HAPPY SATURDAY!

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Hello my little kittens!

I hope you are well, and that you're keeping your spirits up despite this glacial weather.As for me, I'm fresh, I've just been piling on layers and swapping out coats in search of the warmest possible combination! I'm so looking forward to showing you our offices. I'm not quite sure how to explain it, but the simple fact of having our own corner of the earth makes me that much more motivated to get up in the morning. It's had an amazing impact. I love to tidy up. RED ALERT, there I've said it. I love how it feels to get in early, straighten everything up, prepare "To-do lists" for the day for everyone, take a deep breath and fire up my little computer.

 

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Having our very own place really helps me to save precious time. I no longer need to run all over Paris for professional meetings, I can just stay at the office and receive my clients in our little lounge. I'm all smiles, I'm saving time, time to do other things, and cross things off my "to-do list"... There are no small victories! You're going to say that I could have had my meetings in the space when we shared it. Yes but no, that would be not taking into account my little spirit of contradiction. Before, there wasn't really any decoration, it was temporary while waiting to find something better, it wasn't really "us" - the lemonade studio, so we never really invested in the place...We were just here until we found something better. So when I knew I was going to have a meeting, I could have tidied up, but I couldn't foresee if the others sharing the offices were also going to receive, or make films, and I wasn't about to tell them to clean it all up all of a sudden just because I have someone coming in. And of course we have a conference room that I could have used for my meetings, but it had become everybody's storage room. One time, I received my banker for a meeting and I felt like I was Harry Potter hosting his friends in the closet under the stairs. AWKWARD. I can still see him sitting opposite our toilet paper stock and packs of paper. Never again...

 

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All that to say that we didn't actually move, nope, we just took over the shared space! Our dear office-mates decided to go their own way, and now we have the space to ourselves. So, no moving, hooray, I'd rather be doing anything else in the world. We finally have our own space, our cocoon done up like a piece of candy! Today there are 4 of us, Jeanne will be leaving us soon as her internship is coming to an end...

So, as of March, we will be hiring a new intern. We are looking for someone who is not afraid to get his or her hands dirty, proficient in InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator. Someone who has the desire to learn lots of new things, can use a pair of scissors and a camera... not allergic to dogs, can handle listening to Larusso, and someone who is punctual. Someone who can contribute to editorial and culinary topics, and temporary installations...We are seeking a full-time intern, but unfortunately freelancers need not apply. This is a paid internship, which cannot be done without an official internship agreement for a 3-month minimum period. If you think have the right profile, send your CV to [email protected] ! We can't wait to meet you!

 

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Today, I'm wearing Church's studded shoes, unearthed from a collective cloakroom, bright red pants from Comptoir des Cotonniers, a faux-fur leopard-print coat by Asos, an XXL plaid scarf also from Asos, Danish mittens, which match my bag from Comptoir des Cotonniers. See you real soon my darlings.

Photos by Julie Perrot.

Translated by Ida Driscoll

February 21, 2015 — lisa gachet

DIY RAINBOW CAKE

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Hello my little cats!

I hope you are doing well! Here's the DIY for our favorite cake from the 2015 calendar! You asked us for it, so here are the steps to making it yourself! Don't hesitate to let us know if you want others! It was such a pleasure to come up with these cakes, and a real feeling of satisfaction when every thing just falls into place in the end! I felt like I was a geometry genius in Space, no less, yes, a genius... If you only knew how I took a long shot in math, so much so that I am so pleased with my bit of technical prowess! There you have it, I give you our Do It Yourself paper cake: now you can play shopkeeper, or decorate your kitchen, or put the finishing touches on your costume for Carnaval...Oh yeah, could you picture this pastry atop a head-band?!

 

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  •   - Time needed : No more than an hour
  •   - Difficulty level : Simple and super efficient
  •   - Cost : A few Euros for paper

  

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For this DIY, you will need :

  • the cake templates , download them here,
  • some white and yellow ''Genoese'' thick paper , about 250g
  • other paper of all the colors of the rainbow, here is the palette sold at Clairefontaine
  • a blunt scalpel,
  • a small ruler,
  • a pencil,
  • some glue.

Download the templates and print them out. You can print them out directly onto the yellow and white paper, but make sure your hands are clean so you don't leave any ink marks when cutting and folding.

