hello friends, i am back for another {local markets} edition and as usual, i will share a national talent, this time concerning handmade things with so much love. i am not sure if you have noticed, but several artists that embrace this handmade life feel inspired by their children. pregnancy & motherhood makes a woman stop for while… and then often she explores another side of her… finding herself.
today we have a different story, still a real life-story… and in common with all the others… everything is made with love.
{rosa e chocolat via flickr}
amor = love
her name is isabel… and she is portuguese. let us meet this lady!
{rosa e chocolat via flickr}
can you tell us something about yourself?
my name is isabel freire, i live in coimbra and i am 46. i am an interior designer, a wife and a mom of two: a 12 year-old boy and a 7 year-old girl. right now i am home, dedicating myself exclusively to {rosa e chocolat}… besides a wife and a mother, of course! i always had an appetite for creative work, my mother taught me and my sister how to knit, crochet and embroidery at a very early age, and there were always thread, wool and fabrics at home. on the other hand, my dad was more concerned about brushes, canvas, papers and pencils, so influence came from all sides back at home.
my name is isabel freire, i live in coimbra and i am 46. i am an interior designer, a wife and a mom of two: a 12 year-old boy and a 7 year-old girl. right now i am home, dedicating myself exclusively to {rosa e chocolat}… besides a wife and a mother, of course! i always had an appetite for creative work, my mother taught me and my sister how to knit, crochet and embroidery at a very early age, and there were always thread, wool and fabrics at home. on the other hand, my dad was more concerned about brushes, canvas, papers and pencils, so influence came from all sides back at home.
how did {rosaechocolat} start?
it all started with some pillows i made for my beach house and back then i decided to upload some photos on flickr. everyone told me that those things i was doing as gifts for my friends were lovely and i ended up deciding i would upload some pictures on the web and wait for people’s reaction, mainly from those who did not know me. it was a fantastic experience, soon i had lots of reactions, lots of comments and one thing lead to another… and it has been four years now. i have also met great people on the internet that helped me in a great way both in tips, explanations and they are a huge inspiration to me! thank you my friends!
what inspires you?
i am inspired by beautiful things! my friends from work, the sun or rain, smiles, simple things that happen on a daily basis… and architecture and design, of course! painting, illustration, colours, texture… as you may noticed i love mixing things, so maybe it also inspires me.
what advice can you give for those small business owners in our country?
i would say to try to be as original as possible, because doing the same as everybody else… will lead nowhere. be persistent. i know sometimes it is difficult and a little daunting, but without persistence, hard work and perserverance, victory is not as tasty as it could be, right?
i would say to try to be as original as possible, because doing the same as everybody else… will lead nowhere. be persistent. i know sometimes it is difficult and a little daunting, but without persistence, hard work and perserverance, victory is not as tasty as it could be, right?
what do you think would be helpful for small business owners in our country?
we live in a small country that still thinks that you must buy what is cheap. so it’s always hard to live from sales in our country. but in order to achieve other markets you need to belong to a community, such as etsy, which will give you a greater visibility. it is hard to survive in a country where everyone finds things really pretty, but then find them too expensive to buy. it is hard when people do not think about the time spent in making by hand something in particular, the care and tender we put in everything that is handmade. handmade does not mean putting all ingredients in a machine in order to mix and end up with something industrially made.
and this was the {local markets} edition for this week! it is curious because the exact reason why isabel told us that it is hard to sell handmade in portugal, was the very much reason why i have decided to create {local markets}… in order to promote national talent. and yet, also this is a very slow movement. i believe that we should unite. really unite. i believe in joint ventures. we can go far alone… but if we go together we can reach much more.
by the way, you can find {rosa e chocolat} on… {flickr}, {etsy} & {blog}! do not miss a chance to say hello!
you can read all the previous interviews back in november, as i set up a monthly calendar… for you (click on the calendar… it will take you on a journey!)
and with this i say farewell for today my friends! i am having a super duper busy day today, cooking for my friends + baking for a birthday cake… and i expect nothing but having a sweet & entertaining evening with a glass of red wine, laughing with my friends!
see you tomorrow, sweet friends!
xoxo, twiggs
isabel f. says
:)))
well….that´s me!! :)
thank you, Claudia
xoxo
Brooke says
have a great day baking and cooking! I love all of this! SO CUTE.
isabel f. says
and Happy Birthday, dear!!!
again :))
xoxo
lila Check says
happy birthday my dear!! lovely post today too!
hugs
lila
Sílvia says
Tudo tao amoroso. Gostei muito!
Aina says
I love your blog, delicate with amazing photos!
Ciao
Aina
{twiggs} says
hello sweet friends, how are you? thank you so much for your wishes and for loving these amazing handmade things by {rosa e chocolat}… completely adorable! no wonder lady isabel had such positive feedback when she started!
thank you isabel for being here! :)
hugs, twiggs
Yvonne Stehle says
Happy belated Birthday Dear!
And thank you for hosting Isabel here. She makes the most precious things! We had a mutual inspiration once and she made an Istanbul pillow for me and I made a collage for her. That was so sweet!
Yvonne