For all our verbal commitments,  seeing the boxes of the Origins Collection in person, as a physical, marketable, and scalable product, was gratifying. But, like a well-rehearsed actor waiting in the wings, visceral moments stay in the backend. It was time to cross the chasm.

With our limited financing, came drastic tradeoffs. Paying for Instagram ads would artificially (but effectively) give us exposure to a powerful online community. However this meant leaving everything we had built up to scrolling fingers on over-used smartphones. That is not our style.

Option two was sending some stock back to South Africa to be handled and retailed to a community in which we were not physically present. That didn't feel right...not yet.

Then there was the contrarian option. Go downtown and open our doors to the SoHo masses; betting our tight budget on the upside that people would buy into our message. A crucible decision. Just the kind we like.

Two days after clearing customs at JFK, we had finalized a date and address for our temporary home. Boxes of garments were stacked higher with boxes of furniture and of art and by the end of the week, we found ourselves standing in a beautifully set up boutique on Elizabeth Street, with an insatiable appetite to engage.