I have to tell myself its not all bad. There are somethings about the whole jewelry experience I haven’t yet told you. When I went to Bali a few weeks ago a taxi driver started stalking me as they do. His name was Made was very perisitant and really made the most of my reluctance to say gt lost I don’t need you. He would come and sit in the hotel yard in the hope I want to go some place. Fair enough because I did get his hopes up by telling him I wanted to go and see the Silversmiths in Celluk. But having heard about the difficulties of just finding suppliers I became disinterested in a trip to Celuk. Anyway I felt thought I must go somewhere to make up for this for Made. So oneday I jumped in his taxi and told him I needed to go around the corner really just to have a look and in the process he asked me again what is that I am here to do in Bali. I told him of my plan to start a silver jeweley busienss back in Australia. That is then Made told me that his neighbour happnes to be a silversmith and worked from home. You can imagine my level of interest as this conjured up vision sof some dark drab living room and an old man hammering and souldering in a corner. Definitely wouldn’t be a supplier for my international trade. Anyway in the 10 minute ride to JL legian something told me to check this out. I asked him how far way this place was and he said about 15 minutes whcih seemed resonable and I agreed to go and check it out. We must have gone for about 25 minutes entering into windy roads leaving the familiarity of the main drags and going passed weired and sometimes not so wonderful Balinese wares. I was by now having major doubts about my madness and how best to explain my slight diversion to my partner back in the hotel. Finally turning into a dirt road and Made pointing to a house that he said was his own and we could see his friend the smith and we could have coffee at his houe after. Great… I don’t know then how I reacted to the first site of a massive gate and 2 security guards standing amoug the rice fields which seemed like an entrance to some grand mansion.
After Made explaining something the guards let us in. Just as well because for the life of me I couldn’t see how we would reverse out of there. After that Made went to the grand building and seemed to talk to a very young man of about 26 years of age. After a short discussion the young man was introduced to me as the owner of this jewelry manufacturing business and he was willing to see me. I told him quickly that I was a complete novice into the jewely busienss but a fast learner nevertheless and that I was intersted in seeing what he was doing. He promply offered to take me around his factory I was blown away what was described to me as a working from home business turns out to have 50 people working there. Mt Ketut the young owner was wonderful. He told me that he liked the fact I didn’t try to bull shit my way through I was honest to say I didn’t know much about jewellery. Aparanetly thats different to how most people he come across. He said that I didn’t have a big ego. Therefor he wasnted to help me. Who am I to argue about the size of my ego? Will he belive I am a classic wounded child with low selfworth and a very high ego? He also said he wanted to help me because he knew its not his riches that would help him in his next life but his deeds as he waived his wrist in motion an dI noticed the very expensive watch he was wearing. So what? He didn’t say he didn’t like what money can buy. And true to his word Ketut hs negotiated with a beautiful Dutch designer for me to sell her beautiful Lava jewelley here in Australia and NZ. Ketut god bless him has been the one to hook me up with a very large jewellery manufacturing company in America which happens to have many factories around the world including Ketut’s is talking to me about me somehow doing adeal with them to distribute thier jewellery here in Oz. So it wasn’t all for naught.
