Terra Fashion [Kirsi]

[Rosela]

Timestamp: 20th of Autumn, 513AV

As often happened, Rosela was in the back room of the shop on her day off, working on her inventory. Autumn was in full swing, meaning the whites and airy blues of summer needed replaced with bolder colors in the red and brown spectrum. The leaves were already starting to turn, giving the city a darker, more mature look.

One hand shifted through her box of odds and ends, looking for a nice broach to hold together the plum purple halter-top dress currently spread out on the table. She'd just finished clipping the stray threads from the new hem and was holding the straps to the bodice manually.

"Nothing here..." The shadow inside informed her, and she tilted the box up so the contents slide to the front. The box was as empty as it had been becoming all season, reminding her she needed to visit Garob for a new supply.

Sighing deeply, Rosela stood, stretching all six arms widely. She was stiff from sitting anyway, and a walk would do her good. Garob was a sweetheart besides, and though he wasn't her type, it was nice to speak in her native tongue for a change.

The walk across town was indeed refreshing, and she felt lighter by the time she arrived at the Terra Cottage. She'd never been a fan of terra cotta herself; something about the color of the red clay drew a curl of disdain in her and threw her back to young memories of the Ahantep market, walking past the poor stalls with their ugly bowls and jugs.

Snapping back to the present with a start, Rosela shook her head to clear the memories and walked in. The smell of clay immediately assaulted her, and she wrinkled her nose before reminding herself to keep a more pleasant face. Looking around, she didn't immediately see the familiar head of red hair. "Hello? Garob?" She called in Arumenic.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 20th of Fall, 513AV

At the unfamiliar words, Kirsi peeked up from the floor where she was currently trying, without much success, to restack Garob's never-ending supply of clay bowls. Multiplying seemingly without effort, the bowls thwarted her every attempt to arrange them neatly. Thankfully, Kirsi was spared from having to fuss with them longer by the arrival of the woman.

She was pretty; it was the first thing Kirsi thought. And fashionable. And Epharian. Kirsi quashed a feeling of ridiculous inadequacy. Far from the stylish affects of the Epharian woman, Kirsi was dressed plainly; a light dusting of terra cotta orange graced her knees, and she self-consciously brushed them clean as she stood and greeted the woman.

"Hello! Welcome to the Terra Cottage!" A wide smile, become second nature, by now, split her face as she offered a hand to the prospective customer. She was pretty sure this one wasn't here for cookware or chamber pots. Jewelry, perhaps? A surreptitious glance didn't immediately reveal any terra cotta baubles, but you just never knew.

Tucking her hair behind her ears - why hadn't she taken the time to braid it back this morning? - she snuck a peek outside before resorting to every shopkeep's fall back conversation starter: weather. "Beautiful day outside, eh? Are you here looking for something specific? We have a lovely selection of jewelry..." she delivered the gentle sales pitch, gesturing to the conveniently located countertop display.

[Rosela]

A hand flew to Rosela's chest in surprise as the young woman seemed to appear out of nowhere. So intent was she on spotting Garob's red mop that she overlooked anyone else in the shop. The greeting was just as surprising. "Oh, I'm sorry. I hadn't realized Garob had hired someone." She cast a brief, but discerning eye over the offered jewelry. None of it was her tastes, and unfortunately she didn't see anything she'd put in the shop either.

It was suddenly surreal being on the other side of the counter, and Rosela realized how long it had been since she'd been shopping. She'd bought new boots at the turn of the season, but the man there hadn't been nearly as helpful. Suggesting riding boots with a dress as nice as hers? She was polite enough through the ordeal of picking out the cute heeled boots she was wearing at present, but silently wished a pox on him and his poor taste after she'd left.

Biting a lip, she looked again over the jewelry and turned back to young woman. "Yes, lovely weather... Is Garob here? I'm a regular customer. See, I own Red Diamond Fashions - a clothing store across town - and I use some of his work with my designs. Broaches, clasps, buckles, that sort of thing."

