Why not treat a dear one - or yourself! - to a typically French purse... Chic and made in two authentic Toile de Jouy fabrics.
A romantic side, and a more classic side... Flip the purse over according to your mood!
Direct from my studio in Paris... Available in my shop!
Hey guys!
After a crazy few months, French Touch is finally back with new creations! Sorry I've been away from Etsy and the EST so long.
One with a hedgehog and a ladybird...
Another with a little elephant.
Autumn inspires me and I have been busy creating a collection entitled Jacobean Jewels.
Here's the first item!
The Etsy Europe team regularly interviews members from the European Etsy Team. My turn has come!
The interview is all here! Enjoy!
Here are my answers here as well, with a few more pictures (pictures of my wedding dresses):
1. How did you get involved in your craft/design?
Watching my grandma sew. As a little girl, I was mesmerized by the dresses she made for our mother and for our dolls. My grandma was an excellent professional seamstress.
At the time it never entered my mind I could try my hand at sewing, too. It seemed totally beyond me. I was doing a whole lot of music, back then, which took up most of my spare time. I've always had the urge to make things, though. I used to enjoy very much painting when I was younger, but that became a wholly unpractical hobby once I arrived in Paris for my studies and work. You just can't spread your oils and stuff in a tiny Paris studio!
Only when I was 22 and had taken my final academic degree, did I have more time on my hands, and decide to give sewing a try. It's been a revelation. I've never looked back since. I feel quite frustrated if I can't sew for a few days in a row.
Another motivation of mine when sewing clothes is more ethical and has to do with some of the negative sides of globalisation. It feels so much better to wear a garment whose origin you know, since you made it/bought it from someone who made it, rather than to keep wondering whether an overworked an exhausted child from an underdeveloped country did not make your clothes for you, on the other side of the world.
2. Tell us a bit about how your city/country influences your work.
I believe it is mostly by contrast that you realize what is peculiar to your own Country. I lived in England for 6 months a few years ago, and later spent a year working in the US. This is truly where I realized what was peculiar to France; tastes, objects, visions. What was different over there, is what I missed from my own country.
The materials characteristic to my country also influence my work. Especially beautiful linen, toile de Jouy, antique lace. I love hunting them around and then working with them.
I arrived in Paris seven years ago but am a native of Northern France. I still feel from there, not from Paris. :) I feel French much more than Parisian. Come to think of it, since I used to live 15 minutes from the Belgian border and since I spend my whole days working in English, I feel even more European than French! :)
As for my home city, I'm much more influenced by "le vieux Paris" than "le Paris chic".
3. What medium, technique or subject is your favourite and why?
Medium: Fabric! Fabric, fabric, fabric. I'm a fabric-a-holic. Their touch, colours, drape, … obsess me.
Technique: I both enjoy sewing and embroidery. I simply love seeing something pretty, unique and three-dimensional emerge from a flat scrap of fabric.
Subject: I'm pretty eclectic, I believe. The most consistent subject I've ever worked on is cats. I seem to have had a cat obsession for as long as I can remember living.
4. What is the piece you are most proud of?
My
wedding gowns. I got married on August
4, 2007
and I made a dress for the religious ceremony and another for the evening
reception. I learned so much through them. You can see pictures on my sewing blog.
It was very special to me that they were both one-of-a-kind, made to match my
inner dreams, and that I was able to put lots of personal meaning into their
making.
Of course, now I'm considering offering formal dresses and accessories in my shop. Whenever I get more time!! My schedule has been pretty hectic recently. ;) I do promise to fill up my shop more as soon as possible. There are so many ideas teeming in my brain!
5. What recent handmade item (by another artist) you would like to share with us?
This
doll quilt by the lovely Vicki of Turkey Feathers. I absolutely love her
work and philosophy and wow! That one? I would buy it in a
heartbeat if I could afford it right now.
- First, Isis, the designer behind Paper Flower Girl, is an archeologist besides making unique jewelry. Each of her creations combines something old and something new... Metals and fibres...Plastic and fabric...
- Second, Isis, loves devising stories as she creates her jewels. As she says herself, "Every item she makes has its own story."
- The story goes on when you enter her shop and gaze at her items. Just look at the names of her creations: Forbidden fruit, An Eastern fairytale, Sleeping Beauty... Often with a tagline suggesting a story that *you* are free to continue to your own liking... following the meanders of your own imagination.
the crystal beads look to me as lingering icicles, soon to vanish in the spring warmth.
What do they evoke for you?
PaperFlowerGirl is located in Belgium.
Blue... For the European flag...
For my favourite colour...
For the colour of my wedding dress!!
(I'm getting married on August 4)
Well, the actual name for this tote is Roses d'été... But you know Etsy - accented characters in titles are deemed "illegal"! 
I'm staying at the countryside in Northern France at the moment and this is the time when roses are full-blown everywhere. So luxuriant, so fragrant. This inspired me to make this tote from two coordinating Toile de Jouy fabrics.
I make those purses so that they are perfectly finished on both sides, and therefore completely reversible. Here is the other side:
I'll be listing another one today!
Similar, but not the same...
I hate making duplicates!
This is why I would also like to feature some of my favourite European artists on Etsy from time to time. I am so honoured to be part of the EST team!!
As an icing on the cake, blue is my favourite colour.
LilyMoon, keep up your wonderful and unique work. We love it!!
Isn't it amazing how potently some of the art on Etsy can speak to us? Have you had similar experiences with other works on Etsy? Please let us know about it.
Embroidering on baby
t-shirts always makes me smile! ☺
Here is my latest, hot from the sewing machine (and iron):
I keep having new ideas for baby shirts... My only challenge right now is finding the time to actually make them!! :)
Hi everyone!
I am just discovering Vox blogs, thanks to a fellow European Etsy seller, mademoiselle a.... Thought I'd give it a go, too! The idea of groups and neighourhoods sounds really great.
Here's a little about me:
My name is Isabelle, I am French and live in Paris.
Embroidery and sewing are my joy. More generally, I have a passion for
all things handmade. Giving a present lovingly hand-crafted, wearing a
dress sewn with care and perfectly unique (and not mass-produced in
China!)... that is so meaningful.
Besides textile arts, I love cats! I have an adorable fluffy kitty.
This blog will be devoted to my Etsy shop and activity: items I make for the shop, the European Team, general Etsy fun such as treasuries, etc..
If you want to know more about me, please check out my main blog: Kitty Couture
Talk to you soon! :)
My Groups
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Amazing wool and felted accessories
Felted goodness from Belgium
Mademoiselle a lives in Germany and handcrafts an amazing...
Jewelry with a story! Earrings, pincushions, brooches,......
One of my favourite visual artists on Etsy. There is such...
Recent Comments
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Frank said:
Blue – is the color of the sky! I like this color! read more
on Grabbed an Etsy Treasury! -
DinRandy said:
Goof interview. Your works are great! And beautiful dresses! read more
on French Touch interview on Etsy Europe! -
greygoat said:
You have been tagged by Greygoat :) http://greygoat.vox.com/library/post/tagged.html read more
on French Touch interview on Etsy Europe! -
FrenchTouch said:
You're most welcome, I'm glad you like it. All so very much deserved. :) read more
on European Artists on Etsy (2) - Paper Flower Girl:Jewelry with a story!
"Bonjour" tshirt is cool!! )) I want to see your rest ideas! read more
on French Touch is back!