well hello there! how are you? feeling good today? i hope so! we are having a beautiful summer day in lisbon, the streets are bright and there is this warm mood in the air! well, though i am excited for fall to arrive, i like these days! i am working on my little living-room office corner, with my window open… letting the soft breeze blow softly in the white curtains… mr kobe is outside in the balcony, sneak-peeking at everything that goes on on the street (yes, i do have a very nosy dog!), so this will probably be a happy day! and will be also a happy day for {local markets}, as we have a lady guest with something a little bit different from what we have been having lately! bookbinding! what do you think? i would love to know how to do this… but on the other hand, i would love to learn so many things, that i can’t even write a list! the lady is ana and she has created {arte e luar}, a story about bookbinding!
hello there, how are you? So, can you tell us something about yourself? hello, my name is ana ribeiro and i’m the person behind the one woman bookbinding business that is {arte e luar}. i’m 34 years old and have, for most of my life, been involved in crafts in one way or another. although my passion is books, bookbinding in particular, i’ve also made jewelry and lots of other things. i find that the process of creating something is what keeps me happy.
how did your handmade business start? well, that’s an interesting question. officially it started recently, after my contract with a financial company came to an end. in the last couple of months of that work i started to think that i had had enough of working countless hours in something that had made me unhappy and that i had to take a chance and do what i wanted. so, this represented a closing door, but also a gate opening. this was my opportunity. that’s how {arte e luar}, a seven year idea that was in the back burner, came about. back then, when i first thought that what i loved to do could be a way of earning money, i didn’t have the strength to follow through with it and now i have. the people that have had any contact with me through the years always were amazed when they found out that i made things. they always told me that i should go into business. and so, i did!
do you do anything else besides that or is it possible for you to make a living out of your business? i guess i’ll find that out quickly. it’s my job now, i really took the plunge. it’s a risk that in this time in my life i’m willing to take. we all know how things are now in portugal and it isn’t an easy decision but i’m not thinking only locally in terms of selling my books. with today’s global market i don’t have to restrict myself to portugal anymore.
where do you seek for inspiration? i find that i don’t really seek it. it comes to me in the most unusual ways. to me, all is inspiration, a skirt with an interesting detail, the sidewalks of lisbon, cobblestone streets, portuguese traditional crafts and so on. i want to translate and interpret little details that no one thought to see in books. and i want to produce them, whenever possible, with portuguese materials, like the fabrics that i’ve collected from my seamstresses mother and aunts.
what do you do to promote your business? what has been helpful? as i am starting now, i don’t have that many promoting venues that i already followed. nothing beats word of mouth, but in this new age, facebook is really good. i also have a blog and try to be involved in the crafts community like the teams on etsy. there is valuable information there and always a kind word.
what advice would you give for those small business owners/design-makers in portugal? be true to yourself. don’t be afraid to do something different. in fact, {do} something different! always work with quality in mind and on learning more and perfecting your craft. and most important, have excellent customer service, a satisfied customer will bring more with them.
and this was {arte e luar}, the bookbinding artist ana sharing her thoughts with us. i think she is indeed one very courageous girl, for taking the plunge and starting her own business! as you may know my story, it is similar to hers. one door closed and i made a whole gate open, to follow my dreams, my passion! and i love to meet those that do the same, that take the plunge, take their talent and self-confidence to put themselves out there! in this crisis, this could be very risky indeed… but as someone one told me, regarding the right moment to have kids, we can never expect to finally have enough money to have kids, because that will never happen… and that also serves for taking risks. we can never expect the excellent economical conditions to start something, but we can start… and by starting and following a plan… that is already a great act of strength and courage! thank you ana, for being so inspirational today! {arte e luar} is a blog… has a {facebook page}, {twitter} and of course, an {etsy shop}!
images: ana ribeiro for arte e luar (click on each image for further details)
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