Sunday, August 28, 2011

artists who blog in Vienna: Manuela Buxer


Designer Manuela Buxer of good morning midnight in Vienna suggested that we meet in her lively, multi-cultural neighborhood to take a stroll through the Brunnenmarkt - a colorful open air market selling everything specialty foods to clothing and household items.


Manuela was very friendly and enthusiastically described what she loves about the 16th District in Vienna, "Lots of artists and designers live and work here because the rent and cost of living is not so expensive. I love the lively, multi-cultural atmosphere."

After our walk, we had a lovely Turkish inspired breakfast at the very cool, minimalist Cafe An-Do, and Manuela told me more about her creative process.


Manuela and her design partner Lucas Eckhart at good morning midnight create full collections of clothing for women and men, playing with colors, textures, geometrical and asymmetrical forms. The titles for the pieces are phrases taken from songs, and she told me that many of their designs are inspired by independent music and film.


Manuela explained, "We want to stay small, in the spirit of DIY, and we make everything ourselves - from the labels and the tags to our photos and our homepage. We want to sell what is from our heart and not just do it for the money. Our design work should remain pure and not just be focused on the marketing."



She told me that they start the design process by making sketches and keep drawing and drawing until the finished design evolves. "We are starting to use ecological, organically produced fabrics, but it is sometimes hard to find good suppliers."


"Our color scheme is mostly monochromatic, but we are thinking about possibly adding a bit of color to some of our collections in the future."



"Our focus is on creating classic styles rather than trendy collections. Our collections are always works in progress, and the next things we'd like to do are make scarves and buttons."

She went on to share, "This year our big focus is to do more fashion and handmade shows and markets. We'll be participating at the design exhibition Blickfang in Vienna and at the hello handmade Markt in Hamburg this fall."


Manuela is delighted with the development of Etsy and many designer blogs, "Etsy brings the whole world into your living room. Nearly all of the blogs I read are people I found via Etsy - people who have interesting lives and exciting photos. Sometimes the blogs make you feel overwhelmed. I wonder "How do they have the time to make so much?"



She gave me the links of a few of her favorite blogs (and they are all inspiring, I've already checked them out!)

mustard and sage
calivintage
16 house
bookhou at home
hello handmade
rennes handmade
graceful lady
hpunktanna


I find good morning midnight's clothing collections so dreamy and beautiful - while preparing this post, I have been falling in love with their designs all over again. You can find all a large selection of their designs for women and men online in their Etsy shop. Enjoy gorgeous photos and Manuela's musings on the good morning midnight blog.

Thank you so much for your time and hospitality Manuela! I truly enjoyed meeting you and I adore your designs :)

xoxo
Stephanie

Friday, August 26, 2011

artists who blog in Vienna: Patricia Vincent


Designer Patricia Vincent is another creative spirit I was lucky enough to meet while in Vienna. I felt Patricia's warmth and charm immediately when I met her at her beautiful studio in the suburb of Sievering in Vienna. 


Patricia showed me around her lovely studio - well stocked with handmade, unique clothing and accessories for women that she makes individually using natural materials like silk, cotton, and leather. She told me that it is very important to her to use the very best quality materials in all of her designs.


Patricia just moved into her studio about 15 months ago after working for 4 years in a shared studio near the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna. She is very happy to have much more space and natural light now. If you are in Vienna and would like to see her designs, you can visit her at  Sieveringer Str. 18/4. Although Patricia is usually there working long hours, it is best to call ahead or email to make an appointment. Contact information is available here on Patricia's portfolio website.


Her bags are all so lovely - how can one choose? I am happy to say that I now own one of Patricia's bags, and I love it. I'm carrying it with me on every trip of my 12 Countries project! Each extremely well made bag is one-of-a-kind and is made using a different combination of materials and colors. You can find a big collection of her bags online in her new Etsy shop here.


Patricia told me that the inspiration for her pieces comes from watching people and films and thinking about what she would like to wear personally. She wants her bags to be "practical, yet eye-catching" and describes her style as "understated and feminine." She makes every piece herself by hand - from the patterns and design to the cutting, sewing, and stitching.


Yet Patricia's path was not always an easy one. Patricia grew up during the Ceausescu dictatorship in Romania. As the daughter of a Ukranian mother and Nigerian father, Patricia and her twin sister suffered extreme discrimination because of their mixed racial background during the regime. 

Patricia's mother even lost her job as a teacher and Patricia and her family were victims of violent racially motivated attacks during the dictatorship. However, her mother was very strong and Patricia says. "She was a fighter and this is what I took from her, the spirit of justice."

After the dictatorship, conditions improved dramatically for the family. Patricia's mother regained her teaching position and Patricia went to an prestigious high school and later studied Business Management in Bucharest.


However, a trip to Vienna in 2002 changed everything. Patricia fell in love with the city, and she is now very happy to call Vienna her home. She told me, "Vienna is peaceful, green, the air is fresh, the streets are clean, the architecture is very beautiful and individual, and each district has a special atmosphere." She went on to say that she feels, "Women are very respected here and Vienna gives me the freedom to be creative."

Patricia has started a wonderful new blog called Seams and Chronicles, where she shares more about her fascinating life story as well as her creative work process.

She writes, "My profession is one of the best things in my life and I feel so blessed having the opportunity to discover and start to love it at a relatively early age. My love and passion for it gives me strength, confidence... and nobody can take it away."

Thank you Patricia for sharing with us! I know your new Etsy shop and blog are going to be a success!

xoxo
Stephanie

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

artists who blog in Vienna: Valerie Tonus & Ally Michelle


My first artist interview in Vienna was with Valerie Tonus, a warm and wonderful creative spirit from California who has lived abroad for many years and truly seen the world. I knew I wanted Valerie to be a part of this project after I saw her colorful work and read her profile description on Etsy:

"I live in the land of Klimt, Schiele, and Hundertwasser - Vienna, Austria. This is a place of gilded cupolas, florid patterns, and textures so delicious that you want to eat them.

