Renilde De Peuter of At Swim-Two-Birds interview

It doesn't happen every day to meet someone to whom you feel a deep connection.
Renilde is one of those persons that make me feel that way, when I met her in person I had the impression that I always knew her.
She's one great person and artist, enjoy the interview!

Who are you?
Hello, I’m Renilde. I live and work in Antwerp and crafting is my greatest passion.
I’m also a collector; as I collected insects as a child, I’m collecting now with the same
ardour all kind of stuff, mainly from the thrift store and charity shops.

Three words to describe yourself:

I’m an absent-minded, daydreaming homebody

As a child you were?

Doing the same things as I do now, only I do not roller skate, climb trees and make

shooting bows any more

I used to be a real tomboy, I hunged my bra in the walnut tree because it bothered while playing

and at the same time I was a very girlish crafter, fantasizing about my dowry and my future husband and walking on mum’s high heels.

When do you wake up in the morning…?
I’m very slowly and I like having my pyjamas on for a while, drinking tea, relaxing. 

When you go to sleep...?
I love to crawl in bed when the sheets are freshly washed, bliss.

Your home is? 

The most important thing for me, it has to be bright and cosy and inviting to create.
I love to cook and invite friends to come and have dinner, I feel at my best in small
groups with quietly rippling conversations and good food&music.
Tell me about your working space.
My working space is my living room, I also work in the kitchen and the bedroom serves
as storage; it is filled with yarns and fabric and a loom, I have another loom in the
living room, so my place is messy but cosy messy, I like that.
I need this cosiness to be creative, it’s also quiet here, very important.
I’ve always dreamed of a place like that where I live now, so I’m very lucky and grateful. 
What inspire you?
I think the stuff that’s in my head is my greatest inspiration; it can be both images or
stories or a dream, sometimes I’m inspired by a phrase or even a single word.
I’m inspired by history, memories, nature, the sunlight, the cosmos… actually by
everything around me.
I’m addicted to pretty things too.
How do you relax?
Crochet and going to the movies are top of my list of most relaxing things, but when I
need an energy boost, then laughing is the most effective.
I love to watch desperate housewives after a day of work.

You admire?
People who get the best out of anything. I admire inspiring and talented people.
And wisdom and tolerance.

Favourite things?
I love cacti and succulents and woods and trees, I love the smell of the poplar on rainy
days, I love fossils and dino’s, even when they’re plastic, I love reading history and
secret hideaways.
I love art and books and cats.
I love to see how my plants grow
I love the morning light and in the evening when the dust and small insects reflect the
sunlight.
I love the sea and the sequoia tree.
I love taking pictures and laughter.
I love high heels and pretty dresses, I love the sun&moon and my yellow skirt and
vanilla ice cream.
I love flowers and ikebana and lovely vases.
And also flea markets and charity shops and funny people etc…. etc…

Best place you have ever been?
I love being in the woods when the mushrooms are growing and everything is quiet.

Best food you have ever tasted?
I love Mediterranean food

What's your dream?

to make a living of my creative work and make fun the whole day, but I fear this is a
rather childish desire.
Actually I long for peace of mind.
Thank you Renilde.
Renilde will contribute to Knots Collective Pop Up Shop with her textiles and mobiles 

At Swim-Two-Birds

*All photos by Renilde De Peuter

how september started

September is my favourite month of the year so far.

The only photo I took of Fanja is when we finally sat down to eat, I was doing this while waiting...

She gave me that lovely basket, I like it very much, I had one like this when I was a kid. 

The light on my studio's wall.

More vintage for the shop.

School has started but we make the most of the nice weather (she's just learnt to do handstands!)

Images 1-2-3-7-8 Instagram

 

Virginie of Mi-avril interview

Another talented French woman and her poetic creations, it's a pleasure to discover a bit more about her...

Who are you?

My name is Virginie. I studied interior design at the Olivier de Serres School of Applied Arts in Paris, and textile design in Lyon (France). Today I am a free lance textile designer. I draw patterns for interior design, fashion and stationery in collaboration with design studios.

I launched my own brand, Mi-avril, poetical and decorative objects for the home. 

Describe yourself in three words.

Creative, sensitive, discreet.

As a child you were? 

I was a shy child ( I still am). I loved to draw and play, especially draw...I was already creating decorative patterns.

When you wake up in the morning...? 

Waking up is not my favourite moment of the day, I’m not an early bird… but I must do it ! So, first I eat breakfast and always drink an orange juice (it's fresh and it do wake me up!), next, in my studio, I read my emails and browse some of my favourites blogs and get inspired for the day.

