Friday is my day: Matilou

Today we will fly to France and meet Anne from Matilou. She make so cute and pretty illustrations and you can find them from jewelry, T-shirts, calendars and even as a transfer picture so you can add it to your clothes yourself. Let's peek to her day and we can visit her shop in Lyon too. How exciting!

matilou.etsy.com

Hello !

My name is anne cresci alias Matilou, I'm 32 years old and live in Lyon in
the middle est of France. I have 2 kids with Cedric, Matis (6) and Lou (almost 3).
oh, we also have 2 cats !
We live in a loft with a little garden which is really heaven in a city !
I work as a freelance illustrator since 10 years (oh god...getting old right....)
for different magazines, Editors and internet. i just love my job, and sometimes
still wonder how it is possible to make a living with drawing... :D
I have opened a workshop in Lyon last november which is a totally new step for me,
and a dream too, I must say !

7h30

Everyone gets up to have breackfast and get ready for school or daycare.
Cedric works at home so it's really cool, he can take care of the kids
most of the time.

9h30


The choice of shoes is vital ! As you can see we have many :D
I've been taking the subway this whole winter, but the nice days are here
so I can ride to my Atelier.
The city of Lyon has bikes ready to ride for us, the first half our is free
so it's really cool !
Now Lyon is such a pretty place, I just love arriving to the bridge above the Rhône
river, it's just so beautiful, always makes me happy !



10h 00

I get to my place and have to open it, my day can now start !

10h01

My first moove when I get into my workshop is to open my computer !! I guess
i'm a real addict as I spend most of my day on it :)
First ETSY of course, see if I sold anything, then facebook, twitter, and my mails.
I answer everyone and everything, make new listings for my etsy shop, start making
all sorts of corrections on my works for clients.
Sometimes I have to redo my illustrations three or four times to match the client need.


14h00

Oups I forgot to eat...again ! I know it's a bad habbit but i'm usually so involved
in my work that I don't see time passing.
When I'm tired of the computer I have lots to do in my workshop.
Right now I'm working on a new spring collection of T-shirts and onesies for girls
and boys. I have dyed my white shirts in many cool colors and now I need to add my
transfers to them.
So let's go ironing !!! (That's about the only time I do iron really ...)

16h00

Now I feel that my walls are a bit empty, so I will hang around frames and posters
so that people can imagine them on their wall.
I can't help but rearrange my workshop all the time. I change The necklaces in the
front window, I add a couple new things here and there, I'm always mooving things around !
I go back to my mails to see what's new.
Surf internet a little bit, see what's new on blogs (especially all my friends
from my european team on etsy ! ), renew some listings in my etsy shop again, chat on
the etsy forum...
And suddently realise my pictures are SO bad............ So I try and find ways of
improving my pictures, big work !

I also sometimes have people come in, chat, buying or not, but they all seem to
like what they see and that's always a good feeling.

18h00

Usually I leave around 18h00, so that I can see cedric and the kids a bit.
When I get home we usually try to make dinner together although most of the time it's Cedric
who cooks gorgeous meals for us, while we play together cards or other games.

20h30

It's time for the kids to go to bed. We usually read a story each, they both want their book,
but they still love listening to the other story too !
That's it, cedric and I have a little time for ourselves, eventually :)
We watch a movie together most of the time or go outside talking.

23h00

One last cigarette outside and GOOD NIGHT !!
I'm always happy to find my bed :)

And thanks Heli this has been really fun to do !!!

Friday is my day: Aranwen

Last week we were in Netherlands but it's so cold up there so let's go to Greece and hope for sunny, warm spring days and meet Vicky from Aranwen. She makes amazing Steampunk, Victorian and Gothic style jewelry. Enjoy your tour in Athens :)

(click any picture to go to her etsy shop)

Wings of Time - Steampunk Cuff Watch - Brass and Silver

by Aranwen


Hi everyone! My name is Vicky, I live in Athens, Greece and I'll be your host this Friday :) I will take you with me in everything I do, and I hope you have fun!

9am: I wake up. Probably the best thing in working for myself, no early mornings! First thing I do is turn on my computer and make some coffee while it boots up. I use all milk instead of water in my coffee, makes it sweeter and is healthier too :) Two teaspoons of sugar for an energy boost and off to check Etsy!

It's always very satisfying to find orders and conversations waiting in my inbox, and I rush to take care of it all. Customers can't wait! I don't forget to greet the lovely EST people and check their numerous treasuries and gorgeous listings -their creativity never ceases to amaze me :)

Around noon, I get to work. I usually work throughout the day with breaks in between to rest my eyes and get away from the glue fumes. I love my little creative corner and I constantly try to organize it better and better. The sunlight comes in from the window and assists me with its brightness and heat :)

2pm: Time for lunch. Living at home has its advantages; my mother does most of the cooking and I do most of the eating :) Juicy steak and yummy fries, one of my favourites!

