Friday is my day: Verluisant's hope

Hello from frozen Greece! Winter this year is really cold even on the islands! Yayyy :)
Today we will travel to France to meet sweet Lucie from Verluisant's hope! Enjoy the ride ;) 

Fox

 
9h00
Bonjour! Welcome into my world! My name is Lucie and I'm the designer behind Verluisant's Hope. I live with my husband in a town near the center of France. Today is a very good day because I don't to have wake up early!! The rest of the week, I work in a school and it's always a challenge to leave my bed. The fact is that I love to sleep and my nights are filled with interesting dreams. Indeed, it's a dream that brought me the idea of paper cutting! 

9h10
Breakfast time: impossible to survive without my morning tea. 

9h30
I go to the kitchen and I feed the cutest occupant of the flat: Winchester, my little rabbit seems to be always starving while he is pretty plump...  My second «pet» is a carnivorous plant, but she catches the flies herself.  

10h00
I'm finally dressed after a few minutes spent to choose my outfit. I must confess I love clothes and jewels... and Etsy is my favorite market for this kind of items! For instance, the wonderful dress I wear comes from Patricia Valery and my necklace from Corail Menthe, both Etsy shop I heart!

I switch my computer on, check my e-mails and go to see what's new in my Etsy shop. I have also another on line shop, in a french site. I try to read the forums, making treasuries and keep in touch with my teams. Then, I read the news, my favorites blogs and I write my to-do list for the day. I choose good music (today I begin with Peter Doherty, then maybe a bit of Muse) and I'm ready to start creating! Today, I'm starting a new papercut inspired by "20 000 lieues sous les mers" my favorite Jules Verne's book. I usually make one or two drafts before the final drawing on black paper. During this step, I choose some papers for the background of my papercut. As a bookworm, I passionately love beautiful papers, so I collect old books, vintage dictionnaries and maps, beautiful sheets and colourful fabrics that I use in my work, jewels and papercuts.  

12h30
Today, Julien, my husband is taking care of cooking <3 ! Menu: omelette and chicory salad. Simple but tasty!

13h30
Help! No more black paper. I need to go downtown for a little bit of shopping. I introduce Moulins, a little provincial town with some beautiful old stones. The weather is cold but, for the first time since morning the sun is out of the fog.  

16h30
I've got the paper, a discounted dress and a brand new lipstick (yes, it was unexpected)!

17h00
Five o'clock tea! Impossible to survive without my afternoon tea. During tea time, I dedicate my time to my other passion: reading. I studied literature and there is an influence in all my creations. Today I read for the fourth or fifth time "L'écume des jours" from Boris Vian, a surrealist (and sad) story of love. Maybe a future theme for my papercuts or my jewels! 

18h00
I spend a couple of hours on my computer, chatting with my sister and my friends and searching for new ideas. Usually, I choose this hour to list my new items in my on line shops.

20h00
Dinner with Julien. Our tradition is to watch some films or series before we go to sleep.

22h00
I'm beginning to yawn, so, after a hot shower, I join my beloved bed! Bonne nuit!

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Thank you Lucie! As for all of you lovely readers stay tunned for our next week's guest!
Until then, have a great weekend and be creative :)

xo
Tatiana

Friday is my day: Villa Figura

Hello friends! Today we are traveling to Netherlands to meet sweet Anneke from Villa Figura. Enjoy!

Map of Imagination

Hi there! My name is Anneke from Villa Figura.  I live together with my partner Bas, toddler Tom and baby Maas on the outskirts of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. On a typical Friday you would find me working as a Service designer and consultant (Huh?). Today is different because I'm still on maternity leave. My days are pretty much scheduled around our baby Maas. 

6:30 >> These days mornings are dark and cold. I feel reluctant to get out of bed, but our children are already wide awake. 'Rush Hour', as we call it, starts. Bas hurries off to work while I wrap the kids up warmly to go outside. It’s a rainy day in the Netherlands... 

