they draw & cook
they draw & cook
You all know what a fan I’ve been of the artists that make together what is now they draw & travel website and of their amazing maps and drawings of Italy. So you can imagine my delight when I stumbled upon their sister site they draw & cook! I don’t need to tell you it is filled with recipes and illustrations for famous Italian dished and I’ve chosen a real classic to start with.
Italian biscotti by Aliona Bereghici
porselli – the story of a shoe
The story of Porselli shoes is the story of dance itself – as one can read on their official website. And I guess it must be true, since I first heard of Porselli ballet shoes.
The founder was Eugenio Porselli, back in 1919, when the first shop appeared in Milan. Today, their shoes and other products are used and loved from the US to Japan, and they are the subject of adoration not only by dancers, but also fashionistas from all over the world.
What I think is very important and should be mentioned is that all of their production is strictly reserved to Italy. And they are particularly proud of this fact, as they should be.
they draw & travel
Wow, I have been away for too long, and I’ve been missing out on all the great new maps that are up on they draw&travel! As usual, I’m most interested in maps of Italy, but I promise you will find every little corner of the world in here, sketched and drawn by really talented people.
Rapallo by Liz Wrights found here
Q & A / Maria from La mia casa nel vento
WHO? I was so excited when I came across Maria from a wonderful store that’s right up my alley called La mia casa nel vento, that sells the most amazing natural handmade soaps! This is what Etsy should be all about!
Of course, I immediately wanted to know all about her and her craft, and how does one start making handmade soaps!
-Even as a child, I spent my days to cut, paste, mix, and I could still continue with my list. I wanted to grow up "the inventor"! Attending an art school, for me, it was completely natural… Being in that environment was as easy as breathing!
WHAT? After some time, I started working with perfume. Over the years, I have accumulated a lot of experience, refined tastes on fragrances, and knowledge on properties of the individual components of cosmetics. However, there were components common to most of the products: chemicals and petroleum products, which often cause allergic reactions and skin diseases. In addition, all this gave me the impression that much of the cosmetics, with “miraculous” virtues, were basically "empty": smooth to the eye and to the touch, most of the time, is nothing but the result of a skin wound a veil silicone …
I felt the need for an alternative!
I started to my first handmade soap, by cold saponification. The enthusiasm of success, the benefits on my skin and the satisfaction of using something completely natural, have been a huge tow, and since then I never stopped to inquire, to produce and to use my products!
The heat of this new awareness, involved little by little the people close to me!
During the month of July, I left my old job and with all this new free time, I discovered the world of blogs: your thinking is not limited to a physical place, but it comes to anyone!
After thinking about it day and night, "My house in the wind" was born, open to new ways of life, full of respect for the environment that surrounds us. A place where you can find yourself in the open countryside or in the middle of a flower garden, surrounded by nature and recognize the scent, get all the information on how to make soap, and not only in a traditional way!
INSPIRATION? The inspiration is always connected to the territory.
From my window I see the beautiful scenery of Etna volcano, which over the centuries has inspired myths and legends. I live right on the Ionian Coast of Calabria, in a unique natural environment. The coast, also called "Jasmine Riviera", the name given because of the rich and traditional cultivation of this beautiful flower, with its intoxicating scent, precious and inimitable.
I like the fragrance of orange and lemon cake: the air we breathe in a citrus grove, has no equal! Have you ever heard the scent of their flowers, or of orange’s leaf? A relaxing aroma, a source of immediate wellbeing.
I love lavender, and more generally, the flower essences. I do not ever miss vanilla, spices and gourmet. I love the details and the little things: raw materials, which I often buy even before I know what to do, but also the art, studied for many years, is a great resource for me!
FAVORITE? My world smells fresh and clean, where every soap, every candle or butter is done with love and in a traditional way, using only natural and organic ingredients!
None of the products is made in mass, but always in small quantities, in order to ensure quality and freshness and each piece is unique!
The product that I love the most, of course, after the soaps, is the balm anti stress that you can use for anything. It’s a remedy for all problems!
I hope you enjoy my creations as much as I love them …
Hugs to you and dear Maja, who was kind enough to host me on her wonderful blog!
*Thank you, Maria, for a wonderful interview and for making our world a little bit more beautiful and more fragrant!
*All images from La mia casa nel vento
looking for contributors and columnists!
Ciao tutti! I’ve got news for you. We have sooooo many new ideas for the blog this year, and we’re very keen on getting as many talented, young people with fresh ideas pitching in and helping us make this little blog a great place. You already know the concept – Italy, Italians and all things Italian!
So, no matter whether you’re an aspiring young journalist, a food blogger, a photographer, crafter, seller, or a fashionista, we want you! We’re looking for guest bloggers, regular columnists, writers doing features, pretty much all and every kind of collaboration.
If you’re interested, or even just a little bit curious, send us an email at reading.itaian@gmail.com. We’re waiting for you!
(get the cool Italy pillow here)
saying goodbye to twenty-twelve
ho,ho,ho, another year behind us and another one full of challenges ahead. last year I went on, talking about all the things accomplished and tried in the previous year. this time, i’m focusing on the future, instead of the past.
i hope i will finally be able to put my diploma to good use a find a proper and paying work, mind you.
i wish to travel more instead of just reading about it, eat at restaurants instead of mc donald’s, and watch movies in cinemas instead on dvd.
i hope to meet and collaborate with crafters and all kinds of creative people from italy, more contributors on the blog, whether they are writers, photographers, designers, florists, hairdressers, cooks, or housewives.
i will spend less time sleeping and more time doing. something. anything.
i will work towards achieving my goals and fulfilling my dreams.
and of course, i will do my best to figure out what my goals and dreams are.
How about you? What are your New Year’s resolutions? Dare to share?
xoxo
Maja