 

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Trace the various pieces of the template and cut them out (if you didn't already print them out directly onto the paper).

 

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Cut out all your pieces in the corresponding papers. Using your scalpel and ruler, trace the folding lines of each piece (indicated by the dotted lines on the template) and fold them.

 

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Take your rainbow-colored papers and cut out strips of 1 cm high. Glue them onto the yellow pieces on the inside of the cake and on the part that will be used to make your slice of cake (leave about 0.7 cm between each strip).

 

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Trim the strips down to the right size once you've glued them on. Now let's start building the cake with its base, pre-fold each flap if you haven't already done so.

 

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Fold it all together and glue the flaps to the base, one by one.

 

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Now insert the yellow piece from the inside of the cake and set it in place using the flaps.

 

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Take the time to glue the piece once, and then again, to make it as precise as possible to have a neat, clean slice.

 

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All that's left to do now is glue the top of the cake: first TA-DA!

 

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Now moving on to decorating : Cut out a bunch of little hearts and leaves of various colors.

 

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 Fold the hearts in two to form little petals.

 

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Glue all over the cake. And now let's take care of our slice of cake!

 

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Put glue on the yellow part, then place it on the white part on the other end using the flaps, then do the same on the other side.

 

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Glue the top on and the top of the slice!

 

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Don't forget to decorate your slice with hearts and flowers!

 

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and TA-DA , you'll have kids saying " you're my idol " !

 

Translated by Ida Driscoll

 

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February 19, 2015 — lisa gachet

CHALLENGES #2 FEBRUARY

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 A little glimpse of our lounge space at the office...

Hello my kittens,

I don't know if you remember, but in January I spoke to you about my decision to give up on resolutions in favor of good intentions, month after month, much easier to keep, at least by writing them down in this blog, it's like you are my witnesses to these good intentions. So I'm going to share our evaluation on this past month with you...And tell you what we are setting as our goals for the upcoming month... 

Intentions for January, 2 out of 5 accomplished but they were the two most important ones to us:

  • - Find an office > Check! Oh Yeah! And I cannot even begin to tell you how much better life is when you have your own studio. 
  • - Establish a publishing schedule > We are working on it, but the events of January put us back at square one... 
  • - Launch our sewing patterns > Check! Thanks once again for such reception, it really makes us want to do our best!
  • - Work on my next book (!!!) > I've got the outline done, but I've got to kick it into full gear 
  • - Finish work by 6 pm at least once a week > Totally failed, but we'll try again next month. 

 

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DIY Article diamond-shaped tissue boxes, perfect for staying in style while fighting off that lingering flu...

 

So, our 5 intentions for February are:

  • - Establish a publishing schedule
  • - Prepare the article "living my life as an entrepreneur".
  • - Keep up momentum with the patterns, the application of the month, horoscopes and a bit of "making of" as well...
  • - Finish my next book...
  • - Post more DIYs.

Don't hesitate to share your reactions and tell us what you'd like to see more of on this blog!  

 

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Horoscope for the month of January... After doing the paper kittenswe tried our hands at embroidering; we've reserved a surprise for you next month...

And I would just like to talk about the "Valentine's Day Gate" that happened last Friday, because I just have to say something... I'm one of those people who believe that you can laugh about everything, but not with everybody. But to read in the comments that I messed up somehow, when we just spontaneously came up with these lists at the office, and at no time were we thinking: sexism! Let's just put things back into context, shall we: "Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on another person's sex or gender. The criticism of sexism condemns the idea which implies that distinctive roles, rights and duties are assigned within society according to the different characteristics of the two genders, masculine and feminine" (Wikipedia, translation from French page).You all know how to read and are also quite capable of debating, we've got the proof in writing. But in this case, it's not about just women. So, my bad...I shouldn't have written "girlie-girl" but "pseudo-perfect girl" vs. "pseudo-haphazard girl" instead of "tomboy," obviously these are not strict categories, one of the readers aptly spoke about a fine line, of course we are all a bit of both. But tell me that you've never rolled your eyes when you saw or heard your friends do something that's really "too much" and it made you smile? That's all we were talking about...

