Everyone wants to be a Wunderkind
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I’ve just read an article in the New York Times called “Kids these days” on twenty something entrepreneurs that left me both inspired and gobsmacked. Being “an entrepreneur” myself (aren’t we the new rockstars), articles like these are my fuel. Books and tips and tweets and quotes from people that have jumped in the deep end before me, because I don’t really have colleagues to talk things over with and brainstorm. It’s just me, my mom and our business. And we each have our own turf.
Most of the time I’m pretty content with what we do. I love my job, and sometimes I’m actually kind of a loner, so I don’t mind working on my own. In the 2,5 years Lily and the Lady exists, we’ve grown a ton and turned it into an actual business with actual customers. There’s nothing nicer than receiving that happy e-mail after someone received a package. You know you made them feel good about themselves, and you know you’ve made a difference on some level.
Being your own boss means always being a little scared. You can’t ever turn it off. It means sleepless nights and stomach problems. I figured out pretty quickly that I’m always scared no matter what I do, and I might as well just go for it all the way. Owning a business is rough and scary and fulfilling and all the other clichés about entrepreneurship. But most of all it makes me happy. And I can’t imagine living my life any other way anymore. Read more..
Waterfront.
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It’s always so nice to have a sunny day off. I enjoyed some one-on-one time with my good friend Phebe at the Antwerp waterfront. Very happy that I was finally able to wear my new velvet shoes that I bought way back in January in the sales for only 10! euros.
Jumpsuit: Lily And The Lady
Sunglasses and watch: Komono
Shoes and necklace: ZARA
Photos: Phebe Van Wijk
Geneva Snapshots
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A little while back I went back to Geneva to visit the wonderful Charlotte with two amazing girls, Phebe and Lieselot. Needless to say we had an amazing time. As I said before, Geneva is a difficult city to visit when not having a local around. But when you do, it can truly be an underappreciated gem. Last time I visited, snow was just starting to hit the first mountain tops while now it was all around. Perfectly timed as well for our day trip to Avoriaz and the Studio Brussels’ Snowcase. After 6 years, it was my first time back on skies and was surprised at how fast I picked it up again.
On this trip, I finally made it to the Carouge area and we had lunch at the quaint little café Ô Calme enjoying some veggi quiche and tea. I had heard about this place a couple of times and was positively charmed by it’s library-esque decor. Definitely the place to have lunch if you’re in the neighborhood. Another great hotspot is Boréal back in Plainpalais. It’s close to Parc Des Bastions and serves one the best coffees in town. I’m no expert and actually drank a Chai Latte with a cookie, but enjoyed it thoroughly. Just the perfect warm up after a cold walk through Carouge, the old part of the city, Parc Des Bastions and Plainpalais. Because a walk though a city is not complete without a visit to the local market, we stopped by the farmers market on Rue Des Grottes on our way back home. Great day, great road trip, great friends!
10 things you didn’t know about me // Patricia
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1. I have a fear of pigeons, bats and sharks. The first two mainly because of them being so unpredictable and their ability to fly. In my face. Against my head. These things lack coördination. I will always take a detour to not make a pigeon feel cornered and fly up in my face, but they seem to smell my fear and end up almost hitting me anyway. Just ask my friends. As for the sharks: a souvenir from watching the Bond film Thunderball when I was younger. I used to think there could be sharks anywhere. Sometimes I still do. Read more..
Antwerp – Coffee & Vinyl
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While shooting our episodes for Het Laatste Woord, we focused our concept around reoccurring elements from the past. Because our script for music was based around the beauty of old vinyl records and record players, we needing a location to shoot these LPs. What better place to do that on a sunday than in Coffee & Vinyl in Antwerp. So halfway through our day we had a small filming moment in the coffeebar and also snuck in a little relaxation moment (watch the episode here). We tried a little of bit of the entire assortment from a mint tea for our photographer Phebe, a coffee for Patricia to my current addiction, a chai latte.
Instadiary #4
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//Shooting Het Laatste Woord episodes Beauty and Clothing (more backstage footage soon)//
It has been a full couple of months for sure. During the whole of September and October it felt like our time was completely filled with working, working, working. For our little part in “Iedereen Beroemd” that is. It’s has been intense from the moment we were asked until our last shooting day. We learned so much in such a short amount of time and in between we squeezed in as much free time and fun stuff as we could. Quite a roller coaster it was. Since then I haven’t been in the country a lot. Trips to Amsterdam and Geneva have been on the schedule. But more about that later.
// Working with wonderfully talented photographers: Maxime Heirbaut (founder of HEISME) / Phebe Van Wijk //
// We were in the newspapers! / De Standaard / Het Nieuwsblad //
New In: Acne Star Boots
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I actually walked into the Acne store to buy black pistol boots. I’d been craving them since forever, but there was never a right time to buy them. When I tried them on, something felt wrong. They pinched my feet and made them look bigger. Oh bugger. I tried on the Star boots and was instantly in love. So, after accepting that my dream shoes were not for me, I found some dream shoes that actually suit me. The perfect everyday shoe.
Dress: Cos
Belt: Filippa K
Shoes: Acne
Pics by Phebe Van Wijk
New in: Fred De La Bretoniere
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Once you fall in love it’s hard to say no. That’s exaclty what happened with my new Fred De La Bretonière shoes. I was happily browsing trough their Nationalestraat store at Antwerp Fashion Night, while all of a sudden my eyes fell on a pair of ponyhair heels. And I mean that literally, ponyhair heels. The rest of the shoe is this perfect little ankle boot but the heels completely steal the show. I had to have them. While shooting our part in the tv-show “Iedereen Beroemd“, I took the first chance I got to wear them. In the midst of a relaxing moment in Patricia’s couch our lovely photographer, Phebe, took these pictures.
Shoes: Fred De La Bretonière
Jeans: Levi’s Curve ID
Guest post: 7 hangover cures
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Through the years, we’ve had a lot of fun with Phebe. There were bar nights in Leuven, weekends at the seaside and home parties where the living room served as a dance floor. And a lot of times there was alcohol. And the next day, there was the hangover. Luckily, Phebe has some chemical knowhow and thus some of the best hangover cures. Speaking of an excellent party friend! We’re not people who like to keep these secrets to ourselves, so Ella & Louise is proud to present…
Guest Post: Sea, Sand & Beauty
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When Patricia and Marijs first asked me to write a post for their blog Ella and Louise, a double feeling fell over me. My heart was screaming “Yes, yes, yes, let’s do this!”, while my head was more realistic and I had to ask myself “Can I do this?” . But as you are reading this post, you can guess how that battle ended.
My inspiration came to me while I was at the belgian coast, while walking on the beach and struggling with hair flying everywhere. How do you keep yourself elegant with all that wind, salt and water? Well, you just use it to your advantage.
