The Pink Cat

A pink cat? On your doorstep? 

the school mistress says.

Late for class, the third time this week!

What is to become of you?

But - I insist - she was pink indeed. And hungry!

Nonsense, says the school mistress. 

What else did you see on your way here?

A blue dragon perhaps?

An orange crocodile behind the boxwood hedge?

Or maybe a yellow elephant?

(someone is laughing)

No, I reply, nothing like that. 

Just a little pink cat. Quite hungry. 

On my doorstep.

One hour detention, right after lunch

For being late again! says the mistress.

Now off to your desk!

  

A pink cat, duh! someone whispers.

 Right behind me. I don't mind.

Today it feels difficult to count until thirty-two. 

To write about daisies, to draw a fire engine.

To sing ring-a-ring-o' roses.

One hour, then two,

But the big hand of the school clock

Doesn´t move. 

And then it happens:

I start to chuckle.

First a little bit. Then a little more.

Until I break out laughing.

Because under my desk, 

between an apple core and my maths book,

The little pink cat is sitting and

tickles my tummy

Not my fault, really. 

But the face of the school mistress turns red first.

Then blue, then orange. 

And yellow in the end.

With pen at the ready, 

She opens my homework book:

Oh dear, my father sighs

in the evening, when he reads the letter.

And with a severe look he says:

Next time you should ask your little pink cat

To tickle the school mistress instead. 

I really think she should laugh more often.

Will do, I reply. 

And then I say good night.

***

 A 50cm custom doll for Audrey's 4th birthday, made back in Spring (I have a lot of doll photos to edit still and will post them little by little).

Audrey´s mother wrote me a lot about her little girl and did also tell me about a pink cat, her daughter's favourite soft toy. Without doubt - I had to make a pink kitten for Audrey's doll! 

I very much love the soft nuances of the pink and dusty yellow. The latter is Audrey's favourite colour, and her new friend travelled to California with an additional set of clothes (not pictured) to which I added dashes of cyclamen and bright orange.   

All photos have been taken on a sunny sunday afternoon at Skolmuseet i Höör, a beautiful village schoolhouse in Höör, Sweden, now a museum. I very much enjoyed the two hours I spent there - and so did the warden who allowed me to use a lot of the pretty vintage objects as props. 

If you are visiting Skåne with your kids, this little museum definitely is worth a visit.

Warmly,

Juliane

Berlin Recap

I am back, finally. My suitcase has still to be unpacked, I have to sort thoughts, life and laundry first...

It was lovely to spend some days in Berlin, my hometown (oh, how I missed my city, the sounds, the atmosphere, the people), but as so often, time was flying. 

Two weeks ago, I attended The Hive, the European Blogger Conference. I had been at the conference last year, and since it was a lot of fun, I decided to attend this year as well.

I met a lot of people, old friends, virtual acquaintances, new faces. I truly enjoyed the friday blogger dinner where lots of us met for a casual get together and I was happy to share a table with Anne of Prêt à Voyager, Emma of Emma's Designblogg, with my dear friend Heidi of Wool Rocks and with Emma of Voornamelijk. I knew that the weekend would be very busy and that there would be very little time for longer conversations, so spending a couple of hours chatting with the girls was really nice.

A gift I received at The Hive (and cherished since then): 
beautiful glass earrings made by Hungarian Zsuzsi Panyi

I felt a bit rushed during the conference, the whole weekend was packed with lectures and workshops, with chats in the staircase and while queuing at the buffet. Even though I brought my camera, I didn't find the time to take photos (you can see a few pictures here). Like busy bees in a hive, we were bustling about at Betahaus, the location of the conference, from one talk to yet another lecture, exchanging business cards, shaking hands and rushing up the stairs to the next workshop.

While I certainly could improve this and that on my blog, most keynotes weren't very new to me (an experience I shared with quite a few others who have been blogging for a long time).
Sadly, I missed a few speeches such as the one by Jenni Fuchs about niche blogging, the styling workshop with Dietlind Wolf and a lecture about video blogging by Kat Conte. While some of the lectures were aimed rather at beginners, there were others where I made copious notes. I very much appreciated Luisa Weiss' speech on how to organise on- and offline life, a lecture about blogger networks by Kirsten Jussies, a speech about blogging for your business by Eleanore Mayrhofer and a lecture about online classes by Sophie Charlotte-Chapman, to name a few.

