Thursday, April 28, 2016

mothersday - free giftwrap



Looking for a real lovely, small poetic gift for your mother (or any other loved one)? Check my webshop, I have plenty of nice designs that make people happy! Besides: until mothersday we wrap your gift in this gorgeous marbled paper, decorated with a cute paper butterfly for FREE!

interview - designer insights


Little interview on the blog of a smart UK-based online textile store. Great concept, they have a long list of these small designer interviews!
You can read it here: Designer Insights Jurianne Matter

Courtesy of: Terry's Fabrics

Saturday, April 23, 2016

flashback 2015: braç island - croatia

dalmatia, braç, postira
dalmatia, braç, sutivan
dalmatia, braç, supetar
dalmatia, braç, supetar
dalmatia, braç, skrip dalmatia, braç, supetar, boat rental, dalmatia, braç, supetar
dalmatia, braç, supetar dalmatia, braç, supetar

VACATION WITH ADOLESCENTS - a challenge
Scrolling through my old blogposts I realized I forgot to mention our gorgeous vacation in Dalmatia (Croatia) on the island of Braç last summer!
It was an absolute challenge to combine all the wishes in our family...
1. Peter and I with a pile of books in our suitcases, in search for beautiful nature, peace, silence, culture and nice authentic fresh food.
2. And our boys, 16 and 17 at that time, accompagnied by their friend Sam (17): looking for nightlife, international friends, girls on the beach, cheap (and legit!) tequila and beer and great greasy fast food. ;-)

I knew this was going to be our last summer vacation as a family so I tried my utmost to find the ideal location to suit everyones expectations. Next to that I didn't want to spend too much money on vacations this year.

BRAÇ
We chose for Braç, a large Dalmatian island. We stayed in Supetar which is the port of Braç and it has a rather lively historic town. We rented a simple apartment (AirBnB) just a few minutes on foot from the center and far enough from the 'strip' with a few nightclubs and bars. We didn't hear any noise.

I apparently did exactly the right thing: the boys had the best vacation ever and so had the parents. The gentlemen went out until late, woke up late in the afternoon, got to know tons of new friends (Swiss, Austrian, Croatian, Polish, Swedish, Australian), and celebrated their vacations completely their style. In the meantime there was mommy, taking care of salads, lots of fruits, warm bread from the bakery and fresh meals every night.

Peter and I had a completely different kind of holiday. We explored the island together with good friends that came over, swam at small bays with lagoon-blue water, walked through sleepy mountain villages and yes, we read our books on the terrace, while the three men were vast a asleep.

RECOMMENDATIONS
For people without adolescents I would recommend to stay in Sutivan or  Postira. Less crowded, more authentic! Just lovely little places, with a few restaurants and bars and nice - not too crowded - beaches in the village. Also I wouldn't recommend July or August, oh my, it was soooo hot (above 40 C)! If possible go there in June or September.
Oh, and all of the beaches are rocky (pebbles) so don't forget to bring your water shoes!

Sunday, April 10, 2016

new spring designs in the webshop

  paper design butterflies, gift wrap design, pop-outpaper design, paper butterflies, paper flowers, garland, backdropbrushed golden heart stickers, gift wrap design, marble paperGraphic design, butterfly bag, black and white butterfly
Maybe you know I finally opened a small consumer WEBSHOP this winter- after 8 years of wholesaling only! I still have to find my way a little bit, questions in my mind like: Shall I stick to Jurianne-designs only? For the time being it's ok to keep it small.

I design 2 collections a year for Ompak Gift Wrapping as well, and some of the designs - tags, bags and stickers for example - are great to sell in the shop too. So I bought them from wholesaler Ompak, which feels funny in a way (buying my own designs), and now I sell them in my shop!

Still didn't make my mind up about selling small (2m) rolls of the wrapping paper I designed. Would love to sell them online too, but they are not easy to ship safely: you need a long box for a only one roll. And I don't think it's a good idea to create so much waste for only a small roll of paper. Maybe you have a good ecofriendly idea? Would love to hear it!

Interested in buying one of the designs above?
You can find them in my webshop category GIFT WRAP DESIGNS

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

me, five years later


Jurianne Matter - pattern and product designer
Jurianne Matter - pattern and product designer

Had some portrait photo's taken by photographer Caroline Coehorst last Friday. It was about time: the last ones - also taken by Caroline - were 5 years ago. And I can tell you, a womans body and face go through quite some changes between the age of 47 and 52! Anyway: time for an update...

Caroline did a wonderful job again. She manages to make me feel at ease every time. That is rare, because posing for a photoshoot is one of the least relaxing things I can imagine. Usually I stay on a safe distance from camera lenses. Next to her relaxed character and her professionalism (her photo's are always kind of fresh and crispy), Caroline has a good feeling for composition.

I am happy with the photo's, it feels like this is really me!