Turkish Business 🇹🇷Sourcing textiles in Istanbul

In late 2019 we spent a full week sourcing textiles in Istanbul. A city full of street cats, traffic, food and shisha. Istanbul is home to over 20 million people and is the only city that is both European and Asian. Turkey is known for producing some of the worlds finest textiles. We purchased over 50 patterns of high quality cotton fabrics from about 20 different textile shops. Some of the materials were intended for wedding dresses, others for curtains and couches. We have already released 5 panel hats, 6 panel caps and waist bags / fanny packs on the online store with these designs. 

We had some trouble flying the drone in Istanbul. First, we were attacked by flocks of birds who literally flew into our drown and almost ruined it. Second problem while flying the drone was the police came and demanded we pay a $10,000 dollar fine. Supposedly drones are used for terrorism a lot and that thought never crossed our mind. We were also only half a block from a  police station, so it made since to not fly the drone in that area of Beyoglu. After they spent about 20 minutes trying to fine us and take our passports, we were able to talk our way out of the situation and continue filming without the drone. 

We stayed in cheap hostels near Taksim mostly, but we had a few nights out in the Asian side of Istanbul called Kadikoy. The night life was a lot better on this side and the overall vibe was more hipster and young. We went to some clubs, danced to electronic music and made friends with locals. This always helps with getting a good first impression of a city and it's culture. Turkish people were extremely nice to us almost everywhere we went. The best classic Turkish breakfast we had was at a restaurant in Kadikoy called ______, definitely worth checking out. 

Thanks to Miguel Manzano @ojodearbol for coming along on the trip and filming our process.