Perhaps she would be of more help though? For all of Garob's skill, he still had a man's taste in fashion and clearly only guessed at the types of pieces she wanted to see. "I'm just looking for..." She waved a hand vaguely, folding a pair of arms under her chest. "Ten...fifteen pieces. Nice, feminine, not to summery, you know, now that we're into fall." Her eyes wandered the shelves as she spoke, taking in the various pots and decorations.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

"Ah, no. Sorry. Garob's just stepped out," Kirsi offered the other woman an apologetic shrug and a half-smile. "I can show you a few of the newer pieces?" It was more of a statement than a question, despite the upturn at the end. Kirsi made her way to the corner, where Garob insisted on keeping the bulk of his accessory pieces. Despite Kirsi's constant urging to the contrary.

Muttering under her breath at the inconvenient location of what could clearly be showcase bits to draw in more clientele, Kirsi stretched around a shelf laden with clay jars. Most were plain, but she was pleased to note that one or two now bore her own carvings on them; the clay was not her favorite medium, but it was a battle she had committed herself to winning. It seemed Garob was becoming more confident in her work, after all.

Much more confident, she thought, noticing a few of her own carved pieces in the tray of trinkets. "These are more autumnal-themed," she informed the Epharian, holding the tray out for inspection. "We've used a glaze on these pieces," Kirsi held up a brooch, shaped like a stylized sun; the rays were delicately curved points, washed in a deep umber glaze. Kirsi had actually done some of the shaping of this piece, and she was curious to see if it held appeal to someone clearly as stylish as her customer. If one owned a clothing store, one could be expected to have stellar fashion sense.

"Also, there are a handful of leaves, beads, in green and standard terra cotta. Oh! One second," an idea, more of an afterthought had occurred to her. Setting the tray down near the woman, so that she could pick through it at her leisure, Kirsi bent low, peering at the bottom shelf of accessories.

There was a rather large clay clasp that she'd seen while cleaning the other day... Where had she put it? Rifling impatiently through the seldom-viewed fashion pieces, she finally found what she was searching for. "Aha!" with a bright smile, she stood and held out her hand, palm-up, to the Epharian. "We have just one of this piece; I'm not sure Garob even remembers that he has it," she chuckled lightly.

Balanced on her palm was a large, gently molded feather clasp; despite its delicacy, the clasp stretched from the edge of her palm to her fingertips. The details were intricate, realistic, beautiful. Garob must have been feeling whimsical when he'd made this one, for it was washed in blues and reds, the glazes giving the clay feather a high sheen and subtle, shimmering color. Though it appeared fragile, the design was strengthened on the back with a metal spine, indicating that this was a clasp that meant business, and would easily tame a cloak of heavier material. "What do you think?"

[Rosela]

Rosela put a finger to her lips as she inspected the tray of tidbits in front of her, immediately dismissing the ones in terra cotta, but knowing better than to say so. She'd been right in her guess - the woman clearly had better taste. Though the visit was distinctly lacking in homeland nostalgia, it would be worth it to be out of there in under three bells.

"Oh, I like that one..." She murmured as the sun broach was presented, immediately picturing a wrap dress of tan linen. Several of the other pieces displayed were inspiring, and she had the thought that this may be an effective booster should she ever run dry of ideas. Doing some mental marking-off, she counted seven pieces in the box that she wanted. She hoped the price hadn't gone up; it's been a while since she'd been in - since summer at least - and if Garob was hiring help, she hoped he wasn't compensating for it with costs.

The feather piece nearly stole her breath and all thoughts of price ran out of her mind. "That is just..." She reached out to take it gently, two hands turning it over. "Beautiful. Does he have more like this? I'd be willing to commission them if there aren't any."

It was exactly the kind of high fashion she needed, subtly colorful and delicate. She waved a hand vaguely as she attempted to convey it. "Not exactly like this, but in this style. It's very...rich. The others, they work, but this is very much what I'm looking for." It wasn't quite the word she was looking for, but she hoped it expressed what she wanted. "I'll still take a few of the others, but how much for...seven like this?"

[Kirsi Winterflame]

A smile spread across her face at the other woman's reaction to the sun; Garob had fussed a bit when she'd played with his basic shape, but there'd been no... Flow to it. Kirsi was thrilled that this woman had appreciated what she herself had seen in the clay. The thought crossed her mind that perhaps she wasn't as bad with the clay as she'd believed; maybe she simply had to learn how to see into the material, as she did with the wood?

