Hi everyone, it’s British Jennie here. I write all of the Make Art That Sells newsletters and social media posts and various other bits and bobs behind the scenes.
Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to visit Lilla at her home and studio in Boston, which was wonderful for many reasons, but one that struck me as soon as I walked in is that it’s such an incredible space. It’s beautiful, and it’s so so clean. I have three small children, so this was like stepping into a different world for me. She has no yogurt on her walls, no one has inexplicably left a Slinky, a doll’s head and two sticks next to her coffee machine, there are no foodstuffs smeared on any of her furniture. It was amazing. What’s her secret? Grown children and professional help, of course, but I wanted to know if she had any other hints and tips to get me through the holiday season …
Lilla’s beautiful, colourful and CLEAN studio!
Jennie: Hey Lilla. I can’t find the eco-friendly plastic-free tape that I ordered specially off the internet because my four year old’s hidden it “so that wild animals can’t find it” (which, in his defence, they can’t) and my older kids are using my rolls of wrapping paper as light sabers. Do you have any words of advice for me?
Lilla says: Hi Jennie! My advice is: ditch the paper and tape. I want you go around your house and find any fabric like a stained tablecloth that you can cut up or something from your fabric stash or an old t-shirt and then sew them into a little pouch like this:
You can use them over and over again – mine go back decades, to when my kids were little – and you can make them all different sizes, even really big. Plus they make an incredibly beautiful colorful pile of gifts under the tree or by the menorah. You can even sew on a ribbon to tie them up.
Jennie: Thanks Lilla. I have no shortage of stained fabric here, that’s for sure.
We’re visiting my brother and family in Scotland this year (because nothing is more festive than a six hour car journey with three children on Christmas Eve) so they get to host. What do you enjoy about having guests over the holidays?
Lilla says: One of the things that I love and that people expect from me when guests come for the holidays is styling the table. I adore bringing nature inside, so I’ll go around and gather up any evergreen stems, any stones or pebbles, any pretty twigs that I can find, along with my mom’s painted house stones, and I might also supplement my finds with a little run to our local garden shop.
Goodness collected from outside (left) and Lilla’s 96 year old mom’s painted house stones (right).
I love mixing up lots of natural elements with plenty of candles and the beautiful gleaming metal of our silverware, so maybe some pale silver birch bark along with some soft green moss on a stone, or an old wooden cheeseboard topped with candles and surrounded with twigs.
Lilla’s table decorated ready for Thanksgiving.
Jennie: Pretty! We certainly have plenty of sticks, twigs and stones in our house, so this is something we could easily incorporate in our holiday plans.
Lilla: You could have your kids help!
Jennie: My children always get new Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve so that they look lovely and festive in my photos of them unwrapping their presents on Christmas morning, although usually I’m struggling to focus the camera due to the 5 am start. Then we also try to get out of the house for a walk or to a playground, so that they get a chance to release some of the pent-up sugar energy by screaming and running in circles. Do you have any family holiday traditions?
Lilla says: I’ll sometimes go into the studio and set up art supplies in art stations on each of the tables and maybe a vase with flowers, so people can go in there, especially my kids, and paint a picture. We set out our menorah and also like to put on vintage Christmas carols and then call family.
An invitation to paint!
Jennie: As a busy working mom, I like to relax and enjoy me-time by lying on the bathroom floor with the door locked or shutting myself in a closet with a bar of chocolate (pro tip: if you tell the kids you’re playing hide and seek first then this counts as quality family time). Do you have any tips for self-care through winter?
Lilla says: I love when it gets cold so I can go and do my hot bath every night. I take an actual book in with me – right now I’m reading all of Augusten Burroughs’ books – and I put candles and crystals all round the tub, then pop on some music and it’s my little spa night!
Lilla’s flat files full of stuff for jewelry making, perfect for a peaceful crafternoon.
Jennie: Finally, looking at the year ahead, I’m thrilled to be planning another couple of trips to Boston so I can sleep uninterrupted, and look forward to hitting 100k followers on Instagram so we can give away lots of free stuff to our lovely followers. What are your plans for 2020, both personally and for Make Art That Sells?
Lilla says: There’s so much goodness coming up for Make Art That Sells this year! I’m thrilled to be starting a whole new My Year of Art School and I’m looking forward to doing more sneak attack check ins for my My Year students. Plus I have two new courses starting this year and I couldn’t be more excited about them. Lilla’s Mystery Box is just going to be so inspiring and energising, with five days in a row of live streams plus creative ideas and worksheets, I think students are going to love it.
And I just know that I’m going to go absolutely nuts when I see the work that comes out of My Kid Book Pitch (Create a Children’s Book Pitch Only You Can Write), because my students are just so flipping creative and brilliant and are going to come up with amazing story pitches. I think they’re going to love my wacky technique for getting them to come up with stories, and I think it’s going to lead to a whole raft of brand new kids’ books being published and that’s going to be so incredible to see.
Personally, I have a fabric buying problem that I’m in rehab for right now, so I’m really looking forward to hosting some crafternoons with my friends, when they all come over and we sew things with the four machines I have here in the studio. Sometimes if we’ve been going a while then Andy will come in with some excellent cheese and great wine. I think that that counts as self-care too.
Thanks Lilla, and happy holidays!
Lots of love, MATSies,
British Jennie xxx
P.S. Don’t forget there’s still time to sign up for My Year of Art School at a reduced price. Below is a video of Lilla talking about the two different options and which is right for you.
