Have a good Sunday company!

Today I'd like to talk to you about Laure, the sweet and caring Laure, whom you probably already know as the queen of bosses! Laure joined us a year and a half ago, for a radical change of working atmosphere. She came to our chaotic office, where Larusso would echo through the premises whenever any good news was announced. We still listen to the redhead, but we've expanded our playlists and our workspace! I met Laure thanks to the beautiful Patricia, who definitely deserves to be in this column of good people, and who works in one of my favorite places in the capital: Sacrés Coupons. I confided in Patricia that I wanted to make sewing patterns, but needed help with pattern-making, of which I had only the rudiments. Patricia told me she knew the perfect person: Laure! We met up several times over a period of months, and Laure began to pattern Rita and Luisa in her spare time, as she was working for various brands during this period... Then, all of a sudden, the Wear Lemonade project became more concrete and obvious, so Laure got on board the yellow rocket!

Today, Laure helps me with the styling of the collections and does all the pattern-making for the pieces. From the start, she was also in charge of production, and we were lucky enough to be helped by the super Maria, who relieved Laure of this production mission, which is a real job in its own right, given the references that multiply from collection to collection. But I'll tell you more about that job another day!

Laure is as patient as gold and as precise as a watchmaker. I love her perfectionism and her eagerness to share her knowledge, and she's an excellent teacher. I don't even need to tell you about the crazy progress I made in sewing with a special teacher, this French-Korean gem! As you can see, I'm just in love with this team of good people, all indispensable and generous, and I'll soon be telling you about Simoné, our prince of images.

I'll leave you with Laure, who'll be answering a few questions that I'm sure will be on your lips!

  • Guidance counsellor question: Laure, tell us about your career...

I'm not going to lie, my path has been a bit chaotic. After a baccalauréat ES, I did a two-year law degree at Nanterre (where I passed all the exams without fail)... But I wasn't too happy with university. I couldn't see myself spending my life commenting on rulings and having Codes as my bedside books. So I turned back to my first passion: fashion design. I enrolled at ESMOD in Paris, where I took a 3-year course in fashion design with a specialization in men's fashion, and then did a series of internships as an assistant stylist, many, many internships... I worked in lingerie (women's at DIM, Playboy, Wonderbra), men's (BWGH, Marchand Drapier and Billtornade, where I might have bumped into Charlotte - we were in the same building!), small designers... I continued my studies with a degree in Innovation Marketing, where I met Patricia, who landed me here at Make My Lemonade, doing women's modeling!

  • Question of illusion and disillusionment: Before you started your studies, what did you dream of doing later on? And by the end, had your desire changed?

When I was very young, I was already thinking of becoming a fashion designer (along with other professions, but this was the one I dreamed of the most). I loved drawing and materials, manipulating them and looking at the inside of clothes. Then, as you go to school, you learn to touch a lot of things, and for me, model making was a real wake-up call, because without this transition from 2D to 3D, clothes wouldn't exist! I liken model making to magic, when you suddenly realize that a simple paper pattern can give birth to a dress. For all these reasons, I'm glad I got hooked on the world of clothing and fashion, because although it can sometimes be cruel, there are some really beautiful things happening in it!

  • Today's question: You've been with us for a while now. If you had to change something in your daily life, what would it be?

Just to have a few more hours to respond more quickly and more often to Wear Lemonade's novice seamstresses... And to spend less time behind the screen to do more molding.

  • Sewing Question: What's been your favorite Wear Lemonade piece to work on from the start?

Ohlalalala, that's an impossible question to answer! With each collection, I find the next even more successful. Well, I have to admit that I'm partial to Chiara, with her V-neck that I've always dreamed of making, Maria, the short jacket that will soon be on the site, and Ursula, which I designed with Lisa and the girls from NOO. I have a soft spot for vintage sewing details, which we don't find anymore, and I always enjoy inserting these winks into our pieces.

  • Question madeleine de Proust: What job did you dream of doing as a child?

A fashion designer! But I also wanted to be a volcanologist so I could travel all over the world, or a restaurant chef! I've had a great love affair with cooking ever since I was a little girl, and if I ever had to change careers, it would be in catering and/or pastry-making.

  • Essential Question: If you had to be reincarnated as a Spice Girl, who would you be?

Victoria Adams/Beckham... She was infuriatingly perfect (already)! And I always loved her little posh side.

  • Survival question: If you had to bring just one thing to a desert island, what would it be?

A notebook and a pencil, where I could scribble my escape plans, count the days, write my memoirs.... or simply draw the flora and fauna!

  • Question de Partage: if you had to give one piece of advice to all budding stylists and model makers, what would you tell them?

My advice would be to never give up. But also, don't forget that all experience is good experience, even if it's painful. A stylist or model-maker who has never experienced failure will never be any good. Sometimes you have to dive headlong into the first opportunity you see, even if it seems far from your goal. You never know where the roads will lead you...

June 19, 2016