 

 

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I think I can speak for all of us here in this office when I say that we are proud to be women and we fly our girl power flag high...In short, I will not apologize - we had a great time coming up with these lists... Of course I know that you can't please everyone, but let's not forget to be light-hearted, and some self-deprecating humor please, it's not only a burden to be a woman! We don't live in a world of Care Bears. Stereotypes will unfortunately always exist, and clichés are nothing more than the boxes in which we put our differences. We are all smart enough around here to know how to just have some good fun with it, and of course it is kind of the point of humor to play on clichés...  

 

 

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The launch of Wear Lemonade! Big Surprise, and we absolutely must print more out for next month! 

Sometimes I get the feeling that I should stick to posting outfits or talking about the trials and tribulations of my cat. I feel like I can't say anything without awakening the Internet Kraken. What if I had the misfortune of just wanting to speak my mind about:

- Money, in France it's such a bad thing to want to make a good living. 

- Love, because that would mean I'm perpetuating the image of the woman who is completely dependent on the man she shares her life with. 

- Physical appearance or body-type, politics or religion (I've never touched that last subject, but I won't be taking that risk anytime soon) or eating strawberries in winter... 

This is just a short rant, but please people, let's keep it light... I am not a role model, nor have I ever claimed to be.

 

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Another look at our office-sweet-office, and we hope to welcome you here very soon for our upcoming workshops! 

Translated by Ida Driscoll. 

 

February 15, 2015 — lisa gachet

HAPPY VALENTINE FRIDAY

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Hello my little kitty-cats!

Ok, so I know that Valentine's Day is not until tomorrow, but I couldn't resist making this a day for a stylistic exercise. Hold on, wait, don't leave because I'm talking about Valentine's Day, I promise I won't be too cheesy. Although in a lot of ways I'm far from what you'd call a "girlie-girl," when it comes to V'day, I'm in my element, if only my man would fill the apartment with scented candles, buy me a box of heart-shaped chocolates, and wait for me in nothing more than a sushi birthday suit, a rose between his teeth...I would be in total ecstasy... Of course, yes, it's basically a commercial holiday like Halloween and all too conveniently comes around only once a year, like Women's Day...That's all well and good, but we cannot ignore the avalanche of pastel marshmallows...So, we might as well just suck it up, and we will not turn our back on a little bit of love, nor on a singles party with friends where we can badmouth the couples in our entourage.

 

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While reading over my article out loud at the office, the girls asked me what I considered a "girlie-girl" and if I'm not a "girlie-girl" how do I perceive myself...I had some trouble wrapping my head around it, I could define myself by negations like "I don't like macarons, I prefer sausage"... A girl who likes things that are not necessarily made "for her," but more things for "boys." If Najat Vallaud-Belkacem reads this, she'll hit the roof... The lemonade girls got the gist, and we started to make a list of clichés (non-exhaustive) of what so-called "girlie-girls" do, and what "tomboys" do, in our opinions...

 

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And you can be sure that I consider myself a tomboy sometimes, but I love Love Actually and I call my man "my lover."

Therefore, the "girlie-girl":

  •  - She watches Love Actually,
  •  - She color-coordinates her undergarments,
  •  - She says she doesn't like beer,
  •  - She finds the word "dick" to be crude,
  •  - She goes to Disneyland for Valentine's Day,
  •  - Her mascara never runs,
  •  - She always has ballet flats in her bag,
  •  - She claims to like cupcakes (but she'll never finish one),
  •  - She says "my lover",
  •  - She wears eye shadow.

And now the "tomboy":

  •  - She watches Love Actually and follows it up with Pacific Rim,
  •  - She color-coordinates her undergarments, that's when they're all clean,
  •  - She says she doesn't like champagne,
  •  - Further to that, she goes for drinks at Dirty Dick's,
  •  - She forgets Valentine's Day exists,
  •  - She calls her make-up "this mess?",
  •  - She ends up barefoot by the end of the night,
  •  - She goes to Mickey D's as soon as she's feeling lazy,
  •  - She says things like "my partner in crime",
  •  - She has lipstick on her teeth.

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Personally, I totally see myself in the second list, but I also do "girlie" things quite often...Anyway, don't hesitate to add to our lists!

 

 

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To get back to our looks of the day, I've been fixated on colors for a few months now and I realized that on several of my mood-boards, it seems I'm always attracted to the same color associations...Red and Pink...Neon coral and Fuchsia, Light Pink and Candy Apple Red...Sometimes it turns into an obsession. And I find that they make for killer outfits, super visual and energized. So I did some shopping at different stores, went through my closets, and came up with my looks, as if I were working on a science. project. Thank you to the talented Pauline Darley for these photos.

