Pre-Production

While we haven't "officially" loaded film in the camera, the past two days have been quite productive (and, for the record, it's proving very difficult to keep my days straight).  We kicked yesterday off by checking out a few sites for one of our shots - one that happened to be right around the corner from our hotel.  Stellar. 

Once we checked that out, it was time to secure a bolt of fabric for one shot which brought us into downtown Nairobi.  It was an interesting experience and not what I expected. There were a few fabric stores that we hurried into and were able to get what we needed.  Below is a pic of Derek pondering said fabric purchase.  

Once we secured the fabric, we were off to our next destination and where we'd be staying for the night.  A very nice bed and breakfast tucked away in a city called Karen. We'd actually driven around the city the day prior as that's where the giraffe center is located. Truly a beautiful city.  The name of the B&B is Purdy Arms.  If you ever find yourself in Nairobi for a night, it's a must see. After getting settled into our rooms, we needed to run some errands and since we had the time, went to a local shop called The Flip Flop Factory.

I'd love to throw in a slide show of all of the pics I took while there.  Derek, Mary Kate and I were all wondering where we'd end up going to get gifts for our loved ones (and beloved colleagues!) and our producer Flora (who had lived in Kenya for 3 years) delivered and then some.  Not only did we find great gifts for everyone but, this place had an amazing story.  

In short, they have a small factory out in back of the store that employs 30+ people who work to put together these pieces of artwork by hand.  The name of the business is the FlipFlop Recycling Company and they are a social enterprise that works with talented artisans from local communities, recycling discarded flip flops of all shapes and colors and turning them into a variety of animals.  

We took a tour of the place and met several of the people who work there and it was absolutely fascinating. We left with gifts for all (well, maybe not "all") and could feel even better about it because most of the gifts in the store were crafted locally.  

After shopping, we had some time to get caught up on emails before going to grab dinner at a local restaurant.  After a couple Tuskers at the bar, we called it a night and planned for an early start this morning.  Since my laptop is about to die, I will tell you all about today in my next post.  Stay tuned...