Sternly pushing the thought to the back of her mind, she nodded in satisfaction at the Eypharian woman's reaction to the feather clasp. Kirsi had known, if she could just find the right customer, this piece that Garob had relegated to a dusty bottom shelf would, instead, be a wild success. She'd said as much the other day, when it had been discovered and cleaned off and the colors had shimmered in the late afternoon sunlight. Garob, though, had scoffed, clearly stating that none of his customers had a need or desire for such a 'fancy bit of nonsense'. Kirsi hadn't understood his dismissive tone, and had made it a personal mission to find a home for the piece.

But, she realized belatedly, she had forgotten to ask how much Garob would charge for such a thing. There was no set standard - the piece was too unique to the shop, and Kirsi was too new to the business to be confident in setting a value on it. And the woman wanted seven more. Seven? While the number was exciting, and Kirsi was looking forward to telling Garob of the new market for 'fancy nonsense', that did not at all help her currently.

"Well," she began, consideringly, "Garob has only made the one, so far. I think he's testing the market before committing much inventory to these types of pieces. This one I'm sure he wouldn't let go for less than 8 slivers," Kirsi threw the number out arbitrarily. Bartering wasn't her strongest point, and it the woman wanted to counter offer, Kirsi would most likely back down. She was fairly certain Garob wouldn't have a problem with a lower price; he'd thought the piece would never sell, and surely some profit was better than none? "As far as any commission, I'm afraid I can't negotiate on Garob's behalf. But I'm certain he'd agree to it, especially since you're a regular customer," Kirsi smiled apologetically at the other woman. "He should be back later in the day, if you'd like to come back? Or I can discuss it with him, if you'd rather?"

The prospect of a custom order of fancier baubles was exciting, when she thought about it. Garob would, of course, do most of the basic forming of the pieces, though he would almost certainly be willing to let Kirsi play with the final shapes, tweaking them in ways that he found pointless. Sculpting entire objects from clay was beyond her abilities, as yet, but modifying preformed items? That, she could do. It was much like carving, in truth, and Kirsi was beginning to enjoy the subtlety of working with the clay. It required more finesse and less force, and the results were no less beautiful. She had yet to work with any glazes, but if these finer pieces were going to be selling in the shop, Garob just might be willing to let her work on that aspect, too.

[Rosela]

Still imagining outfits that would incorporate the feather broach, Rosela didn't register Kirsi's words for a moment. "8 silvers? That's quite a deal!" Smiling happily, she clasped four hands in front of her and hoped the price stuck with Garob. He normally charged her a full gold miza each, though she normally didn't additionally commission several pieces instead of just picking out her order from the shelf.

Though she didn't relish the thought of having to come back down to complete her order, it would be worth it to get better quality work. "Will you be around later? If Garob has only had the sense to make one of these, I may need some help convincing him to go a little more dramatic with his style."

One hand fluttered over the edge of the counter as she had an additional thought. The one time she'd addressed the issue with Garob, he'd lectured her on the merits and superiority of various mediums, but maybe his apprentice would be a little more open minded.

"Say, don't tell Garob I asked..." She began delicately. "But I don't suppose he's considered expanding his work beyond...clay? Not that terra cotta's bad, it just can be a bit fragile? Have you heard of any talk about metalworking, or woodworking, or resin... He wasn't exactly open to the idea last time I approached it, but maybe as his apprentice, you'd have an inside angle on it?" She bit her lip and looked at the woman, wondering if it was her imagination that they seemed to flicker to a different color.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

The Eypharian's excitement at the price was met with an involuntary wince; Kirsi hoped Garob wouldn't be too angry with her for apparently underpricing his brooch. Some is better than none, she reminded herself, moving past her misstep and onto the woman's conversation

It seemed she held Kirsi's opinion in higher esteem than Garob did. Still, the Vantha nodded, "I'll be here most of the afternoon, I expect. Although I'm certain that all the motivation Garob will need is the knowledge that there's money to be made." The words were softened with a smile; Garob wasn't moneyhungry, necessarily, but he was a businessman. If there were another market he could tap into, within reason, he would most certainly be eager to do so. No matter how illogical he might believe that market to be.

Kirsi took charcoal and paper and began to record the woman's purchases, but paused midstroke as the Eypharian spoke again.