The most important part for me (except from the lectures) was to connect with other bloggers.

I had quite some fun with my Copenhagen girls - Tina of Traveling Mama (who by the way lectured on how to keep the fun as a blogger, very inspiring and energising), with Heidi of Wool Rocks, Anya of Anya Adores and Élise of Élise en Voyage. We had met last year already and have been keeping contact since then. Since time was short at The Hive this year, we will meet for a summer garden party at our place very soon (if not in Copenhagen for a coffee), something that I am really looking forward to here in the woods.

Meeting bloggers from so different fields such as food blogging, lifestyle, DIY and crafts and niche blogs is fantastic. Two days are way too short for such a blogger meetup though. It was great to meet some familiar faces such as Thea and Toni of SisterMag again (a fantastic online magazine), Deborah of Kickcan and Conkers, and the German bloggers Marisa, Ricarda, Bine, Dörte, Ina, Victoria and Andrea. I had a lovely chat with Trixi (who makes pretty jewellery), with Jael, Teresa, with Imke, Daniela, Lisa, Rhiannon and many others.

Heidi did also join me and three other bloggers for a late sunday evening dinner after the conference. Together with Elisa, Tina and Zsuzsi (who made the beautiful earrings above) we spent six or seven hours chatting, laughing and enjoying delicious food at 3 Schwestern to conclude the weekend. It was the perfect ending for The Hive.

Another blogger conference will be held in Copenhagen in October and I am very much looking forward to meeting lots of bloggers at The Hive in Denmark.

Green, silk, vintage - one of my favourite dresses (worn at The Hive), found in Kajsa's house.

A few days after The Hive, I did also meet my close friend (and fellow doll maker) Suse of RevoluzZza. She is a true inspiration for me, not only as a colleague but also as a friend. I really miss that sort of creative input and exchange of ideas with other doll makers here and wish we would live closer. Seven-league boots would be an option, too (any hints where to buy these are welcome).

I don't own a magic carpet either (which could bring me from A to B in the blink of an eye), so Maria of Mariengold and I haven't met for quite some time. Back in January, we started with some sort of telephone thursday, a day per week where we discuss work and life on the phone. Eating cake and drinking lots of tea/ coffee together at our favourite café in Prenzlauer Berg is definitely something I'd choose over those extended phone calls. This time we met together with three other Berlin doll makers, Anita of Lilla Kirrivi, Julia of Von Kowalke and Laura of 1000Rehe. All of us are somehow connected, in different ways, as friends, as mothers, as colleagues and crafters, and it was lovely to catch up on family news, discussing material and toy safety standards, online and offline life. 

Despite a heavy (read: heavy) cold, I managed to meet a few of my former theatre colleagues, we talked a lot about theatrical work, stage plays, about casts and the newest performances. For those of you who have started to follow my blog just recently - I am educated as a puppeteer (I studied at Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts). I can sometimes get a bit sentimental because I work so very little with theatre at the moment - but it felt great to catch up a bit and to walk down memory lane, soon ten years since me and my classmates left the drama school...

I did also spend quite some time together with my friends Roger and Barbara at Twinkle*Twinkle (Prenzlauer Berg). They always boost my ideas, not only due to a nice range of adorable fabrics and haberdashery. For those of you who live in Germany and are looking for a nice idea for the first day at school, Barbara and I have something nice to share with you next week - stay tuned!

Other than that? I packed my suitcase with a lot of nice organic fabrics, spent hours at the printers, bought the finest Alpaca yarn for Kiki in the Meadow dolls and a lot of craft supplies that are hard t find elsewhere, and I tried to fit in as much time as possible with my friends. Now I am back at my workplace (with proper internet, finally), and can sort my thoughts on a long walk through the summery woods. 

I will be back tomorrow - with a little story and lots of doll photos...

Warmly,

Juliane

Spring Retreat

Dear readers,

time is flying, summer is just around the corner. I have seriously neglected this blog while going into a sort of retreat. Welcomed by a new place, new surroundings, new ideas and thoughts. With nearly no internet at all (a problem that has been solved now), but with so much more time to get to know what is meant to be our new home.

A strategically smart idea was to renovate my workspace first of all other rooms in the house. Yesterday  we have painted the windowsills and I managed to pick a few forget-me-not. An old jar had to serve as a vase - most of our things are still in moving boxes.