 

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Look 1: Skirt &other stories, pantyhose Esprit, Heels Monceau Sarenza, Blouse with a shirt collar Bianca, available soon as a DIY on our website, and Coat Tara Jarmon.

Look 2: Shirt Bandana H&M divided, dress &other stories, belt maison Boinet, coat Etam, pantyhose Esprit and shoes Carel.

Look 3: Shirt Tara Jarmon, jacket Mademoiselle R, Pants Comptoir des cotonniers, socks Doré doré, Shoes Carel and Clips shoes Pimp my shoes.

 Enjoy!

Translated by Ida Driscoll

 

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February 13, 2015 — lisa gachet

WEAR LEMONADE #1 Dress LUISA[:]

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My little kittens, my lovelies, my sweethearts,

It is with great joy and immense pride, and with lots of butterflies in my stomach, that Ipresent to you today a project that has been dear to my heart for months now: WearLemonade. I sought out the right partners, the right suppliers, the right graphics, the rightconcept! And there you have it, I really wanted to launch "Wear Lemonade" in January,okay it's the 30th, but it's still January.

 

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So, this really means a lot to me because this project is kind of the intersection of where I come from, with my schooling as a stylist, and where my life has lead me, towards you. I really had a great time designing all the templates, all the items that I would love to wear, that I don't necessarily find, and I really wanted to update the fashion patterns Fashion and Arts and Crafts, adding a bit more zing...

 

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Ergo, I will schedule a monthly date during which I will teach you to make a garment from A to Z! You will be able to either download the pattern for free, and print out a mountain of A4 pages, OR you can buy the sewing pattern in one single piece from our boutique on-line, and it will arrive in a kraft paper envelope, with an instructional booklet, and its label "WearLemonade"... By the end of the year, you will have your own Make My Lemonade line of essentials!

 

WEAR LEMONADE #1 LUISA DRESS from Make My Lemonade on Vimeo.

We will start with the little dress Luisa, super easy, with pockets, works for all body types, and you are free to customize it as your heart desires, with little bows like in this do it yourself, with a huge flower instead of a bow, or wear it with a detachable collar underneath, make it your own! And I, of course, absolutely want to see your own creations, so don't hesitate to share them with us using #DIYwearlemonade on social networks!

 

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I'm sending you big kisses and can't want to read your reactions, check in with us real soon for more developments in the schedule! XO!

Translated by Ida Driscoll

 

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January 30, 2015 — lisa gachet

FALSE START

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Hello my little kitties,

This morning while I was walking to the metro, I was thinking about what I could write for you to day, and I was feeling good, filled with love, it wasn't too cold out, I had a silly grin plastered on my face, the song Beach House Myth in my ears, and I felt good, relaxed, loose, it had been a long time since I felt like that, and all of a sudden, I got the feeling that, despite the dreadful start to this new year, 2015 is going to be an incredible year! The month of January slowed us down, what if we could rewind and start JanuaryIf only things could work like that, so let's say instead that February marks a new beginning! That said, I wish you a wonderful 2015, filled with beauty, kindness, love and creativity!

 

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I've wanted to partner up with a pastry shop for a while now, redo their whole menu on paper, but the opportunity never presented itself or at least hasn't yet (never say never...). So, I got together with the girls from the Lemonade studio and we racked our brains to create a list of desserts that we love and make a paper calendar out of them for 2015... Although this was a long and laborious process, I think we are all really proud to offer you this calendar. You'll notice that we are all about cakes made out of paper at the moment in the office, I won't say any more about it, but it's all coming soon to theblog.

 

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 I really cannot wait to tell you all about the awesome things we have planned for you in 2015... I really do hope though that time will take its time so we can prepare surprises for you - surprises that, as you will see, often take the shape of my dreams! Here's to you, happy new year my little cinnamon buns! 

 

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To download your calendar, I invite you to click HERE. And be sure to print it out on thicker paper like Bristol, make some perforations and glide a little string in there to hang it up! And by the way, would you be into a Do it Yourself on how to make some paper cakes?

