Claudine & Compagnie

Patchwork love

itemsrepertoire — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:40:38 +0200

When I make the collars and cut the fabrics, I always ensure to waste as little as possible. I keep the off cuts which can be used for other products and I have been keeping the smaller pieces in a fabric bag with the thought that one day I could find a purpose for them.

The weekend is often a very inspirational time for me. The studio is calm and I can focus a little on other things than the day to day running of the practice. One saturday, I looked at the fabric bag getting fuller and fuller and decided to have a dig.

I started thinking about the very essence of patchwork and loved the idea of giving a new life to those little pieces of fabrics. I went through the bag and assembled some cream linen and green liberty…the result charmed me.

The coming Monday Noemi and I went through all the pieces of fabrics and carefully created various ‘collages’ of colors and patterns - Taking the time to choose, assemble and sew each piece was so satisfying and exciting!

The work involved in creating a collar in patchwork is of course very long but the process is so fulfilling and the result so unique and beautiful that I want it to be part of my way of working. I now look forward to grow the collection and to think of other products using Patchwork.

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itemsrepertoire — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:42:04 +0200

A LETTER FROM NOELLE I probably said this before but selling...

itemsrepertoire — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:01:00 +0100

A LETTER FROM NOELLE

I probably said this before but selling your products online, as fantastic as it is in the sense that you can reach people all over the world, can be a little frustrating as you never get to see your customers, their reaction when they receive their order, how they feel…so when a customer sends you a letter (considering that today so few people write by post) to say ‘thank you’ it is the most satisfying feeling you can get.

Today, the lovely Noelle from France sent me this letter with photos of the collar she had made with our collar sewing kit along with photos of a little pouch she had sewn with the fabric that were left over. It is fantastic to see how creative people can get and that one of my products generated a moment of happiness into their lives. Merci!

If you fancy winning one of our beautiful collar Kit illustrated...

itemsrepertoire — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 11:02:07 +0100

If you fancy winning one of our beautiful collar Kit illustrated by Lucille Michieli it’s time to join our FACEBOOK PAGE!

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itemsrepertoire — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 14:15:47 +0100

Last days to order! www.shop.claudineetcompagnie.com

itemsrepertoire — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:40:45 +0100

Last days to order!

www.shop.claudineetcompagnie.com

We are having a private sale : )

itemsrepertoire — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 10:23:31 +0100

We are having a private sale : )

Love those shots of our products in the December issue of MILK...

itemsrepertoire — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 22:24:00 +0100

Love those shots of our products in the December issue of MILK MAGAZINE.

Image 1 - Product featured: Crochet Beguin (Hat)

Image 2 - Products featured: MAY Navy Collar & CLAUDINE Cholet Collar.

Styling: KANAKO B.KOGA

Crochet love

itemsrepertoire — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 00:23:00 +0100

I was introduced to crochet by a friend of mine many years ago and from the moment I picked up a crochet hook I fell in love with the process…

For a while now I really wanted to start diversifying on my product range and I had been working on a few new products using crochet. Combining my love for rustic wool, I came up with ‘LA CHATAIGNE’, the chestnut cushion.

I also created ‘LES RUSTIQUES’, the crochet slippers. I have always loved socks & slippers - it started when I was 4 years old and I used to make slippers out of cardboard and fabric…so it’s been a long time fascination.

I do hope that people will appreciate the work and skill that goes into crochet. Although it is often associated with an old fashion granny kind of hobby, crochet is for me a form of drawing - It’s therapeutic and soothing. Without mentioning the effect that it gives to a product. I love very simple crochet work, the very functional, to the point kind of crochet…

…so this is only the start of more to come.

Vive le crochet!

The collar sewing kit

itemsrepertoire — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 19:27:00 +0200

When Lucille contacted me a few months ago I was enchanted to discover her beautiful illustrations. She had seen some of the CLAUDINE & COMPAGNIE collars on Pinterest and thought it would be great to collaborate together somehow. I loved the idea - When you work on your own it can be so refreshing to bounce ideas with someone else.

I had thought of doing a collar sewing kit for a while and this felt like the great opportunity to take the concept further. So after a few emails, we decided that I would work on designing a collar, create its pattern, how it was going to be made…and Lucille would work on the illustrations and on how to communicate the instructions.

It’s funny, we solely worked via emails, sending each other pictures of tests, drawings, samples of fabrics…and after a few months of exchanges we came to what I think is a beautifully crafted product, making the sewing experience a wonderful one.