I experiment with shapes - cubist bags, round spiral baskets, diagonal strips - and color relationships - triads of reds, blues and yellows, and tetrads of yellow-orange, red, blue-purple, and green. 

I have an earthy bohemian side. I am a traveler. Each place I have lived has shaped my senses."

Isn't that wonderful?!

Valerie was very enthusiastic about my art + travel project and suggested that we meet at the Kunst Haus Wien designed by the artist Hundertwasser.


This is a front view of Kunst Haus Wien. In the back, there is a lovely garden cafe. After a challenging first morning in Vienna that you can read about here, I was very happy to meet Valerie and her artist friend, Ally Michelle, who was also in Vienna for a visit. Ally Michelle has recently opened an Etsy shop recently featuring her handmade sea glass jewelry. Click here to see more of her unique designs.


Valerie brought along many of her beautiful, hand-coiled cloth bowls and even shared her process. She told me that her sister who quilts got her started using textiles to create art.

"Making the coils for the bowls is a lot like using clay," Valerie said. "Forming the shapes is an organic process. It is somewhat similar to gardening - the result is always different from what you expect."

Valerie has lived in Vienna for the past three years, and has especially enjoyed the beautiful Jugendstil architecture, museums, rich culture, and the public transportation that makes it so easy to get around.

She finds the ornamental, coiled designs in Klimt's work a particular inspiration for the designs on her bowls. "Did you ever notice the beautiful textures in the women's dresses in Klimt's paintings?"


Valerie has been lucky enough to find an international artist's group in Vienna that meets every Friday afternoon to work together and exchange ideas. Her description of the group sounded so open and friendly, it makes me wish I could attend their meetings too.


She demonstrated for me the time intensive wrapping technique of making the coils before she stitches the bowls together. Each bowl is handmade and one-of-a-kind.



Her use of color is mostly intuitive, but sometimes she experiments with new color families using a color wheel. Valerie has experimented using various types of fabrics, ranging from extra strips from her sister's quilting projects to recycled materials.


More recently, she has been using stamps to create her own fabric designs which could then be incorporated into additional textile projects.

Valerie sells her work in shops and markets in Vienna, as well as online through her Etsy shop. She told me that she first found out about Etsy through an alternative website called Rat Race Rebellion. After working for many years in corporate management training, she is happy to be celebrating her creative voice. Valerie has her own blog and is "inspired and motivated by the many creative people expressing themselves now on the Internet." I couldn't agree more.

Ally Michelle added wisely, "Finally more and more people are out there following and marketing their passions - it is so much better than people doing jobs that they don't like."

Ally went on to say: "Every single person in this world has a story to tell, and they should tell it by all means. Blogging has returned the voice to the people - it is a big crowd, but everyone can speak."

At the close of our lively conversation together, Valerie shared a quote from Hundertwasser that she finds particularly inspiring, "Our real illiteracy is our inability to create."


See a charming collection of Valerie's lovely handmade bowls and bags in her online shop and be sure to visit her blog for wonderful recipes, tutorials, and a closer look at her creative process. You can also visit Ally Michelle at her urban gardening blog here.

Thank you Valerie and Ally Michelle for your time and encouragement! I hope we will meet again!

xo
Stephanie

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Coming Soon: Fresh Interviews with Artists in Vienna


Hi everyone! I'm now back in Munich after a whirlwind tour of Vienna. I have lots to share with you - interviews with 5 creative women I met there, and my personal travel photos and notes about it all.

I'm still working on editing the interviews, but I wanted to give you a preview of some of the lovely art, textile design, and photography created by the wonderful women I spoke with in Vienna.

Merisi took the photo of me that you see above at the beautiful Demel cafe. Indulge yourself in her many delicious, poetic, daily photographic posts on her award-winning blog: Merisi's Vienna for Beginners


Patricia is a young designer originally from Bucharest, Romania who has been in Vienna since 2002. I visited Patricia in her gorgeous studio and shop, where she creates one of a kind, handmade dresses and bags using only natural materials. Her label Patricia Vincent is one to watch, and her bags are available online here.


Manuela from good morning - midnight met me a hip, minimalist cafe with delicious food in the multi-cultural 16th District, where we talked about the future of handmade design, our favorite blogs, and discovering new trends via Etsy and the Internet. I absolutely love her chic, monochromatic clothing designs.


Valerie and her friend Ally met me at the unique Kunst Haus Wien Cafe, designed by Austrian artist Hundertwasser. Valerie creates colorful printed fabrics and handmade, textile bowls which you can find in her Etsy shop and on her blog.

Ally is a charming, creative friend of Valerie's, and I was so happy that she could join us for the interview. She recently opened an Etsy shop, showcasing her handmade jewelry, which she makes using organic materials found along ocean shores.

I'll be posting photos and highlights from my interviews with all of these inspirational women, as well as photos and impressions from my personal travels during the next few days. Stick around, I can't wait to share my exhilarating experience of Vienna with you!

xoxo 
Stephanie


p.s. Thank you to Alessia for featuring my travel project and artwork in the Spanish online magazine La Information yesterday!

p.s.s. Thanks also to wonderful Jan for featuring my Creative Courage e-course on Poppytalk last Friday! I am amazed and so grateful for the many new sign ups - thank you very much! I'm very excited about starting my new e-course in September, and I am delighted to meet you all. Hugs from Munich!

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Top photo credit - Merisi's Vienna for Beginners 2011.