Sending big kisses

PS: THANKS to Charlotte S. and Jeanne D. for having so much patience...

Translated by Ida Driscoll

 

January 28, 2015 — lisa gachet

APP OF THE MONTH

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For a while now, I've wanted to prepare a new feature for the blog, out of necessity, since I am a connected girl, a bit too much at times. And I often think to myself: What would I do without my cell phone? I think back to "before the smart phone" when I used to print out directions from Mappy to get to an appointment, among other things... For that, I must say it makes life easier, at least I save time, and I've concluded that that is one of the many purposes this tool can serve...

So today I am going to talk to you about an application: Head Space. It's a free app which allows you to follow a daily meditation routine. Skeptical? Yeah, me too, I also thought I would end up cloaked in casual linen-wear and shaving my head. And in fact, that's not what happened. The journey to installing this application was a long one. Everything changed after an email exchange with Lili and MaiI was telling them how I felt like I was juggling 30 things at once, and at the same time had the concentration span of a hamster on ecstasy. I didn't know how to handle things any other way, so I did the best I could, it was great, I felt like I had spent my day solving international crises, like Jack Bauer and Olivia Pope were just small-time players at the end of the day, compared to me. And then the girls both wrote to me at the same time, practically in unison: "HEAD SPACE baby".

 

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It's very simple, at first the program only lasts 10 minutes a day, and frankly that's the reason I finally took the next step. For me, ten minutes is not asking too much, so I decided to make it the first thing I do when I wake up. So in the morning when I get up, I don't make myself a warm, freshly-squeezed lemon juice, nope, nor do I throw on my yoga pants, not that either. I get up, all sweaty from sleeping, rolled up in a suede Ikea blanket from Totoro, I sit on my couch and I launch the app. I allow myself to be guided by the soothing, sexy voice of Andy Puddicombe, the creator of Head Space. I try to clear my head, I picture my thoughts as if they were cars on the highway, I watch them pass by and I don't try to jump into each moving car. The explanations are full of imagery like this one I just cited, and it's user-friendly, even if the app is in English. Head Space is really well-designed and fun, with a special shout out to the graphics in this app - every step is demonstrated through a high quality video.

 

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So yes, I thought of myself as being immune to this kind of stuff, full self-awareness and all those big terms that didn't mean anything to me. Well if only I had known...it's been a month now since it's become part of my daily routine. Taking time out for yourself, it's not really a luxury; it starts with 10, 15 then 20 minutes and more if you want it. Where I'm concerned, these minutes are precious, and have become my stress reliever. I've been sleeping better, I manage to keep a cool head and clear ideas, when I feel like I'm close to the point of combustion, I can just do a quick, 5-minute emergency session with my headphones, and I'm reset again. After the trial period, the application must be purchased, for about 6 Euros a month, and then you will have access to dozens of other programs, you can guide your sessions towards developing your creativity, improving relationships with others, focusing on your health, etc...It took me some time before I was ready to talk about this because first I wanted to see if this app was really for me, not just the latest fad, but something I could do on a long-term basis. So of course I'm not Wonder Woman, and there are some days where I have no desire to get up and do my meditation when the alarm rings because I'm nice and toasty under my comforter. But honestly, today I can say I see a real difference between the days I do my meditation and the days I don't.

 

make-my-lemonade-do-it-yourself-diy-head-space4 Translated by Ida Driscoll

January 27, 2015 — lisa gachet

HAPPY FRIDAY #64

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Hello my little woodland wolves, 

I hope you are well. As for me, I'm not going to lie; the events of January have made me think hard, and made me see my daily life and my career in a new light. I was in major slow-motion mode, wondering if my topics on this blog were making any sense. So, I opted to take my time, focus on projects that are important to me and now I'm back. It's a bit like a false start to 2015. Moreover, we are preparing a schedule for this year at our office, tasty and colorful to whip our gloomy dispositions back into shape...Stay tuned, and we'll have that for you at the beginning of next week! Ahhh! I have some other news as well, the moon wallpaper will be back soon on the e-shop, and the patterns as well, and more importantly WE HAVE AN OFFICE!!! Yeah!! Phew! 

