Once I did much more designing. Today I only design bridal gowns, and if they pay me well, I might agree to run up something for the mother of the bride or the mother of the groom as well.
My prices are probably the highest in the country, and only those who can afford it walk into Sisi’s shops. A lot of women stand outside looking at the window displays and dreaming of the day when they’ll be able to buy one of our creations for themselves. Dream on, girls, dream on.
Above each of my shops is a sign with the name of the owner: Ronit, Simone, Shirlee, Ofra, and so on, and underneath in different letters, in my opinion letters of different class entirely, Sisi One, Sisi Two, Sisi Three, and so on. They actually belong to me, all these shops, I only rent them to Ronit or Ofra or Pazit or whoever, and they pay me a fortune for the name Sisi, and also give me a share of the profits.
So what was I saying before? –when I start talking about my shops there’s no stopping me – yes, the tempo of our lives was frantic. Alex had already begun feeling aches and pains in all kinds of places, and my back was giving me problems. We decided to take a few days vacation. Alex said: Haifa.” I said: “Haifa? What kind of a holiday is that? I’ll drive down the streets and bump into one or another of my shops, suddenly I’ll see something not right, I’ll go in and start reorganizing the place? I haven’t got the strength for it.” He said: “Eilat.” I said: Eilat’s the same story.” He said: “So let’s leave the country.” I said: “What for, so I can walk round the streets and do shopping? That sounds to you like a proper holiday for me? Europe and the United States are the same story for me as Givatayim or Jerusalem or any place you care to mention.” Alex said: “Okay, Sisi, okay. So what do you suggest? Kenya? Or how about the Far East – you’ll come back with kimonos from there too, you know.”
At that moment he slayed me with laughter. After I recovered, I must have laughed for about five minutes flat, that Alex is a real joker sometimes, I said: “Let me arrange a place where there’s nobody and nothing to disturb us.”