“Feeling like a global citizen is really important to me,” says Harper Poe, who met me, one hot June morning, at Black Tap Coffee in her adopted hometown of Charleston, South Carolina.

Poe would soon be on a plane to Morocco, but for the moment, she was content to discuss Proud Mary, her textile business, and how it’s connected her to far-flung corners of the globe. “The designing part of what I do is fun, but I love the relationship part. I love that I can be on a Skype call with someone from Mali or Morocco in the morning and then talk to someone in Guatemala in the afternoon.”

“I love that I can be on a Skype call
with someone from Mali or Morocco in the morning
and then talk to someone in Guatemala
in the afternoon.”

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Poe travels frequently to connect with the artisans who collaborate with her on Proud Mary’s collection of home goods, clothing, and accessories, but it’s here, in Charleston, where she’s laid down roots, after time in Colorado, Los Angeles, and New York. She owned a coffee shop when she first moved here, the beloved, now defunct Hope and Union. “I knew everyone—what they’d drink in the morning, who they were dating,” she says. “That sense of community can be great, but it was also a little stifling. That’s why I loved New York—you can be a bit more anonymous.”

Poe’s late June itinerary included a stop in Marrakech, for her first in-person visit to Proud Mary’s raffia workshop, plus a solo jaunt to the coastal town of Essaouira. She returned her photos to us with a note: “I was pleasantly surprised and delighted with Morocco. I didn’t think the aesthetic would speak to me as much as it did. The Moroccan look has been done a million times in fashion and home décor, and I thought that it would look a bit boring and tired—but when you’re there, the colors and textures are enchanting.”

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Walking through Marrakech’s terracotta medina after a day shopping in souks.

I fell in love with these baskets. The artisans embroidered a rice bag, then attached it to a traditional palm leaf basket.
They perfectly fuse natural materials with a pop of color.

Such a find. I stumbled upon a fabulous shop in a not-so-great area of the medina 
with a lot of old jewelry and objects from Berber and Tuareg tribes.

I have a wonderful facilitator in Morocco who produces our raffia d’Orsay shoes.
Because the shoes have been so popular, and because we are trying to expand production, I knew it was time to put in
some face time and visit. Here is the first layer of raffia woven onto the mold.

  Beautiful, vibrant piles of Berber pillows in the souk.

  My friend’s fabulous riad in the medina of Marrakech.
The courtyard is filled with orange trees and bougainvillea. It was so dreamy.

 Here I am at the Jardin Majorelle, Yves Saint-Laurent’s house in Marrakech,
which is now open to the public and has a wonderful Berber museum. The bright cobalt blue reminded me
of La Casa Azul in Mexico City, my favorite city.

  Amazingly giant succulents of Jardin Majorelle.

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