We recently connected with Amelie Vigneron and have shared our conversation below.
Amelie , we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?
I have started developing self-care habits since working on my own business. I found it difficult before to implement what I needed when working crazy stressful hours at an office.
Since I quit my job I have focused on my self-care which gave me the possibility to start my own business. I do not think it would have happened otherwise.
I started meditating, breathing exercises and journaling to lower my stress, and evacuate properly. This helps while dealing with orders (orders of products from clients), but also to have a clear headspace to be creative, concentrated and brainstorm ideas. I started to spend time outdoors when I could, going for a walk or a jog, seeing friends outside or even drawing on the balcony while it was sunny, it really helped me feel grateful, and therefore do my daily tasks happily.
There is one habit that I took recently that has changed everything in how I work: I listen to my body. I know that if I am feeling tired or sleepy I will not work well or enjoy the process of what I am doing. Therefore I rarely set an alarm in the morning, I wake up when my body feels like it. It became so easy to start working and be fully concentrated. If I feel sleepy during the day, I will take a nap, and since I am feeling grateful for this liberty, I will happily work, even after 5 pm till the work is done.
At first, I felt very guilty about that, but stopped when I realized I was doing the work and felt great.
Prioritizing self-care daily makes my days very different from what I experienced in the corporate office, but I am effective, happy and especially healthy!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
From early childhood, I have been very creative. My mom is super into craft, painting, jewellery making and my dad is a Do-it-yourself kind of dad. Being creative, is one of my sources of happiness. From a very young age, I wanted to become an interior designer and I made that happen. While working in the construction industry, I realized that I wanted to learn about architecture and design not only on the computer but also by making, and getting my hands dirty.
While being on construction sites, I wanted to learn how to put the tiles down with the professionals, and learn how to paint walls the proper way, put furniture together, and fix things, not only supervise.
During lockdown, I started using clay to make objects and enjoyed the process of doing everything by hand from start to finish. I never stopped.
I slowly created “Melisolice” a home decor brand, where everything is handmade. I pour my happiness into each of the pieces I create, hoping people will feel that joy when they take a piece home. Melisolice is about art, happiness, and liberty.
I have started hand modeling small objects, for everyday use. Often I create a piece according to a need I have, storing jewellery for example, thinking others might have that same need. Now, I want to start creating bigger pieces ! Lamps are my new thing right now, and hopefully side tables soon. So stay tuned, because it shall be great !
All this adventure of starting my own brand and being manually creative, gives me another perspective on interior design, at a different scale, that I really enjoy. I love this field I am into, and exploring has taught me a lot. It is super scary to start your own business, and self doubt is at its maximum sometimes, however, it is the best decision I have made so far. I learn by making mistakes, meet a lot of creative people, and give it everything I’ve got as I have nothing to lose. Right now handcrafting and being creative is exactly what I need to bloom into my interior design career. Melisolice is the sunny part of my life, (hence the logo) the proof that I was able to overcome my fears by being bold (even when people told me it was a crazy idea).
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
After a long reflection, I narrowed it down to: creativity, a positive mindset, and resourcefulness. These are skills you acquire on your life journey, whatever you work into. I would suggest to anyone who is looking to start their journey to think of life as a short lifespan. If you realize how short life is and think that no one in 300 years will probably remember you, life opens up. All opportunities are suddenly much less scary. Be creative and try anything and everything, you will discover so much more of your craft and yourself by being openminded. For example, at some point in my journey I felt pressured to create for work, so it blocked me. I started to prioritize the accounting part of my business and did not create for a while. I found that strange, so I decided to be creative outside of my business by going to painting class and pottery class (to learn to use the wheel) multiple times a week. By being creative, just to be creative, it released the pressure I felt, and I started creating for my business again, happily.
Be positive towards your progress and failures. Everyday is a learning day. Mistakes will teach you so much more than everything else. Remember why you want to go achieve your goals, because anyone can tell you its a bad idea, and project their fears onto you. It is tricky to not selfdoubt constantly, but if you know your mission even the people closest to you, that do not believe in your journey, will have a difficulty convincing you to do something else. Try, fail and stand back up. You do not need anyone else to believe in you, only yourself. Life skills are as important as the aptitudes you learn. Be yourself.
Since starting my business I have put the YOLO mindset on, and I feel like that can be a very positive view to have in your professional life to push through obstacles and fear.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I would love to collaborate with artists, creative craftsman, interior designers, shops… Some of the best things that happenend to me professionally was when being surrounded by creative sunny souls, ready to share their experiences and give tips and tricks. I love those creative groups, and really want to continue to grow with them. Whoever feels like that, I hope we can be friends ! (send me a message on instagram: melisolice, so we can have a chat, or an email : [email protected] (I am looking forward to hearing from you)).
Moreoever, a shared project can be so rewarding. For example, a lot of my pieces involve storing jewellery, so I would love to collaborate with people who make handmade jewellery. I recently had an idea; to collaborate with artists to create limited edition collections. Since a lot of my pieces are for now neutral colors, it would be a such a fun project for them to paint or draw on my pieces. It would permit them to share their own art style on a new medium.
Lately I have been searching for shops to collaborate with. I would absolutely love to be part of handcrafted or artistic shops. Being part of a group of creative craftsman, would be extremely rewarding. Being independant but working together, like creative colleagues.
Contact Info:
- Website: melisolice.com
- Instagram: melisolice
- Other: [email protected] (email)
Image Credits
Manu Drishti Bianca Fontana