 

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Today I'm back to share an outfit with you, kind of a uniform for the new year. A pair of pantyhose that are not too opaque, because I find that they don't always slim the leg, but not transparent ones either, because let's be honest people, IT'S FREEZING OUTSIDE. So I've found that the 50 Denier pantyhose are just the right combination. A pair of slightly loose boots with a square heel so you can run all over town, a sweater dress, a real soft item, a must-have in my January wardrobe. And to avoid being cold, I always have a jacket underneath my gray coat...Here, it's a REIKO jacket which I dug up at my favorite shop in Lacanau Océan, the town where I took vacation. You know the kind of store that you come across while on vacation, where you take the time to look at everything, making you wish you had a shop like this in the big city you come from. It's because the heart and soul of these kind of shops are the people who run them, and make their own beautiful selection of what they sell in the shop. This boutique is called Couleur Saléeand fortunately, this little shop is on-line, to give you something with which to prolong the summer, or give you a teaser of the sun to come...

 

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So today, I'm wearing boots by Maje from a former collection, 50 denier pantyhose, a sweater dress from Asosa jacket by REIKO found in the shop Salty Color a gray coat from Asosa cashmere scarf from Kujtena hat I bought in Copenhagen but you can find a similar one here with a flower on it, from Karuna Balloo.

 

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Sending big kisses your way, and don't ever give up, my little kittens!

 

Translated by Ida Driscoll, Photos by Julie Perrot.

January 23, 2015 — lisa gachet

HOROSCOPE #2

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  • Capricorn: 22 December - 20 January (like Michelle Obama)

You are glum and depressed by the apocalyptic atmosphere of this new year, totally understandable... But instead of trying to make plans to get a new law passed in 2016, come to terms with things, listen to Stevie Wonder, and make a list of the great things you have in your life...And don't forget to breathe. 

  • Sagittarius, 23 November - 21 December (like Béatrice Dalle)

Criticism coming from a Capricorn can be relentless, keep calm and remind yourself of: tough love (as long as the cutting remarks remain verbal, if not, get out of there!) The first half of February is shaping up to be full of surprises, you will surely hear back about your audition for The Voice 2016.

  • Pisces, 20 February - 20 March (like Zahia)

Work: You get the feeling you need a change, you are probably watching France 5 too much, and as a result you are thinking about a career change, maybe grooming ponies, or becoming an opera singer. Get a grip of yourself, it's a slippery slope. Pluto in Pisces will give you the nerve, take initiative, ask for a raise instead. 

 

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  • Gemini, 22 May - 21 June (like Lio)

Geminis of the third decan dream of sunny beaches, escaping, and shiny tanning oil. Stop it right now and be realistic, your bank account cannot handle such fantasies! As far as your health goes, you're hanging in there, and maybe hanging a bit too much, be careful not to turn into the Michelin man. 

  • Cancer, 22 June - 22 July (like Vin Diesel, lucky you)

"You will forget", this song echoes on a loop in your head, you hardly know it, you get carried away and you are afraid of being pushed away... That's to be expected, breathe deeply and cherish the here and now, like Larusso says so well "love, you know, ah ah yeah, has no memory". Look on the red side of life: Enjoy... 

  • Leo, 23 July - 23 August (like Alizée)

Stop watching Baby Boom and crying on Tuesday nights, get out and have fun, that's how you will meet the future father of your children... Lady luck will be smiling down upon you as Venus and Pollux will soon be in alignment and guarantee a peaceful future, now's the time to scour the floor at an off-track-betting ticket office.

 

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  • Aries, 21 March - 20 April (like Quentin Tarantino)

Your love life shows no sign of rhyme or reason right now, time for a wake-up call: stop clinging; if you haven't sealed the deal by the 19th date, give up already, you are worth more than that for Pete's sake! In terms of money, all is well, the planets are aligned under the Dollar sign, it's time to reward yourself and take advantage of the 3rd decan of the sales. 

  • Aquarius, 21 January - 19 February (like Joseph Gordon-Levitt) 

You feel exhausted, you surely went overboard during the holidays, take it easy unless you want to catch mono before Valentine's day... Uranus is lurking around your purse, expenses are to be expected, don't give in to the temptation of the new collections, go on a weekend getaway with the girls instead.  

  • Taurus, 21 April - 21 May (like Nikos Aliagas, pity) 

Your job is taking over your whole life. While it's great to be fulfilled professionally, you still have to think about taking some time out for yourself, and for your better half. And nope, I'm sorry, the 57 minutes spent watching an episode of Game Of Thrones does NOT count as quality time with one another. Log off from your screen and get lost in each other's eyes.