When you go to sleep...?

When I go to sleep I often think about my projects and sometimes I have new ideas. If I find solutions I get up to write a note so I don't forget the day after.
What inspire you?

Inspiration comes from all that is around me. I like particularly the details of the flowers and the green plants, the ranges of colours seen in the streets or the landscapes discovered during my travels...

You home is?

My home is a flat in a 1960’s building. We've been renovating it for more than one year now. I hope  we will finish the works soon. What we like the most is the view on the Pyrenees, when the sky is clear we can see them.

Tell me about your working space.

I work in the smallest room of my flat. It’s a little studio that I painted all in white to make it look bigger. On one side there's my computer to work on patterns, on the other side my sewing machine and the materials I need to create my garlands.

How do you relax?

I like to cook and test new recipes, I find it relaxing and creative.

I love to take photographs, but I would like to practice more often in everyday life.

My boyfriend and I like to leave the city during the weekends, we like to go hiking in the Pyrenees or to the seaside. It’s a way to clear our heads.

Favourite things?

My camera :)

I love meringues.. I like pudding in general.
Best place you have ever been?

In Sweden: wild camping near a lake, just us, nature and silence.

Best food you have ever tasted?

I remember a Thai restaurant in San Francisco, a delicious pizza with zucchinis in Rome and tasty cinnamon rolls in Stockholm!

And I fondly remember my grandmother’s cakes..

What's your dream?

I dream of a bigger studio where I have space for making and dyeing my own paper or printing my own fabric. And it would be a space shared with other designers to make great projects together.

Thank you Virginie.

Virginie's paper garlands and postcards will be at Knots Collective pop up shop.

Maize-Mi avril

*All photos by Virginie 

 

a bit of this and that

Hello there, hope you are all doing fine, I'm working non stop lately.

I also gave up... hmmm sorry, joined Instagram.  It's quite fun, but I still prefer blogs: I find Instagram too much, too quick and too a bit the same perhaps? I've seen already so many blogs asking if Instagram will take over blogs, I hope not, I find the two things different somehow.

Anyway, said so ;) here an "instagrammed" pic of a quilt I'm working on: it has no pattern, no much measurements taken, it's quite "free flowing" really and I'm enjoying it so much in this way (free of constrictions, and rules). I developed an "allergy" to rules in whatever art (applied or not) after years of -rigid- academic studies in art and painting. My first two years of drawing, in art school, were spent making lines :horizontally, vertically and diagonally.

Anyway...tomorrow I'm going to London to get some fabric to finish it, meet Fanja and a couple of other friends (who are actually the lovely couple that will host the pop up).

It's sunny here and I feel happy and stressed at the same time! :D

Happy friday! 

PS: thank you all for the warm response to the interviews! more to come x

In case you'd like to follow me on instagram: at_knots

Fanja Ralison of Le Train Fantôme interview

Who are you? 

Hello, I'm Fanja. I was born in France from Madagascan parents and now I live in the English countryside with my partner and our two boys. Working around the characters I have created is what I mostly do whenever I have time to. 

Describe yourself in three words. 

Open-minded, ex-smoker, quiet.

As a child you were?  

Quiet and dreamy, I loved reading and making things, enjoyed the speed of roller skating, had fun playing records with my brother and sister and do crazy dances.

When you wake up in the morning...? 

On a school day, mornings are always a rush and I'm lucky if I can even get a cup of tea. Part of the morning routine is to check the weather forecast before leaving the house.
When you go to sleep...?

I often think I should have gone to bed earlier.
What inspire you?

Inspirations always come unexpectedly, usually a detail that has struck the eyes and that you can't help thinking about.
Your home is? 

Small and full of imperfections but cosy. I like coming back home.

Tell me about your working space.

My working space is all over the place at home. My sewing space is a little corner niched in the kitchen area, it is a nice area filled by lots of natural light and near a big window. I also work on the kitchen table facing another window. Close by is a bureau where the laptop stands, it is good the laptop is out of reach when I do some sewing work so I don't find myself getting distracted by it.

What's your dream? 

Travelling to places I've never been.

The oddest or funny thing you ever did? 

Things I do are usually more embarrassing than funny to me, playing air guitar on stage in a London club many years ago was one of them.

Thank you Fanja.

In occasion of Knots Collective not only you'll find Fanja creations and a selection of vintage pieces hand picked by her, you will also find Fanja in person attending the pop up shop!Yay!

*Photos by Fanja Ralison.

 Le Train Fantôme