Lucille and I only met ‘for real’ a few weeks ago in Brussels. We had coffee and chatted about everything as if we always knew each other - it was great! This was the end of our virtual collaboration but the start of what I hope will be a long work friendship : )

www.lucillemichieli.tumblr.com

* WE HAVE AN INTERN POSITION AVAILABLE *I am...

itemsrepertoire — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:01:18 +0200

*** WE HAVE AN INTERN POSITION AVAILABLE ***
I am looking for an intern to join the atelier from mid November.
If you enjoy making beautiful things and need some experience email me at info@claudineetcompagnie.com and I will send further information.

Today I am working on the final touches for an order by a new...

itemsrepertoire — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 10:22:26 +0200

Today I am working on the final touches for an order by a new stockist in Berlin.

When I started making the collars I used to hand stitch the labels but then moved to machine sewing them as I thought it would help me gain time…but lately I decided to come back to the hand stitching version. You can’t beat it! It gives it a much nicer final touch and as le Corbusier used to say: ‘God is in the details’

The atelier is calm, the beginning of fall gives a lovely light…it’s the perfect atmosphere to hand stitch.

Have a lovely day everyone : )

We were in this month issue of papier mache magazine and we...

itemsrepertoire — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:13:00 +0200

We were in this month issue of papier mache magazine and we loved the idea of our neck ties modeled by children. So cute!

photography © Melanie Rodriguez / Styling: Deborah Sfez

Marimekko spirit

itemsrepertoire — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:03:06 +0200

It’s Design September in Brussels at the moment and one of the thing I enjoy most about this event are the lectures.

I was delighted to find out that this year they invited Minna Kemell-Kutvonen, creative director of Marimekko and Maija Louekari, textile designer who freelances for them.

So, yesterday I got out of the studio early and went to the conference. I was so excited. I was going to get an insight into the Marimekko’s world!

I don’t know about you but when I go to a conference I don’t necessarily want to see a slide show of products. I more interested in the processes, the turning points, the highs and the lows…how the company functions…basically things that I could only discover by being at the conference. I was a little disappointed that there was very little of that last night. I know Marimekko is about color and pattern! I know that Marimekko wants to bring joy to people! But how do they do it?! …One thing though, they mentioned that all the staff were taking breakfast together every morning and I thought that was a lovely thing to do within a company.

Anyway it was a bit of a low…but I still remain a great admirer of the ‘mystic’ Marimekko spirit.

We sent our last Gabrielle Chambray…

itemsrepertoire — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 15:23:25 +0200

We sent our last Gabrielle Chambray…

Photo

itemsrepertoire — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 22:08:51 +0200

We will be taking a summer break from the 1st – 17th August so...

itemsrepertoire — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 12:18:31 +0200

We will be taking a summer break from the 1st – 17th August so if you wanted to place your order before your summer holidays we will be shipping until Wednesday 1st August.

www.claudineetcompagnie.com

I had a lovely weekend and tried for the first time the iconic...

itemsrepertoire — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:18:03 +0200

I had a lovely weekend and tried for the first time the iconic pyramid shape Belgian sweet - the CUBERDON - It was delicious!!

We are 1!

itemsrepertoire — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 20:52:00 +0200

I was looking at my Facebook timeline and realized that today was the day that one year ago I had put my website online and the whole CLAUDINE & COMPAGNIE little adventure started…gosh! I was soooo nervous.

I remember on how it all begun…I had bought a couple of table cloths on a flea market and with one sewing machine that my boyfriend had lent me I started putting into forms all the ideas that I had - It just shows that you can do many things with very little to start up with. It was so exciting!

(sewing machine lent by my boyfriend, did the job for a while )

(very first tries with table cloths)

You cannot believe how happy I am with the response that I had so far and with the words of encouragements that I received. It has truly been an amazing year!

I still have a long way to go and many wonderful things I want to create…so watch out for that lovely table cloth of yours as I might turn it into a prototype for future products ; )

Merci x

(working out LAURA)

Photo

itemsrepertoire — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 13:52:07 +0200

Claudine & Compagnie

Patchwork love

Photo

A LETTER FROM NOELLE I probably said this before but selling...

If you fancy winning one of our beautiful collar Kit illustrated...

Photo

Last days to order! www.shop.claudineetcompagnie.com

We are having a private sale : )

Love those shots of our products in the December issue of MILK...

Crochet love

The collar sewing kit

*** WE HAVE AN INTERN POSITION AVAILABLE ***I am...

Today I am working on the final touches for an order by a new...

We were in this month issue of papier mache magazine and we...

Marimekko spirit

We sent our last Gabrielle Chambray…

Photo

We will be taking a summer break from the 1st – 17th August so...

I had a lovely weekend and tried for the first time the iconic...

We are 1!

Photo

* WE HAVE AN INTERN POSITION AVAILABLE *I am...