In honor of our Mother’s Month, we chatted with this amazing mama to hear more about her art and design inspiration and find out how these creative processes intersect with her life as a mom. Read on for more & keep your eyes peeled for a special glimpse into Chloe’s magical world…coming soon!
Your paper art and décor pieces are all so colorful and fun! Can you tell us more about your creative process—what inspires you?
I am really inspired by California and the colorful architecture in San Francisco. All those bright colored houses make me so happy!
How did you get started working with paper as an art form? What do you love about this medium?
I’ve loved working with paper for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid I loved doing origami, paper boxes and creating little worlds out of anything I could find including paper and cardboards. In art school I worked on finding my illustration style by mixing paint, cardboard and fabrics while creating little sets for stop motion animations. This is when i moved to San Francisco, 8 years ago that I started to use only paper as medium, I was so inspired by all the beautiful colored houses! Transforming flat paper sheets in three dimensional object is just magical.
This May, we’re holding our very first Mother’s Month, which is a celebration of motherhood & the incredible mamas we work with in Rwanda. You have two (adorable!) little girls, can you tell us some of your favorite things about being a mom?
Rediscovering all the little things in life with them. I love how Lula can be so enthusiast and happy about anything from a leaf or a rock she finds on our weekend adventures in the nature or a pretty dress she sees…She is so curious and eager to learn. I love watching Anouk and Lula together. The smile Lula has on her face when she comes home from school and sees her sister and Anouk’s admiration for her sister, she is the first one to laugh at Lula’s joke and I am sure soon she will follow her everywhere (when she starts crawling). Sisters are the best, it is so fun watching them grow up together.
Your whimsical, animal décor pieces make
for such great additions to baby & kids rooms! How does your own experience of being a mom (and decorating nurseries!) influence your design process?
I love watching my girls play in their nursery, and I think it’s important for them to have an inspiring space to grow up in. Since childhood I’ve always needed my room to be decorated, making it feel warm and inviting. A space where I could dream, create, play…a little world of my own! My paper animals are a great touch of color and fun into baby & kids rooms. Learning about the animals and their sounds is the first thing we taught Lula. I like to hang the new animals I make in Lula’s room and see her reaction, making sure she recognizes them - I have a looong list of new ones I’d like to make including the koala, giraffe, dinosaur…coming next is the peacock and probably the tiger as it’s Lula’s favorite!
Your little girls look oh-so-cute in our pattern-happy Indego Africa baby & kids clothes! We’d love to hear more about why you support Indego & our collections for little ones.
I am really impressed by the African women’s artisanal skills! The products are beautifully made, and I am really in love with the patterns and colors. Indego Africa is a beautiful and inspiring organization for helping the women with their education programs.
If you were to buy a gift for a new mom (or yourself!) from Indego Africa, what would you get and why?
I think that would be a pretty basket! I have an addiction for baskets, from natural and simple ones to fringed or pom pom ones with beautiful colors! They are a great addition to any room in a home especially in a nursery for baby shoes, blanket and toys storage! I have a big collection and always want more!
To shop our Indego Africa kids collection, click here