Daily Lemonade #7

Hey there my dearies! I’m writing you on this lovely Sunday just before taking my sparkly bike out for a spin (yes, remember, my love is a bicycle­makeover­god) to go enjoy this spring weather! Promises are made to be kept, and I am here today to tell you a little about day­to­day life at Lemonade Studio after a crazy week, particularly because of piñatas. Lisa was telling you in the last article about our Piñata Factory for Sonia by Sonia Rykiel, at the studio I’m officially known as the Piñata Queen, so well­known that it’s written on my business cards (I know what you’re wondering, the wonderful little cards were made at Moo!) And I didn’t let my reputation down for this incredible project since we’ve successfully made 18 piñatas in one and a half weeks. I don’t know if I’m ready to tell you all my craft secrets yet but I’ll at least tell you a little bit about this incredible project.

When Sonia by asked us to imagine a set design for their new collection’s windows, my eye’s lit up at the idea that we potentially could do everything in piñatas. Hold on there, not any type of piñata, my mission was to master the piñata, to make a sort of “deluxe” version!! It was a huge challenge since, let’s be honest, a piñata is nothing other than cardboard and a lot of crepe paper. Despite this, I am big fan. It’s incredible how something made with scraps, and filled with all sorts of goodies, can get a reaction out of the young and old. We used quite a bit of cardboard to make the basic form (thanks to Lisa for moving which allowed me to reuse lots of basic materials) and to cover them we chose high quality, beautiful paper, with vivid colors, some survival blankets, and most importantly, some jeans! For the first time, I used fabric and not paper to cover them, and I think that was definitely one of the best ideas in the world that we had there. The form and texture of the jeans gave the piñatas this incredible look and I think there are a lot of other fabrics that could be used, something to think about... Check out the making­of video, we’ll be back after the break!

Ah, the music (thanks to Musicalist), the colors... I admit that I’m almost sad that the project is over, it was cool to spend days in the studio almost only working on making these beauties. And believe me, over this period the Lemonade Studio has known some dark construction days, multi­colored fringe covering the floor, cardboard and double­sided tape lying around, going home every evening to discover that my shoes were coated in fringes of jeans, survival blankets... and I still find some in my pockets, days later! I think that it’s undoubtedly the ‘force of the piñata’ that is with me, that these 18 creations were surely just as sad as me to part ways. Despite it all, I take comfort in knowing that they’re happy in their store windows and that the saleswomen must look at them as tenderly as I did. My darlings, if you’re reading this, don’t worry, I’ll come by soon to see you!

We made flower cubicles that box­in the shoes, ready to be photographed in it’s little case. I started cutting out the many little white flowers thanks to our incredible Michel machine, we then used watercolors to give them a delicate pink center. We thought about multiple ways to make the branches and we stumbled upon a completely unexpected technique: a wire base that we covered with... hold on tight... masking tape. The idea was to then spray paint them to even out the color, but like a happy little accident, I had chosen a masking tape with a black and white motif (mustache and Eiffel Tower) that was absolutely awful (I promise I won’t tell you the brand), and BAM, incredible, rolled upon itself the result was absolutely stunning like a marbled/birch effect for all the branches. And there you go, these are the sorts of little things that make our day at the Studio!  

There you have it, this week the Lemonade Studio was really productive! After more than two years by Lisa’s side, I still am amazed at the amount of work that we’re able to accomplish some days (believe me, weekends are really impressive). We arrived in a hurry, with our cherry branches ready to be put into place, and in several minutes everything was perfectly assembled, and I think that at that moment we got lucky: we realized that the window/set design installations that week went without a hiccup. I’m sure that you know what I’m talking about, that moment that rarely every happens, that moment where you haven’t made a single mistake in your cutouts, you didn’t forget the tape on the desk before leaving, that moment when everything comes together perfectly. A moment of luck, I tell you! So I’d like to solemnly thank everyone who helped us with these projects, thank you for wonderful time full of creativity!

And since sometimes I think that at the Lemonade Studio we are afraid of boredom, what better than to finish the week with a little workshop? This one will go down with Farrow & Ball in a beautiful Parisian gallery for the launch of their new colors. Since the Ikea Workshop, we’ve discovered a love for deco workshops, and this time we’ve decided to make a poster with spots like at a shrink’s, and all of it covered with positive mantras. Yesterday was a ‘mantra mission’ at Farrow & Ball! Just a friendly reminder that if you too would like to participate in our workshops, I suggest you sign­up for our newsletter so you don’t miss out! This said, I’m off on my bike. Hugs & kisses, yours truly!