The most beautiful time of the day is just before the sun rises above the forest. Like the other morning, when I woke up way too early, and took a walk through wafts of mist, along the old dry stone walls, through the woods of Snogerup.

Because we had nearly no internet access at all, we had to cut down online time to five minutes per day (if at all), and in all honesty, I get so much more done if I am not sitting in front of my laptop. Like this 50cm doll, a little redhead for one of my customers. I cannot say how much I am looking forward to having unpacked all my boxes with sewing supplies and tools!

I found lots of violets on one of my forest strolls, picked them and dried them for tea. It is lovely to see the garden changing, and to be surprised every day I take a walk around the house or in the woods...

I found new homes for three Kiki in the Meadow dolls. More are to come in June, including additional clothes for the webshop. 

I will also spend a lot of time on gardening, there must be something wrong with Snogerups Gård, not only the grass is growing like mad (we barely manage to mow the lawn), also all my pumpkin and squash seeds were going up speedily and compete against zinnia, water melon and sweet peas (just to name a few) for the sunniest spot. With soil under my fingernails, my hands are barely presentable, very much in contrast to the garden, my pride and joy.

While I am typing this update, I am far away from my spring retreat at Snogerups Gård. 

This weekend I will be attending The Hive, the European Blogger Conference in Berlin. 

The Hive 2012 was so inspiring that I decided to attend this year again. I am very much looking forward to meeting well-known faces and new people. Most of all I am looking forward to interesting workshops and discussions and a lot of new ideas. 

Next week will be hopefully a bit more calm, I have to answer lots of emails after having been offline for three weeks. I hope your weekend is a sunny one - I am off for a dinner with 45 other bloggers now (some of us wanted to meet before the conference is going to start tomorrow) - so I better iron my dress and get ready! 

Warmly,

Juliane

Pen and Paper

Dear readers,

we are still without internet at our new place. Living in the sticks makes me consider using pen and paper for messages. Carrier pigeons would be an option, too, or dropping letters in bottles in the nearby lake. Those alternatives to emailing surely are more reliable than internet at the moment.

Until the phone company has provided us with a proper internet access, we will continue climbing trees to catch a signal from the transmitter mast. The neighbours (who live five minutes down the road) provide us with cinnamon buns, miter saw and lots of positive energy. They seem to find it very normal seeing us high up in the trees in our pyjamas to check our mail accounts (from time to time we do succeed and can load half an email on the mobile phone). 

Please stay patient - and keep your eyes open for carrier pigeons, letters in bottles and the like, just in case. I promise to work off the virtual pile of emails as soon as possible (preferrably not in a treetop and properly dressed ;-)

Warmly,

Juliane

Favourite Spot

A new home, a new favourite spot.

An weathered bench next to the stairs with all the flower pots.

Seven o'clock in the morning, I sit here with soft sunlight on my face and bird twitter in my ears, 

with coffee and my sketchbook.

In the evenings, when the sun has taken its course around the house, 

I sit here again, watch the cranes and bid the day farewell.

Wood Anemones

A new place, an old garden. 

The meadow behind the house looks like a white sea of wood anemones. 

 Buschwindröschen in my mother tongue, vitsippor in Swedish, Anemone nemorosa in Latin. 

They grow everywhere, along the old dry stone walls, under the chestnut trees and between the quince bushes.

When we took a late night walk yesterday, the air was filled with the sweetest scent of wild orchids that hide in the beech woods. Soon the lily of the valley starts blooming.

I don´t have a proper workspace yet, but I am busy nonetheless. Painting walls, stripping old kitchen cupboards, unpacking boxes. The sewing machine has to wait.

Have a sunny day!

♥

Visiting Kajsa

Last friday I visited Kajsa.

Actually her name was Karin. But everyone called her Kajsa.

She lived in a yellow villa in Ballingslöv. Next to another yellow house called Haga Huset. Kajsa was born that house, 95 years ago, and when she got married, she and her husband built a house next to her birthplace, on the other side of the fence. A yellow villa, with a beautiful old garden and a small attic window that looks like half an orange.

Kajsa has passed away last November. Her husband had died many years ago, and the couple had no children. The local church parish got appointed as Kajsa´s heir, and inherited the yellow villa. They sold the house a few days ago, with everything in it, furniture, tea cups, table cloths.

