize it.
Boy was I wrong.
In the working world, I am always waiting - and on this trip I realized just how much waiting I would have to do. The problem is, Julien and I are very impatient rabblerousers. When we were told we had to take the day off while the factory would be working on some important aspect of production where our presence was not required, we would both look at each other and have no idea what to say or do.
If a car is running one hundred miles an hour, when you brake it might make an awkward squealing sound.
There were several days during production that I liken to days of awkward squealing sounds. Most people would go to the Blue Mosque or the Bosphorus, but because I had been to these places so much already during my times in Istanbul, I didn’t know what to do with my downtime this time around. We just had to wait wait wait and wait some more. We did manage to squeeze in 4 movies - I must say The Avengers was fantastic - kudos Josh Whedon!
Despite all the waiting, I do believe that we managed on this latest production run to create my dream in this second line of REBUS. Travel bags, hoodies, wallets, belts, scarves, beautiful button downs, t -shirts, cardigans, selvedge denim, khakis … and all the new washes and colors of LAZYPANTS® that I am certain you will all love.
Its funny, I have dreamed this REBUS dream for 6 years, and now finally it is coming to reality. You try, you fail, you get knocked down, you get back up, and try again, and again, and again.
Finally, one time, it works.
From my mouth to your ears, I will continue to come on these daunting trips to Istanbul that are so full of moments of waiting. I will continue to experience a life so foreign to me I watch with awe and wonderment. I will continue to cherish having Shabbat dinners with our dear Turkish brother Hakan. All so that I may share my vision with everyone - a vision of love, charity, comfort, and style.
“Inshallah” is what they say here - it means “praise God, so that everything will go right.”
So Inshallah to everyone out there that you may continue to have a healthy and happy life … the REBUS life …
The only life I know.
- Adam Bledin, REBUS President & Creative Director
