1. What is your name and/or business and blog name ?
My name is Francine [never Fran or Franny :)] and my blog and business is called
Callaloo Soup after a traditional soup from my homeland Grenada.
2. What do you do? ...and when did you start?
Where should I start? A few years ago I would have answered scrapbooking, but now I dabble in so many different crafts. I love DIY home decor projects, making and sewing toys and clothing for my almost 4 year old son, everything to do with photography, and this year I am taking up knitting and crochet again. I actually learned the latter two as a child, but all the other stuff started back in 2000 when I discovered the Michael's Craft Store when I lived in Puerto Rico. I love making graphics too, for printables and for my blog design, and I am slowly teaching myself everything I need to learn about Photoshop. When I moved to France I discovered the flea markets and since then I have been steadily buying a collection of vintage treasures. On the business side I channel my love for all of that into my two shops on Etsy:
Callaloo Soup Vintage and
Callaloo Soup Designs.
3. What/Who are you inspired by?
Words. I love words. I have been a collector of quotations since I was a teen. Sunshine is my biggest motivator, and as far as scrapbooking goes I am inspired by my photos and stories. I love colour and graphic patterns, and mixing modern and vintage elements together. My biggest scrapbooking inspiration is Ali Edwards, it's mainly because of her that I realised there are no rules when it comes to documenting your stories.
4. Where do you create? home studio? kitchen table? sofa?
I'm lucky enough to have my own office that I can mess up and then shut the door! It wasn't always like this though, for most of my crafting life I have been relegated to a small table in the corner of the living room. A lot of my knitting and crochet happens in front of the TV!
5. What are some of your fave movies/shows/bands/music?
My current favourite TV show is Downton Abbey. I have always liked British television, probably because I grew up with it. I also watch Grey's Anatomy, and am a confirmed Gleek. One movie I can watch over and over and never get tired is Love, Actually. Same goes for The Sound of Music which I have watched too many times to keep count. I have very eclectic music tastes including calypso, reggae, blues, jazz and anything from the 80s.
6. Do you collect anything?
Do craft supplies count? I have a board on Pinterest dedicated to quotations. I love vintage books and have a huge stack of those. I pick up vintage thread spools whenever I can, and my vintage camera collection is coming along nicely too. My guilty pleasure is notebooks and journals, and I have a huge stash of blank ones hidden away. I also help curate my son's collection of stones!
7. Favorite art/craft supplies?
Patterned paper, stamps, spray ink, baker's twine, washi tape, book pages, printable journaling cards and lately white cardstock. My yarn collection is really starting to grow too!
8. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Pretty much doing what I'm doing now, only bigger and better. One of my goals is to be able to make/grow/cook what we need before we have to buy it. Not that I want to live off the grid or anything, I'd be lost without internet or conveniences! But to really try to reduce our consumption and purchases.
9. Three favorite websites/blogs/shops...etc?
I love Karen Walrond of
Chookooloonks she's probably my biggest influence when it come to blogging. it's probably because she is originally from the West Indies, just like me. One blog that I can scroll through for hours is
Humans of New York I just love the real imagery on there. I love this jewelry by
Liz Lamoreux on Etsy. It's where I purchased my One Little Word necklace for this year.
10. anything else you'd like to add :)
I blog about all the things I mentioned here and more over on
Callaloo Soup, so I'd love it if you'd pop over to see what we are up to and say hi!
..................................................................
Yes, please...do yourself a favor and give
Callaloo Soup a visit! Francine is a fabulous blogger. I love her photos, her narrative flair, her styling, her adorable little son...
There is never a shortage of new and fun projects, tips on better blogging, and tons of visual inspiration.
And her two Etsy shops perfectly capture her style as a creator and collector of wonderful things. I so love her eye for the little details!
Thanks so much to Francine for sharing her world and thanks to you guys for checking out this fab creative spirit! Enjoy!
xo, Jenny
