Before & after - my studio

Hello everyone! Today I thought I'd share with you some before and after shots of my studio. Honestly I have no idea how I could get work done with the former set up.

I'm lucky to have my own dedicated space for rose & lula fun. The kids wanted to share a bedroom (this room used to be Livia's) so we wholeheartedly encouraged them as it meant recuperating a sewing room for me!

It's a small and awkwardly shaped space with a long corridor, but a great view onto Mont Blanc.

Here's the long corridor (taken with my back to the window):

I am really really happy with how this turned out. Thanks to Ikea I was able to hang up all my fabric on hangers without eating too much into the corridor. So if you come over for some custom orders we can easily mix and match fabrics without upsetting a pile of fabric. Plus I love how it feels a bit like a shop!

Here's the view into the studio, standing in the corridor:

Again, lots of Ikea here. I love the Expedit for display, letting the colours of products speak for themselves. I've sorted the fabric scraps by colour and put them in white pots on top of the unit. I've also hung shelving on the wall, for displaying buttons and baskets.

Bleurgh, now brace yourselves, here's how not to have things on display with Expedit shelves :) Yuk, I'm amazed I managed to create anything in here!

I'm really happy with my improvised cutting table - it's two small Expedit shelves together. I put feet on the bottom to make it a comfortable level for cutting fabric, and I have a big cutting mat. I'm thinking in the future, if I have rolls of fabric, they'll fit well in the cubbies below. This will also be the packing station, so I've added lots of drawers for all the packaging bits I'll need. Next to the drawers I've added a small wardrobe for unpretty clutter I can close the doors on. 

Lastly, here's my sewing table. I actually loved this table as it was our old dining table, but the new handy drawers didn't fit underneath, gah. Please excuse the mess. I'm being honest with you here folks and showing you a messy studio!

I already had the metal board on the right for holding scissors etc and it's really practical. I especially like to keep the scissors up high in case the kids come in and start playing - my fabric scissors are very sharp! I'm going to cover the new desk top with oil cloth to add a bit of colour, and I'll put up a moodboard or inspiration board in front of the sewing machine. I love having so many drawers to keep everything in order.

I must say I feel 100 times more creative since sorting out my studio. Everything has its place and I like how the furniture is neutral and the pop comes from the fabrics.

If you have a creative space, feel free to link to it below so we can all go get inspired.

New pouches

Je me prépare pour les marchés de Noel ainsi que l'ouverture de la boutique on-line (yikes!). Ces pochettes avec fermeture éclair et rembourrées sont la taille parfaite pour tenir une téléphone, les clés et d'autres petits trucs essentiels que l'on perd toujours au fond de nos sacs à main.

Sinon j'en ai une que j'utilise comme trousse de crayons.

Bon weekend à  tous!

I'm getting ready for Christmas fairs as well as the shop opening (yikes!). These padded, zip pouches are just the right size for a phone, keys and other essential bits that get lost in the bottom of our handbags.

I use one of mine as a pencil case.

Have a lovely weekend x

Social entreprise business model: SEVENLY

Ever since I can remember I've been thankful for living in a safe place. I think about how different my life would be had I been born in a war torn land or a poverty stricken country (or both). With setting up rose & lula I want to build giving back into my business model, and so have been researching other businesses doing the same.

I came across the company Sevenly through Erin Giles' website.

Sevenly work with 52 charities throughout the year, designing and selling tops and totes for men and women. These designs change every week. $7 of each sale goes to the charity being spotlighted that week. Their innovative social media strategy makes each client (Sevenly call them "supporters") feel totally involved in the success of the charity and Sevenly. There is a film explaining the mission of the charity of the week, as well as updates of the amount raised. This week's charity is Destiny Rescue who are rescuing girls from sex slavery in Thailand. You can see how many girls have been rescued already this week on Sevenly's facebook page.

Source: Sevenly

It's such a great idea to have limited editions of the tops and totes - as they are only available for a week Sevenly's supporters are encouraged to keep coming back. Many of the tops are $22 which means with $7 of each sale going to charity Sevenly are giving 30%. Not too shabby!

Murmuration

It's a stunning, autumnal day today. There's nothing like a bright, blue sky to show off all the amazing colours of the leaves. As I was driving home today I saw starlings flying in groups and suddenly remembered two things:

- Noah, when he was little, would wake after his nap and come downstairs and we would sit down at our window to watch the "bird show" - hundreds and hundreds of starlings whoooooshing past our house, circling and coming round again, four or five times.

- This youtube video, where I learnt that a group of starlings doing their whoooshing thing is called a "murmuration".

A special place

Bonjour! Aujourd'hui je partage avec vous un de mes endroits préférés pour se promener. C'est un étang pas très loin de chez nous. Derrière l'étang on voit le Jura. Pendant la semaine il n'y a presque personne, sauf quelques gens qui font de la pêche, et moi, qui promène le chien. Aujourd'hui j'y ai même fait un peu de footing, mais ca c'est une autre histoire.

A chaque fois que je vais à cet endroit je me sens mieux, plus heureuse, plein d'énergie. Et c'est toujours beau, quel que soit la saison.

As-tu un endroit préféré pour t'échapper?

Hello my lovelies. I'm sharing with you today one of my favourite places to go for a walk. It's a little lake just down the road from where we live, and in the background that's the Jura mountains. In the week there's hardly anyone there, just a few people fishing, and me, walking the dog. Today I even did a bit of jogging but that's a different story.

I always feel so much better when I go to this place, happier, energised. And it's always beautiful, no matter the season.

Do you have a special place to get away from it all?