Dispatch From LA

A Glimpse Into Carin's Artistic Island Life

Carin, or Caatje as her friends & family call her, lives on a wild & remote Dutch island just north of the Netherlands.

She works on the small island as an archivist.

Nearly every room in her home is a creative space.  She paints, draws, makes books, and sews from her cozy island nest.

Carin is content here on her island home surrounded by dunes, forest, and sea.

She rambles around the island on long walks taking beautiful photos which she shares with the world on her BLOG.

Caatje fills her handmade books with images, thoughts, sketches, and ideas until they are bursting at the seams.

And she walks.  Everywhere.  The island is her muse.

Can you imagine living in such a gorgeous island landscape?

Carin tells me that star gazing is breathtaking here.

This car-less island of Vlieland is remote, but perfect for a creative, solitude-loving woman.

Her assistant Peer (pronounced pair) keeps things organized in her studio.

You can read more about Carin's lovely island home HERE.  Vlieland has its own website HERE with a webcam and several cottage rental opportunities.  After seeing the Nautilus cottage, I'm ready to go!

A Glimpse Into Jennifer & Didier's Winemaking Life In France...

Nestled in the small French village of Douzens in the south of France..close to Spain...live 2 artisan winemakers.  Jennifer Buck & Didier Ferrier.  They met in 2001 while Jennifer was teaching English in France.  

Now they have a small winery Colline de l'hirondelle and grow grapes in these verdant hillsides.

They lure friends and villagers to tempting outdoor picnics among the grapes.  Then cleverly trick them into lending a hand with the harvest.

I don't think anyone is complaining!

and their sweet daughters Lili, the nudist, and Nina, the tractor driver...

I myself would love to be able to find the lovely organic wines of Colline de l'hirondelle right here in California!  If you have any leads on a thoughtful importer who would be interested in working with a small, but very special winery in the south of France, you can contact Jennifer & Didier HERE.

And...next time you're near Douzens go visit and sample some of their wine for yourself!

A Glimpse Into Bregtje's Life in the Netherlands

This month I want to introduce you to Bregtje, a blogger and artist living a handmade life in the Netherlands.

Her little house has an unusually large garden by Dutch standards.  It is around 1200 sq. feet - bigger than her house!   She grows a lovely assortment of flowers & vegetables.  Bregtje built her own chicken coop and in the spring she is planning to build a rocking bench for the garden AND... get some chickens!

Did I mention that she built her own kitchen cabinets too?  She did!

In addition to being handy with a hammer and nails, she also paints, makes mailart, collages, and crafts these lovely paper flowers.

I'm in awe of her crafty superpowers!

 Bregtje has one of those extraordinary minds that excel at creative problem solving.  She'd be the kind of person you'd want on your lifeboat if you ran into trouble on the high seas.

Bregtje has a blog HERE called Dutch Homestead.  I had a lot of fun poking around over there and know you will enjoy it too.

I have some very interesting women that will be appearing here in this little Glimpses series in the coming months.  One lives on an island and another a vineyard in France (!)

Whether you're making messes of your own from a giant studio, or a tiny desk I'd love to feature you here.  Regular people making cool stuff from a foreign destination.  Don't be shy.  Inquiring minds want to see inside your world.  Email me for more info.

 

A Glimpse Into Vanessa's Life In Hong Kong

 

Maybe you'll remember when I featured Tina's home & studio in Denmark last month right HERE... 

Well this month I'm bringing you a glimpse into Vanessa's high-rise apartment in Hong Kong.

Like Tina, I met Vanessa right here in the blog comments.   She and her family are from Montreal, but living in Hong Kong for the time being.

Can you imagine?  7 million people on a little island...with most people living in skyscrapers.  I have been very curious about Hong Kong.  I can easily imagine myself on a traditional Chinese junk boat touring the  the harbor.  Or visiting a speak-easy type restaurant like THIS one.  For now I keep tabs on Vanessa's romps around Hong Kong via Instagram {dansmoncrane}.

All of the views in these photos are from her apartment.  She makes beautiful messes in her visual journal on a wide window ledge in her bedroom.  Although Vanessa doesn't blog you can keep track of her crafty adventures on Instagram, her Etsy store, and Tumblr.

HERE is a riveting glimpse of Hong Kong that I found on Vimeo.

Whether you're making messes of your own from a giant studio or a window ledge I'd love to feature you here.  Regular people making cool stuff from a foreign destination.  I already have someone lined up for October, but November is wide open!  Don't be shy.  Inquiring minds want to see inside your world.

 

A Glimpse Into A Danish Home & Studio

I've always been a curious cat.  I can't help it.   When I mentioned I was going to Norway I began to receive comments from Tina in Denmark.  One thing led to another and I asked her if she would consider sending me some photos of her house, which is in a tiny town about 30 minutes outside of Copenhagen. 

She was kind enough to oblige.  I hadn't intended at that time to make them into a blog post, but I was so charmed by her home & studio!  I requested her permission to share the photos with YOU thinking you might find them as interesting as I did.  See how I am?  Always thinking of you.  

In addition to painting, Tina also makes these sweet little bears, gorgeous fabric collages, and unique artist books.  Her talented husband moonlights as a painter.

Don't you just love seeing the workbench where all the creativity unfurls?

These photos remind me of the apartments we rented in Norway.  I will never get tired of seeing Scandinavian homes!    If you live outside of the U.S. and you want to submit photos for possible inclusion in a future blog post on artist homes/studios email me.  

You don't have to have a blog.  You don't have to make your living as an artist.  Even if you're scribbling away in a sketchbook by the light of a rickety lamp I wanna see!   I was sort of thinking it would be fun to do one of these every month or so.   Please type: MY HOME/STUDIO IN________ - in the subject line of your email.  That way I can reroute you out of my overflowing inbox to a tidier folder where you won't get lost!