 

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  • Virgo, 24 August - 22 September (like Eve Angeli)

If you're single, stop acting like Mother Superior and exchange smiles with a stranger, who, by the way, does not necessarily have an ulterior motive. Career-wise, work on being more diplomatic, take your colleagues' comments with a grain of salt, you are awesome, it must not be easy for others to shine next to a bright star like you.

  •  Libra, 23 September - 22 October (like Eminem) 

You feel like you are invincible, full of self-confidence, and to top it off you just found out your ex was dumped. Life is smiling down on you, enjoy it! One piece of advice though: share all these good vibes with those around you! The sun in your wake should help you out. Total eclipse of the heart, as Bonnie Tyler would say! 

  • Scorpio, 23 october - 22 November (like Alain Delon)

Single: You really want to get your body temperature rising, keep the faith, winter will not last forever. Venus in your sign will be your ally, it's time to give destiny a hand and hit that target standing over there next to the coffee machine. Really, I mean, hit that... In a relationship: nothing to report, all is well, stop looking for things to nitpick about. Health-wise: start eating gluten again.

 

Translated by Ida Driscoll

 

January 21, 2015 — lisa gachet

WELCOME 2015 CHALLENGES #1

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My little kittens!

I wish you a wonderful New Year...Oh no, more season's greetings, I know what you're thinking, it's too much, overdone, but it's a mandatory rite of passage, so come on, let's take a step back and look at the bigger picture, there are worse things in life than sending best wishes to those you love...So for the coming year, I wish you freedom, and may a part of your dreams come true, because you should leave some dreams to work on in 2016...I of course wish you love and may you find joy in everything you do each day. Not an easy task, I know, but to make it short and sweet, get your butts in gear!

 

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I love how New Year's is always filled with hope and good resolutions that we never hold ourselves to. In fact, I was rather quick to break one already, January 1st at 10:24 pm, I scoffed down a Big Mac, and said goodbye to my resolution of eating healthy. I think my top resolution this year will be to not give up. I mean, sometimes I feel like everything must be perfect, all the time, otherwise it's not even worth doing. Let me explain: For example, I decided that this year I will take my make-up off every night, practice meditation every morning, etc. So if I forget to do one of these things, I'll have to do it again. So if I forget to do one of these things just once, I give up for the rest of the week and tell myself I will try again for a perfect week next time. As if every Monday were the beginning of a new year, a new beginning, just like the month of September. So this year, I have no good resolutions, not wait until Monday to try not to "mess up." "Mess up" or "stray from the straight and narrow" but then get back on the "right path" the following morning, because in the end I will never be perfect, and that's okay.

 

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In short, I hope that you too are filled with good intentions! And goals...For January, my goals, and those of the studio, are:

  • Find office space
  • Establish a schedule for publishing
  • Get started on sewing patterns
  • Work on the next book (!!!)
  • Finish work by 6 pm at least once a week

Let's check back with each other in one month to assess and set new challenges! You might feel like it doesn't help to write down your intentions on paper, as if your sheets of paper and pen would become crucial witnesses whom you just can't disappoint...Sending big kisses and wishing you truly the best.

 

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Translated by Ida Driscoll.

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January 05, 2015 — lisa gachet

HOME SWEET HOME II

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From left to right: yellow armchair from Made.com, Moon "for love" available soon, Sofa from La redoute, Cushions from DIY and Leroy Merlin, Coffee table from Sengtai, Rug from La redoute, Wicker armchair from Atelier du petit Parc, Frames from Ikea, Habitat and Ferm Living and Miffy Lamp from chez Fleux.

Happy Saturday, my little woodland wolves!

Hey, "woodland wolves", I hadn't used that one yet! I hope you are all doing well and having a great start to your weekend, I'm back today with an article on decorating so I can show you a new room in my little nest. You've surely already seen a bit of it in my do it yourself article on Mexican cushions, but now I think I've really started to settle in. So nothing is set in stone, things may very well still change, and knowing myself I will add stuff, but I feel like it's really starting to come together, with room to breathe and unlikely combinations...

