Hello! From the Founders

Hello! From the Founders

Welcome to our POPPY + SAGE Blog, “Beyond the Rice Paddies”.  We’re so glad you’re here!

First and foremost, we have to give a huge, humble, “THANK YOU!” to all of our family, friends, customers, and clients who have supported us in this wild adventure so far!  We are a husband-and-wife team who left our comfortable life in the USA to pursue a road-less-taken experience together - living and traveling abroad, launching a business from scratch, and meeting amazing people along the way who continue to contribute to this grand adventure! 

The name of our POPPY + SAGE Blog, “Beyond the Rice Paddies”, is an authentic homage to the Balinese rice fields (“paddies”) which are a truly peaceful and beautiful backdrop for where our products are handcrafted in Bali.  All around Bali, you will see lush, green rice paddies, that create the most soothing sound as the reeds waft in the afternoon breezes. The rice paddies are a common sight in Bali, but we want to take you even beyond what you may see as a regular traveler here.  We will show you behind-the-scenes of making the handcrafted POPPY + SAGE goods, who the artisans are, the best travel tips, and more! 

We knew we wanted to start a business together - which would give us the freedom to spend more time together pursuing our love of travel and making a positive social impact.  We met during college (Go University of South Carolina Gamecocks!), and after graduation lived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming (a post-grad ski season never hurt anyone!), New York City, and Los Angeles.  In New York and Los Angeles, we both gained invaluable corporate experience, specifically in marketing, which fueled our fire to launch our own business utilizing the skills we each had gained. We also owe a huge “thank you” to our awesome companies and former colleagues and bosses - we learned so much from you all, and cherish the time we spent at The New York Times and Viacom/MTV (Robert), and Saatchi & Saatchi (Carley).  

We have been so busy laying the foundation and growing POPPY + SAGE, and now we’re excited to take you Beyond the Rice Paddies through this blog, and show you behind-the-scenes content of our artisan’s handcrafted process, take you on our international travels, and share what we have learned along the way about working as a husband and wife team, the entrepreneurial journey, and more! 

Cheers,

Carley + Robert