I have never met Kajsa but when the house got a new owner, a member of the church parish asked me if I was interested in some vintage clothes. I didn't expect much, because nowadays the word vintage gets used quite often, but then I decided to visit Kajsa. Or at least her yellow villa, in Ballingslöv, next to Haga Huset, with the beautiful old garden where the rhubarb is growing under the apple tree.

It was a sunny day, and the first thing I saw when I came to Kajsa´s house were the many bird feeders in her garden, the neatly cut hedge. I went up the weathered stairs, entered a small hall and stood right in Kajsa's kitchen. The tea kettle on the stove in the kitchen, the dish drainer with two cups on it - everything looked as if Kajsa had just been out on errands and would come back any minute with cinnamon buns and a milk bottle in her string bag.

Dust motes dancing in the sunlight. The dining room, the parlour. Kajsa's woollen cardigan on the coat rack in the hall, the French soap in the tiny bathroom. As if the time had stood still.

I took a look at every small detail. The handwritten cards, a lavender sachet in one of the drawers, the ivory brooch on the bedside table. Beautiful old wallpaper, adorable stencil paintings on walls and doors, pretty accessories and lace curtains. Kajsa's husband had been a furniture manufacturer and he had made most of the furniture in the house, and probably he also made her a box for all the letters she received from her family and friends.

Thomas, the new owner, decided to keep most of Kajsa's things, he wants to gently renovate the house and try to preserve as many details as possible. Restore the 1930's wallpaper, paint the beautiful old radiators, fix the windows. He has no use for vintage clothes whatsoever, and I felt very blessed that I was allowed to take a look at every cupboard and wardrobe. From time to time I could hear Thomas somewhere in the house when he had found something that he thought I´d like. A pretty handbag, a beautiful collar.

Just when I thought I would have found the most adorable things, I discovered a small door upstairs. First I thought it was just another door, like for a cupboard or the like. But when I opened it, there was a teeny tiny staircase which led up to the attic. I had to crawl up the stairs because of the pitch of the roof, and I truly felt like Alice in Wonderland - everything seemed to be very small, as if it was built for a child. 

The attic was very dusty, and I couldn't stand upright, so I had to crawl on all fours.

I also found lots of empty boxes, old magazines from the 1930's and several old diaries.

Where the pretty little window was, the one that had the shape of half an orange, there was a clothes rack. Seven beautiful old dresses and three coats. It truly was like in a dream of a vintage lover!

Since the staircase was so tiny, I had to throw each single piece downstairs, which sounds horrible, I know. But I had a hard time fitting through it (and I am definitely not of the chubby kind), it would have been impossible to crawl downstairs with a pile of clothes on my arm...

I can´t believe that I went home with about 20 vintage dresses, with woollen coats and other beautiful little finds. Old place cards and lace, tea cups and a pretty collar - for a token amount of money, 100 Swedish Crowns (about 11€). Usually I don´t like writing about prices, but I felt so lucky - and so did Thomas, the new owner of the house, when he saw my shining eyes. 

I tried on each of the dresses, and they fit perfectly. Kajsa must have been of a petite build even as an old lady, and several of her dresses had been made smaller - I could see that someone had been done some changes to make them fit. There were one or two dresses which seem a bit tight though, they look like the dresses Kajsa has worn for her first ball as a young girl, with fourteen, fifteen.

I took a lot of photos when I visited Kajsa in Ballingslöv.
A chest of drawers in the master bedroom, a beautiful cupboard in the upper hall, the spice rack and a box with old letters, an embroidered heart with lavender on the wall - and the most beautiful doll carriage. I decided to share only a few impressions here on my blog, it feels a little private to share so much of someone else´s home, but I am sure Kajsa would have been fine with me showing a few glimpses here. 

Thomas has invited me to visit the house again in a few weeks, when he has done a few things. I hope the sun will shine so that we can take a cup of tea in Kajsa´s garden.

Sending you sunny greetings,

Juliane

Kiki in the Meadow: Shop Update

Two Kiki in the Meadow Dolls are looking for a new home in my webshop.

Each Kiki is 32cm tall and comes with a pretty dress, undies, leggings
and shoes in a matching tote bag 

together with a sewing kit and a lavender sachet.

Both girls can be found here. 

Please note that these dolls aren´t suitable for children 36 months and younger as they contain small parts which could be a choking hazard. Each of the dolls is thoroughly made with a lot of love and care.

Have a sunny day!

Juliane

Update: Both sets have found a new home. Thank you.