 

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Desk by Made.com, vintage chair, litter box from Fridouska found here, desk lamp from Habitat, corkboard from diy, inspired by this customization. On the coffee table: blue trays given to me by my sweet Mai, and cactus from Ikea. Hanging, paper lampshade from Habitat and various vintage frames from Ikea.

Let's start with the walls: It's Middleton pink from Farrow and Ball, and on the other wall is gingham XL mint-colored wall paper from the adorable little brand of Baartsch. A moon made out of wallpaper, done by my sidekick Alexandra Bruelnd I, one of our projects for love...Incidentally on sale very soon at the famous home-decorating boutique called Make My Lemonade I was telling you about yesterday...Today I'm telling you about my home because I have a solid gold reason. Indeed, Pinterest is launching a campaign all about decorating...Pinterest has asked me to be the Deco-Ambassador for the month of November: "For my home". This could not have happened at a better time, as I have been more than inspired by Pinterest to decorate and furnish my own apartment, and it gives methe opportunity to remind you how wonderfully this tool works... I might be breaking down already open doors but I think this may interest some of you...Mom, this one's for you, listen up carefully.

 

 

So what exactly is Pinterest? It's a social network but that's not all... For example it's one of my favorite work tools and I promise I'm not being paid to say that! Let me explain: On Pinterest, you can find inspiring and inspired images that users can pin up in their accounts, all organized in tables like virtual inspiration dashboards. The images come from everywhere, from Pinterest in a closed circuit, from the internet, from any website you can pin up your images thanks to the button "Pin it" that you can install on your favorites toolbar. In this way, as soon as you find a great image that fits perfectly with your style mode, kitchen or decoration, you can pin it up directly to "fashion", "food" or "dream home" boards. In the past, we used to tear out pages from magazines in waiting rooms, now we "pin it". But you can also take images from users you follow, into your own boards, and it's not stealing. I say that because when Pinterest first came out, I didn't dare "re-pin" images from other accounts that I followed...But that's the point, we share... But you can also import your own inspiring images which are patiently waiting to be printed and pasted in the "future projects" notebook for your home. Save some trees, use Pinterest.

 

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Vintage coffee table, yellow lamp from Habitat, Cactus made of plaster from Seletti, Floor Lamp with marble base from Made.com and built-in table and chairs from Ikea.

In short, Pinterest is like my daily gymnastics for the brain, I could procrastinate for hours on it, so instead of losing myself in the abyss of the internet, I allow myself no more than 20 minutes of Pinterest at the start of the day. I either pin all over the place when I'm not looking for anything in particular, or I pin methodically to complete a table of presentation to a client. Wonderful tool for understanding a creative intention ... And a little trick, sometimes some images, particularly those imported directly by users, do not give the sources and origins of the image; so for that, I suggest you import the said image in google images by clicking on the small camera on the right of the input box, to more easily find the origin. It's always better to know where the images come from, especially if you use them in a professional capacity and want to contact the creator of the image...

 

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I hope you enjoyed this short illustrative video! Thanks to Nathan for his patience and these images! Thanks to Alex for the song and as a bonus for your astonished eyes, here is the step by step process to create your own lampshade made of woven plait multi-colored threads...

 

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In order to do this you will need:

  • - Thick multi-colored woven thread, found here,
  • - two lampshade frameworks of the same dimension (at least on one side),
  • - Wire cutters,
  • - and brass wire.

Using your wire cutters, start off by cutting the part that will be fastened around the light bulb, cutting this area on only one of the frameworks.

 

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Next, using about 8 cm of brass wire, fasten the two frameworks together. Place the two frameworks one over the other and fasten them together at 4 points by rolling the brass wire as shown in the picture below.

 

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Now take your first color of thread and start to make a tight knot in the middle of your two frameworks, and begin to weave, choose the rhythm, and the space that you want to use between each part. As for me, I started in the middle, worked my way up the lampshade, I went around the small diameter, came back to the middle, then went around the two large diameters and I worked my way downward going around the small diameter and once again in the middle, and so on and so forth...


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I changed color every time I reached an intersection, but nothing is to stop you from making a two-tone or monochromatic lampshade, and once again, have fun! And TA-DA !

 

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November 15, 2014 — lisa gachet

MY JOLIE CANDLE x MAKE MY LEMONADE

October 17, 2014 — lisa gachet