When a conversation began with 'don't tell,' it begged the listener's full attention. At the almost tentative question, one eyebrow arched above blue eyes tinted just barely with gold; it was difficult to know how to answer. Kirsi knew, categorically, that Garob was opposed to opening up his shop to wares other than clay. It was the main reason she was making the effort to learn to work with the substance; the old Eypharian had made it clear to her that the only carving she would be doing on the job would be carving pottery pieces. And yet, there was evidently a desire for the variety that carved wooden baubles could bring. She would have to proceed tactfully.

"Unfortunately, I think you'll find his opinion on the subject largely unchanged," Kirsi replied slowly, apologetically. She searched her mind for the most respectful way to phrase her next statements. "In fact, when I approached him about potentially selling some of my own wood carvings, he made it very clear that he considers wood a lesser art and metal more fitting for tools and utility. I'm afraid you'll have no luck acquiring wooden fancies," a slight shrug, a friendly smile and then the point of the phrase, "from Garob."

Kirsi inclined her head respectfully, hoping that the slight emphasis on the man's name hadn't been too indelicate. Unwilling as she was to poach Garob's clientele, this opportunity had fallen into her lap. It would have been foolish of her not to at least intimate that the items this woman wanted could be obtained elsewhere. Even if Kirsi herself was the 'elsewhere.'

[Rosela]

It was beyond Rosela why anyone would want to limit themselves to a single medium. It would be as though she only sold cotton clothing, or worse, only clothing in various shades of blue. Granted, one could do a lot with blue, but there was still so much more out there.

She made a 'hmph' of disappointment as she was informed of Garob's unchanged opinion on the matter of alternative mediums. She bit a nail pensively, eyes widening slightly as she caught onto the young woman's intimations. "Is that right..." She began slowly, glancing behind the woman to the back area. She had said Garob just stepped out, but it wouldn't do to have him waltz in back while she was stealing his help.

Her mind was already whirling with ideas to discuss. She hadn't worked much with wood accessories, but raw wood texture had a very autumn look to it. With her summer line already under way, maybe she could get a jump on her autumn products? With a closer relationship with the artist, maybe she could have more of a say in the initial designs, rather than picking what she liked from what was already made.

Hand moving delicately to the side of her neck, she made a casual motion of checking the door behind her. "If I were to get these other pieces elsewhere, I'd be happy to pay handsomely for them. There doesn't seem to be anyone doing intricate work like this elsewhere in the city. I'd still get my usual pieces from Garob of course," she hastily added, in case any fits of conscience were to interrupt. "But something a little extra would be...nice. Maybe we could meet to discuss that sometime?"

Two hands turned out in front of her, presenting the offer. "In any case, I suppose we should settle here first." She winked conspiratorially. "So just the seven, then. How much?"

OOCWe can have that discussion in a different thread if you like? Or continue it here, doesn't matter to me

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Though she tried, Kirsi was unable to completely tame the wide smile that the other woman's words inspired. Equal parts glad that her hint had been well received and excited that she might be able to finally begin building her own business contacts within the city, the carver was quick to agree with the Eypharian's suggestion. "Of course, I'd be happy to discuss a mutually beneficial arrangement at your convenience --," here she stopped. Kirsi realized she still hadn't learned the other woman's name, only that she owned and ran a clothing shop.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name. I'm Kirsi." A momentary uncertainty kept her from extending a hand in greeting. Which hand should she shake? Did it matter? Ultimately deciding to ignore the issue entirely, Kirsi busied herself wrapping and bundling the woman's purchases.

Quickly tallying the sale, Kirsi slid the package toward the other woman. "These'll be 2 gold mizas and 5 silvers, then," the Vantha quoted smoothly. Garob typically charged 4 silvers a piece for the brooches, but there was also the matter of the commission... Kirsi was certain that if he felt she'd given the Eypharian woman too much of a deal, that would be reflected in the price of her commission. Garob was never one to let slide an opportunity for profit.

But still, he was fair, and Kirsi couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. Though the other woman had suggested that any private dealings they might arrange would not affect her business with Garob, Kirsi knew that if they did move forward with her wood carvings, she would certainly have to tell Garob of the development. She only hoped he would be understanding of her desire to spread her wings; after all, she was a woodcarver first and foremost.

"Where is your shop located? I'd love to see what sort of designs you have available." And to see what kind of carvings I might be able to provide, she added, mentally. "Perhaps we could continue our discussion there." Where Garob is not at all likely to overhear.

OoCGah, sorry for the delay. I think a new thread for further commissiony bits. Less work to grade that way!