You've seen the images on her countless Facebook posts, you've wondered at the amazing items she spotted... And you've asked the questions - did Bianca have a good time visiting Bali? And why did she go on this, um, "business" trip...?
She travelled alone, as all the leading ladies in self-enrichment movies do. Think "Eat, pray, love" but Darkie Designs style - so more of a "Drink, buy, binge" scenario...
Her days were spent meandering through design heaven, exploring the inner reaches of back-street manufacturers displaying their wares to eager eyes, hungry for the latest trends, desperate to find "objets" so wondrous that the hordes would flood to Hoedspruit to buy them. Her heart and mind were open to new ideas, to visions of the future. Her past was just a blur, the flights from Johannesburg to Singapore a fading memory as the humidity and cloying heat of the tropics overtook her senses, rendering her unable to resist.
"Yeah, I went for the rattan," says Ms B. A matter of fact, offhand statement barely hiding the underlying yearning for containers of artifacts yet to arrive. "No one here does rattan," she nods, eyes misting over as the memories return, of overcrowded warehouses filled to the brim.
In Bali the earth moved for Bianca, literally. Moved. Measuring 6 on the Richter magnitude scale, the earthquake shook her to her core. Reminding her of the urgency of her journey and the need to provide incredible design to her clients, waiting patiently for her so very far away. The margaritas helped to mask the fear and continue on her mission over the following eight, long days, walking the path to enlightenment and creative genius, helping her to understand a long-held secret...
"There are people there who want our stuff..." she says. "Who want what we have." The depth of this new wisdom knew no bounds as it dawned on Bianca that she could give back what she takes, that the containers she could bring home could return full to the brim with African designs. Her mind became a whirling vortex of possibility as she wandered the Balinese streets, into which images of grassy mirrors, stoneware, rattan lamp shades, echoes of white and cream, the patterns of ancient mudcloth appeared and disappeared unbidden...
"So I'm putting a container together," she returns to the present, the here and now in an instant, her focus honed on the task that lies ahead. "I'm bringing in a range of items that reflect the latest trends, the earthy colours and terracottas, the indigo, white and creams, the woven creations in bright hues... And wonderful goggas, created from recycled silver and brass..."
So did Bianca drink, buy and binge? She went, she saw, she came back with a container of stuff and pictures of amazing drinks with little umbrellas and palm trees overlooking beaches as well as some pretty amazing décor goodies.. So she most definitely drank and spent... "And binged. I could have come back with half of Indonesia," she says. "But my bag wasn't big enough." That, dear friends, is a woman's lot. Perhaps one day the gurus and teachers will understand our pain.
* Are you interested in the container of Balinese goodies? Chat to Bianca today about what she has bought. Items can be pre-ordered on Darkie Designs social media feeds, so watch this space, as they say!