I haven’t posted a note of this kind before but hope it will mark the beginning of many notes exchanged between you & I.

I feel compelled to create this intimate sharing after going through a profound period of my life, which affected me deeply and has reshaped the way I want to explore the next chapter of my life and Blumera.

My journey has been a colorful one filled with gorgeous sunsets of orange, pink, and gold, storm clouds of purple, grey, and blue, and clear skies of light white and aquamarine. Just recently in my life I went through a particularly dense period of these myriad of colors: My mother, whom many of you met, passed on into bliss uniting with all the colors she so brilliantly expressed in her masterpieces. If you haven’t seen her paintings, I invite you to see them, the link is included at the bottom of this letter.

My mother was the great love of my life, my twin flame, my sister, my soulmate, and she became even my daughter, as I cared for her in the last three years of her earthly body’s life. She is still alive, present in me and around me, and in many ways more than ever. I feel her closer to me than ever before.

Going through such a deeply painful yet intensely gratifying time I have re-evaluated my life and the work that I am doing in it. I have thought to myself if I have to be here on this earth, in this body, what do I want to do? What will make me happy? I love traveling. I started traveling at the age of seven. I went with my mother to India, Switzerland, and England, I fell in love with the magic of travel, of discovering new lands, foods, landscapes, cultures, and I even designed my first dress on that trip! I also love creating, in all its forms: designing and creating bags, designing and creating spaces, creating characters (in my acting days). I feel very comfortable on camera, and often think while traveling – wow, I’d love to share this: what I am seeing, what I am experiencing, what I am creating! Some encounters are beautiful, some very funny, and some excruciatingly painful and/or frustrating!

And so, I have decided to put it all together and film the entire process of creating my pieces from start to finish, along with my inner life discussing where I have been and where I am going, and my external life as I journey into the jungles of the unknown.

Blumera essentially started in Indonesia nearly ten years ago and so I have decided that my first episode will be Indonesia! I have decided to do custom limited edition bags from The Norina Collection. A portion of the sales of the bags will go directly to these artisans – and I will personally see to it – and film this. So those of you that want to support this endeavor will be able to see your bag being made and how your bag helped local communities and artisans there.

Going forward each episode will be a new collection and a new country, or a new region of a specific country!

I will make pieces according to one’s budget, so if you would like to be a part of this project I would be thrilled to make something that is perfect for you.

And if you're vegan, I am moving more and more towards designing all vegan collections and am simultaneously launching vegan collections. I will post soon about these ventures. Thank you for your continued support and love. Feel free to leave a comment for us here and/or contact us here and we will make the perfect piece for you.

Pre-Order Norina Collection    LaurieBlum.com