I love pool, it's one of my favourite games even though I haven't played much the last few years. I do play online though very often, whenever I need a few minutes' break -or I'm too lazy to do something else :)

Later in the afternoon I go back to work, and scratch my head for new ideas and designs. Sadly you can't force those things! Post offices are closed on Saturdays in Greece, so Friday is usually my "day off" since I don't have any urgent shipments for the next day. So I usually work less than the other days.

Most of the times I work on several designs at the same time. I get distracted easily while looking through my supplies, there's always some new idea popping in my head when I look at something new, that I might or might not pursue at the given moment. So I occupy my brain with numerous different things to stay interested. Set one stone on this necklace, glue a stamping on that bracelet, make the finishing touches on another choker etc. I never finish one item straight :)

6.30pm: The sun is setting, somewhere behind thousands of rooftops. This is my favourite time of the day, I love the twilight and how everything turns to shades of blue. Adds a bit of romance to the world :) Time to get dressed and go meet my friends for evening coffee!

Afternoon/evening coffee is kind of a Greek tradition. It's our way of relaxing and catching up with friends, after work or school. Coffee places are always swarmed with people, snuggled inside during the winter and hanging outside in summertime. P.S: I myself don't smoke, despite the lighter and cigarettes in the photo :)

9pm: I return home, and it's time for dinner. I prepare my favourite salad, with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, olives and tuna. Plenty of olive oil and vinegar and voila! It's very yummy, light and healthy! And at the same time it will get you so full you won't need anything else for dinner.

10.30pm: Getting ready for a night out with my friends, facing the usual dilemma.. "What should I wear??" My closet is a huge black mess that I can never find anything in. I used the camera's flash in this photo, that's why you can actually make out some of the clothes.

11.30pm: In the bus, going downtown, my friend playing around with his camera as usual. The night is still young and the fun has just begun! :)

Thank you very much Heli for this lovely feature! I hope you and your readers had a good time following me around during my Friday :)

Friday is my day: Swiedebie

Today we travel to Netherlands and meet Swee aka Swiedebie who makes super cute and fun sock monster plushies. She is so chatty and sweet girl that she already told everything about herself so let's peek to her Friday. And lucky Friday 13th to everybody :)

swiedebie.etsy.com

Holla Wolla!
I am Swee as everyone calls me here, and am in my prime 30s. I am happily married to the best man I know, Marcel, and we have a 2.5 year old daughter, Kirsten. Going back to the past, I used to work as a fashion+wedding designer. Today or should I say after my 3 years of marriage, my time per day is split to being a good 40% mommy, 20% housewife+gardener+telephone-operator (because the phone just keeps ringing!), 20% being a good+sometimes wacky wife, and last but not least being a 20% designer for my plushie label, Swiedebie. (*did i get my sums right, for I am bad in Maths?*)

I am very honoured to be featured in this coming "Friday Is My Day" for my dear EST friend, Heli. To my surprise on today's feature, it is Friday the 13th! Oh yah, my broken toe is still healing from the accident it had that occured exactly on the same Friday 13th last month. However, no more sulking, smiles on my face as always, I move on to better days ahead.

7.30am
... ... ... Marcel was off to work. *zombified* Still in my dream-world, I sleep walked to pick my crying little one up from her bed, and carried her to the bathroom. I thought I dreamt a piano fell on my head, only to wake up realising Kirsten had given me a hard smack on my head. I placed her standing on the floor, and looked around the bathroom. It was day break! *Yawn*... time for me to change the little one's diaper and fed her glass of warm chocolate milk & egg. *Still yawning & slouching with a bed-head*

8.30am

I would always have my breakfast right after Kirsten finished hers. While she was being fully amused and entertained by the morning Dora programme, I slipped off to the kitchen and made myself a nice breakfast set which I deserves after all the "hard" morning work. 2 eggs, a cuppa coffee (double caffeine dosage), a nice little mandarin orange, and of course to kick off the day - a nice little Snickers bar! While reading my Dutch newspaper (due to my insufficient Dutch vocabulary, I am only seeing the pictures and reading small articles). In addition, music is a MUST HAVE thing for a good day start!

9.30am

My daughter was playing on her own & was chewing on her apple as brunch, I made a little time to read up a chapter on my book and quickly catch a glimpse of what were the updates in the EST thread. The usual morning greetings and seeing all the familiar and of course new names there made me smile (as always). Oh well, of course I did not miss out on checking up my Etsy shop, which was still as stagnant as ever. Man... where did all the clients go???

10.45am

Time to check the fridge to find out what is missing from it! Hmmmm... We have rats in the house! Yes, those rats I mean are US! Stock replenishment time! I filled up my shopping list and, Kirsten and I dressed ourselves to go to the central for a nice little shopping! (*Yippppppeeee*)

11.30am

Brrrrrr...! Windy and at the temperature of 5 degrees, Kirsten and I were trembling as we walk. However, the little one, being just like Mommy dearest, was doing her window shopping! Nice pinky sequined detailed shoes caught her eyes. I looked at it, and thought to myself, "EEeeeeekkks! I may like pink, but not to this extend of wearing blinks blinks all over my feet... Time give on my little one so good pink tips."

