You see, she had a shopping problem. Any day now she would come back home to find her husband, her closest friends and her extended family sitting in the living room with Dr. Phil. They would be waiting for her, feet tapping expectantly.......Isn't that the way shopping interventions worked? The kind where drastic measures were foisted upon you, where they cut up all your credit cards, where they put you on a budget of $42.50 a month, including magazines?
It didn't help matters that she took clients on personal shopping trips to the Marrakech souks, that she shopped for others in addition to herself. You see, she lived in a state of perpetual anticipation.....of the next purchase. She was sure that there were medications for people like her.
Here's a little of what she had bought just recently:
Vintage handmade Moroccan tassels in happy colors used to strap bags on to horses or camels. The ones with pompoms had been used to hold in place women's skirts in the Atlas mountains. She imagined them tying back white or ecru linen.
A Moroccan vintage embroidered velvet caftan and vintage hand sewn brocade and velvet platform shoes. Baby, let's disco...
Heavy bronze tribal jewelery and turquoise mosque-shaped ink pots. She liked pairing them with modern fabrics and treasures from the garden. So fresh.
A handmade red wool carpet covered in talismanic symbols and sequins. Purchased for a room in Peacock Pavilions. (Do contact her at maryam at mtds.com if you would like one of your very own.)
Old Berber sprocket bracelets against hand loomed fabrics. She had purchased the fabric for a room in Peacock Pavilions she was doing in creams, whites and blacks.
An antique silver and gold brocade saddle from a Moroccan fantasia horse rider. She had two of these for Peacock Pavilions.
A strange little vintage handmade leather doll with a turban. He was so darling against her tissu fleuri, wouldn't you agree?
Oh dear, and that's just the beginning.... (muffled background noise. Yes, Dr. Phil, I promise I will try to do better.....)
PS Speaking of shopping, new stock of beautiful vintage Moroccan wedding blankets can be seen right here.
PPS Thank you darling Joni, of lovely blog, Cote de Texas, for this beautiful post.
