Enter the Press Room with Stijl Magazine and indobay...

Open publication - Free publishing - More fashion

It's finally here...yay!! The sweet Marjolein Bos, founder of Stijl Magazine in the Netherlands contacted me to ask if she could feature my shop in her February issue...heck yeah!

The interview is in Dutch so I've included the actual interview questions/answers that I submitted to Marjolein.

Here it is: 1. How did you come up with the name? Indobay is actually a fictitious name created by my partner. It embodies a state of mind and a feeling. I was looking to launch a small brand of lifestyle goods that served as gentle reminders of a slower more thoughtful way of life. I had this vision of working on my designs and products from a cozy, almost shack-like (but in the best possible way) studio. I pictured my little shack flooded with light. This space would be simple and unpretentious and just the most lovely space to create the home goods that I imagined. My little place would be the epitome of living a simple but lovely lifestyle where one could walk around all day barefoot if you so desired. Creativity, ease and a general sense of well-being would ooze out of its every crevice & hug all those that entered. indobay just seemed like the perfect “place” to bring my designs & dreams to life.


So, no, an actual studio in a place called indobay, doesn’t really exist (at least I don’t think it does). My little studio is nestled in a light filled room in my home in the downtown area of Orlando, Florida. Yet every time I’m working on what I love I am immediately transported to this magical place that exists only in my mind, my heart and in every item that I create!


2.What are you selling? I just adore working with cloth, paper, wood and clay. I sell simple hand-printed & hand-illustrated modern goods such as tea towels, linen/cotton napkins, banners, hang tags, hand-formed clay magnets, wooden eggs hand-printed with thoughtful sentiments and ceramic mugs. All my items are meant to be simple reminders of living Simply, yet living Lovely.


3.Do you buy the products or do you design them yourself? All items in the indobay inc. shop are designed by me. The design process is absolutely my favorite part of product making! Coming up with an idea for a new design and then seeing in what way I will present it makes me so very happy!


4.How many products do you sell in your shop? At this time I sell a little less than forty products. I certainly am not short on new product ideas but finding the time to execute all my ideas can be a bit of a challenge.


5.What is the cheapest item, and your most expensive? My least expensive product are my small Moleskine Cahier journals that I watermark with a design. My most expensive items are my block-printed pillow covers.


6.How are business going? I launched my small brand a little over a year ago. As I’m sure you know, growing a small independent brand takes time, passion and a lot of hard work. However, 2011 brings great promise!


7.What is your own favorite? Hmmm...this one is a little difficult as I truly only make items that I love. However, if I have to pick one I would say it is my Simple List Tea Towel. It is an all-cotton tea towel with vintage inspired red stripes printed with Modern Text that reads:


List: milk, eggs, bread, love, laughter


I love it because it represents the idea of being happy with living simply & lovely by surrounding yourself with lots of love and laughter and very little unnecessary material items.


8.What are your ambitions? My ambitions are pretty simple. Like so many other artists I’d like to make a living doing what I love. I want to be able to continue to grow my business organically and authentically. I love what I do and I’m confident that as time goes on I will get busier and more demands will be placed on my time. Yet, my family is my priority. I strive to grow my business in a way that allows me to be creative and successful. At the same time, I don’t want my business to get so big that my life priorities become unbalanced. Being successful to me doesn’t necessarily mean making a ton of money but rather making enough money to be comfortable yet still finding the time for the other parts of my life that make me happy too. I’m so excited to see where this creative journey leads me!

Marjolein truly was so wonderful to work with! So if you have a few minutes, please check out her lovely magazine! :)

live SIMPLY, live LOVELY