9:00 >> After I bring Tom to daycare, I return home with baby Maas. While Maas sleeps in the pram, I quickly do some chores around the house. Cleaning up after breakfast, picking up toys, and the laundry. The hamper just keeps on filling up! 

11:00 >> Now, I was hoping to do some illustration work, however Maas decides otherwise as he's quite moody after his feed. Change of plans. A stroll to the supermarket will calm him. I drop one of my Etsy orders in the mailbox on our way. 

13:00 >> I finally sit down to attend to some requests for custom prints, prepare orders and pre-stamp some of my envelopes. The moment the sun peeks through the clouds I take the advantage of it to shoot some product photos for my Etsy shop. 

15:00 >> I decide it is time to cross the visit to museum Boijmans off of my maternity leave bucket list. It is our first official mother - son 'date'.  Two-months old Maas even gets his own entry ticket! I enjoy the nominations for the Dutch design prize and the collection of applied art and design. Judging from his wailing Maas will not wait for his feed 'till we get home and I really don't want to risk a drama on the tram. So, Maas treats me to some unexpected cappuccino in the cafe while I feed him.

18:00 >> The second the front door opens and Bas and Tom come in, our house changes from a tranquil retreat, into a happy exuberant mess. Tom and Bas frolic on the couch and build a train track together.

21:00 >> After a bath, a story and some milk, both our boys are asleep now and I quickly sit behind my laptop to work more on my alphabet project. I'm under a little pressure to create the letter Z, V and B monograms as I have already got orders for them! We should go to bed early because this weekend we have more friends and family coming over for a baby visit. But Bas and I cannot resist an episode of House and curl up on the couch together. Sleep tight!

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Thank you Anneke! As for all of you lovely readers stay tunned for our next week's guest!
Until then, have a great weekend and be creative :)

xo
Tatiana

Friday is my day: Fattidame

Hello dear fellows! Happy New Year to all of you :) We are back (so sorry about last week's missed post, I am sure I put it somewhere :D) with a fresh series of European Artists sharing their Fridays. Today we start the New Year with Paola from Alessandria, Italy once more. We love this country :) Enjoy!


Hello! I’m Paola from Fattidame!

Giorgio the octopus

I live with my soulmate Filippo and our three terrible cats in a nice village north of Italy. We live in the countryside, not far from the town Alessandria. I’m very lucky because I work at home for my husband's building enterprise and I can deal with my etsy shop part time! Now here is my typical Friday... 

(7:30)
It’s time to wake up! The alarm rings at 7:30 a.m and for me is always a blow...

But three hungry wild animals are waiting in the kitchen for their breakfast ;) They are Natalino, Chicca and Virgola. If I want  to have my breakfast, I must feed them before it!!

My husband’s already at work, so I get my breakfast alone with a cup of “lattee caffè” and some biscuits. I try to organize my day, but I’d like the day to last 48 hours ;)

(8:30)
It’s time to go to the office... It is not a long way, I just go up in the attic of my house and dive into the paperwork ;)

(12:00)
I prepare lunch for me and Filippo. Just a plate of pasta, some vegetables and a good coffee. We talk about work, but also about our day. Then Filippo goes back to work.
 

(13:30)
After lunch I can spend a couple of hours on my pc! I check my on-line etsy shop, blog, emails, I think about some new ideas for my shop and I draw inspiration from my puppies sleeping all day!
If It’s a sunny day I can take pictures of my new items.

(15:00)
Almost every day, I go for walking in the countryside near my home. I love this moment because walking makes my body feel good, but above all my mind. I love to walk near nature!

(16:30)
After a warm shower I take out my sewing box, threads, needles, fabrics and I watch what is being born from my hands and my creative mess! It’s always a surprise: A camel, a mouse, a cat, a dog or a pig...

(19:30)
It’s time for cooking! Filippo arrives at home and while I’m cooking we talk about our day.
After supper we watch a film, read a magazine or a book.

(23:30)
But the bed calls me... another day is over.
So Good Night!

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Thank you Paola! As for all of you lovely readers stay tunned for our next week's guest!

Until then, have a great weekend and be creative :)

xo

Tatiana