Our first, and probably last bail of fabric from ShaoXing

Well, it had to happen, too much of a good thing is a bad thing I guess. Shaoxing and me, we're not such good friends anymore. It used to be that I couldn't stop talking about how much I loved the place, and thought it was an answer to all of our problems in fabric buying. Well, China has a way of creeping up on you, and it just did with quite a few disappointments today.

I just returned from a trip to Shaoxing with the lovely Adam Williams, where we were literally almost cheated 3 times in a row if it hadn't been for us being quick thinking foreigners (or not being as dumb as the Shaoxing vendors thought we might be). In preparation for our MMM3: The Final Countdown, Adam and I have been scouring the countrysides and textile fairs of China to stock up on fabrics. What I thought would be a quick, easy home run was not to be, as repeatedly the ShaoXing fabric vendors chose to try and capitalize on my not being the only white face in the ENTIRE (enormous) market.

We saw samples we liked, told them and promptly worked out all the terms. Then, we waited for 30 mins (each time) for the fabric to arrive. When it did, we opened up the package and it wasn't even close to what we liked about the samples. They claimed they had no idea what had happened, but after the third time, we realized we were just getting played.

We did manage to buy one decent roll of fabric, one that you'll soon be seeing in MMM3 (pictured above), but for a whole days work, I am not that impressed with our results. I thought about it the whole way home, and have a new strategy with our fabric buying, and then finally washed my sorrows down in a nice, cold Sam Adams waiting for me in the fridge (they finally came to China, thank freakin God). Thus, my love affair with one of the most boring and out of the way towns in China has now ended.