12.00pm

Lunch time!!! But no lunch for us yet as we were shopping with an empty stomach. LOL! My advice, never shop with an empty stomach... because you will end up buying more than you need. Look at little Kirsten, who was very helpful when it came to packing the groceries in my bag!

1.00pm

We gobbled our store-bought fresh bread like 2 hungry vultures, as we made our way to the Friday weekly market. I did my supply shopping at a few of my favourite stalls. Oh boy! What a delightful moment!!! I love shopping with my little one, because she can never warn me (for the time being for now, I guess...) to watch my budget the way my husband does.

2.30pm

Home at last! Unloaded the groceries and supplies, and the little one wanted to play in the garden. As we have lots of water that seperates my garden (with bridges over them) into 5 small ones, I locked the gate to one of the bridges to make sure my little one did not fall into the water. Somehow or somewhat, she has this super-rubbery body and squeezed herself through the little gap of my gate! Oh my golly wolly!!! I ran out in fear that she would fall into the water. Well, she landed herself right on the bridge, thank God! I looked at her, and she pointed to the duckies swimming along the bridge. How sweet... Then I gave her some bread crumbs to feed them. My... those ducks sure do look abd taste good in their roasted bodies. mmmMMmmm... yummy!

3.00pm

As Spring is showing it's little sign of life to my plants, I began to clean up the mess Winter had left for us. Worms slimed themselves everywhere too! Yucks & Whoops... I realised I wore the wrong coloured socks for today! Hahaaha... What a dope I am.

4.00pm

Off to rush inventing my new monster in my "lab". I had to get this done to be listed in my Etsy shop. Cut, stitch, cut, stitch, cut, stitch... & m little Effie's coming into place. (*give a mad scientist laugh*)

5.00pm

Effie was completed. The day got dark, and it was too late to take some shots of her for the listing. So, I did my text editing on my interview answers for a feature in a design magazine in Asia.

5.30pm

Before I headed to the kitchen to make dinner, Friday vacuuming time! I love having all those mean, ugly looking dirts all sucked up into this monstrous-machine! (*wicked grin*)

6.00pm

Oh my, it was getting really late... I 'didn't know what to cook for today! Off to my cuisine magazines and cookbooks for a search for a recipe that matched the ingredients I had. Voila, I found one, and zoomed off to the kitchen like a mad cook.

7.30pm - 8pm

After a satisfying meal, Kirsten asked for a nice bottle of warm chocolate milk. Aftershe got her pearly whites all brushed up, she was totally "konked" out on her own in her little bed. Then my husband and I will have our very own free time together by catching up with our daily happenings and of course snuggled up on the couch like 2 potatoes watching the TV.

A portrait photo of me who had a monstrous day! Looking tired here.

I wish my future days will be as nice as this. *Fingers crossed*

Friday is my day: Jealousydesign

Hej allihopa! Today we will jump to Sweden and meet Carita from Jealousydesign. She is a jewellery designer who likes to use silver and gems and lately we have seen some natural materials like lava and coral placed on the ring. All her designs are very original. Please peek to her Etsy shop after this visit.

(click any picture to go to the shop)

jealousydesign.etsy.com

9:30am

I wake up… Just ask anyone who knows me; you don’t want to meet me yet.
I am having a really bad morning mood so:

10:30am
Hello! Nice to see you and welcome to my Friday!
Time to feed my cute little cat (the big cat is outside and hanging out with friends)

11am

our little lizard have just wake up and waiting for some fresh vegetables for breakfast.

1pm

time for a tea break and some breakfast (yep I know it is afternoon)

When I having my tea break I also logging in to Etsy and say Hi to all in the wonderful people in the European street team. And of course I must log in and check out what happened in twitter world.

The computer isn’t standing on its regular place so it looks more messy around here than usual (yeah right)

2pm

now I really should do some work and also clean up my studio,

This area I don’t use much at all anymore and should clean it up and get room for other things…
But after all it is Friday today and I feel that I need some inspiration, so I go out and take a walk in the enchanted forest we live in:

I just love this forest, I always finds new things to look at.

3pm

Now I really have inspiration to do some work in my studio

Today’s work is some different things, some rings; a necklace and I need to drill and polish some new lava stones... (Nope; I will not show any bigger photos of my messy studio)

6:30pm

time to stop the work and get ready to pick up my boyfriend at the train station, he is coming home early from work on Fridays.
7pm ready to go:

Ok, ok I didn’t take this photo at home took it at my grandmothers yesterday but hey; I am in a hurry now!
7:15pm on the road…..

9pm

finally back home, had to do some food shopping on the way.
9:30 Dinner time:

Yes, we always have lightened candles when we eat.

11pm

after some chilling in front of the TV I need to sew together some new wood boxes that my boyfriend has made; it is in these I ship my jewelry:

1am

done with the sewing and now I need to catch up in the virtual world, and also edit some of the photos I took earlier this week.
3am

, just like always I work best and are most creative at night but today I decided not to go back to the studio so I will do some sketches of both art and some jewelry designs I have in my mind.

4:30

I need to get up early in the morning so I will say good night now!

Thank you Helis for asking me to do this and Thanks for following me on my Friday :)