Friday, December 2, 2016

please visit our website



Friday, August 7, 2015

Very nice meeting in Ribnica


Perfect use of XXL Mimica! Children know how to do that!

Do you know what tey say: the most honest and sincere human being are children
That is why I am so proud and happy about event which took place in Ribnica in Slovenia.
But let me tell from the begining. One day I got email from boy named Matic (ok, the emial was written by his mum).In the emial they asked me to come to they city- Ribnica with Mimice. Matic's mother wrote that boy was so impressed by Mimice characters and their story that he wished to invite me as a special guest in his school project - interview with somebody special. 
Wow! I was so proud! It was the best compliment ever. 
Of course I agree. 
We packed our little family and a big family of Mimice and we went to Ribnica for a very special meeting and interview in primary school. 
The meeting was amazing. 
Children are sincere and honest and they give their feedback immediately. 
Childrens' reactions to Mimice were unforgettable and very, v
ery precious! 
It was so much fun and happines!
It was the best feedback ever.
I felt very honoured to be special guest of young gentleman Matic! 

it was honour to be guest of young journalist Matic
We were talking about Mimice
But the most precious for me was children's reaction on XXL Mimica - they are the reason why we do Mimice!

Here you can find the interview. It is in orginal language- in Slovene:
Matic: »Predstavil vam bom slikarko Marysio. Marysia prihaja iz Poljske. Risala je že kot otrok. Kot zanimivost naj povem, da so ji njeni starši pustili slikati po stenah. Morda se je zaradi odločila za poklic slikarke. Marysia riše in slika motive za razglednice, čestitke, ilustrira otroške knjige in še veliko drugih stvari. Je tudi magistra restavratorstva in konzervatorstva. Kaj to pomeni, nam bo najbolje razložila sama. Njen najnovejši projekt pa so Mimice. Mimice so prikupne plišaste igračke, ki si jih želi vsak otrok. O Marysi me zanima še veliko stvari, zato ji bom sedaj zastavil nekaj vprašanj«.
Matic: Kdo te je navdušil za slikanje?
Marysia: Oba moja starša sta akademska umetnika in odraščala sem v domu polnem barv, svinčnikov in gline. Od kar pomnim so bile barve moje najljubše igrače. Namesto slikanic z W. Disneya sem doma imela albume z reprodukcijami umetnikov. Res je, da sta moja starša dovolila, da skupaj z mojim bratom riševa po stenah v eni sobi. Starša pa sta nama dovolila tudi, da rišem na velikih listih papirja (ne na majhnih lističih), da uporabljam velik čopič. Spodbuja sta razvoj moje domišljije. Recimo nikoli nista mi rekla: “Ne slikaj zelenega konja, saj konji niso zeleni”- vedela sta, da so lahko konji v otroškim svetu tudi zeleni. Dovolila sta mi, da se svobodno izražam v risanju - kako doživljam svet, ki ga vidim in izkušam.
Matic: Kako je izgledala tvoja soba, ko si bila otrok?
Marysia: Imela sem veliko igrač (zdaj vem, da preveč:) in na stenah obešene slike - moje portrete, ki jih je slikala moja mama. Imela sem tudi veliko slik, ki sem jih sama naredila. Ko sem bila v osnovni šoli, sem imela na stenah modre ptičke in roza oblake.
Matic: Kakšno šolo si obiskovala?
Marysia: Obiskovala sem osnovno šolo na Poljskem, potem tudi gimnazijo, ki se ji pri nas reče “LICEUM”, potem pa sem šla študirati na univerzo v Toruniu na Poljskem.
Matic: Zakaj si se odločila, da boš slikarka?
Marysia: Mislim, da se nisem potrebovala posebej odločiti za “postati sikarka”. Slikanje in umetnost sta bila vedno nekaj tako naravnega , da si ne predstavljam druge možnosti. Ne predstavljam si, da ne slikam ali ne rišem. Slikam zato, ker je to moj način, da nekaj izrazim. Eni ljudje, ki zanjo lepo uporabljati besede pišejo knjige ali poezijo, drugi namesto besed uporabljajo barve in oblike, še tretji, ki znajo recimo dobro kuhati ustvarjajo umetnine v kuhinji….:-)
Matic: Ali se je težko naučiti slovenščine?
Marysia: Ni težko in ni lahko hkrati:) Ni težko, ker sta oba jezika - poljščina in slovenščina slovanska jezika in sta si podobna. Težko je bilo zato, ker so ene besede v obeh jezikih enake, ampak pomenijo nekaj drugega. Včasih je to zelo smešno. Tudi dvojine pri nas ni. Na Poljskem če sta dva - to je že množina. Zelo se trudim uporabljati dvojino, ampak vem, da še vedno delam napake. No, upam, pa da se bom enkrat naučila tudi to.
Matic: Kako se lahko spomniš toliko različnih slik?
Marysia: Ne rabim se jih spomniti:) Slikam to kar vidim, kar čutim. Slikam to kar opazim v vsakdanjem življenju. Vsak da je poln lepih presenečenj, zgodb, samo pozorni moramo biti, da jih lahko opazimo in se začudimo nad temi majhnimi dogodki, ki so tako lepi, čeprav tako “normalni”. Ne potrebujem “ognjemeta” za navdih, včasih je dovolj sprehod v naravi ali rožica, ki mi jo prineseta s sprehoda mož in hči:)
Matic: Kaj pomeni restavrator?
Marysia: Restavrator je poklic, pri katerem popravljaš uničene umetniške stvari. Veliko lepih stvari je uničenih - so pač uničene zaradi starosti, mogoče jih je zalila voda, mogoče je bil požar ali se je zgodila kakšna nesreča. In ker želimo, da določene stvari obstajajo čim dlje časa, je restavrator-konservator ta oseba, ki za to skrbi.
Matic: Ali nam lahko poveš kakšen stavek v poljščini?
Marysia: Cześć, jestem Marysia i bardzo się cieszę, że mogę być dziś z wami!
Povej nam kaj več o teh zanimivih Mimicah!
Marysia: Ker imam otročka mi je zelo pomembno, da moji hčerkici dam dobro, lepo, kvalitetno igračo. Na žalost nisem našla takšne… zato sem se odločila sama narediti igračo za mojo hčerko. Tako so nastale prve Mimice.
Potem se je izkazalo, da veliko staršev hoče za svoje otroke dobre igrače in dobre junake. Ampak ker nimajo velike izbire, morajo otročkom kupiti igračko, ki je raje ne bi… Hotela sva, da so Mimice všeč tako otrokom kot tudi staršem, zato sva se dolgo pogovarjala tako z otroci, kot z njihovimi starši. In poslušala sva, kakšno igračo bi radi, kako se želijo igrati in kaj to za njih pomeni, da je igrača dobra in da je junak dober.
Mimice so dobri junaki, ki otroku prinašajo dobro sporočilo.
Mimice hočejo, da se imamo radi in da spoštujemo sami sebe, druge ljudi in naravo:)
Mimice so igrače, ki so izdelane iz blaga, ki je odpadno v tekstilni proizvodnji. Naše Mimice šivajo invalidi in drugi ljudje, ki nimajo službe in so zaradi tega zelo žalostni. Vsaka Mimica je ročno delana, na koncu pa ima ročno našit obraz. Mimice šivamo lokalno - to pomeni, da ne prihajajo k nam od daleč, recimo iz Kitajske ali Taiwana, ki so zelo, zelo daleč - čez morje in čez hribe, ampak so Mimice šivane tukaj - v Sloveniji z izključno slovenskim materialom.

We watch short movie about Mimice - it was great fun as you can see ;-)

All together 
*all photos used in this post were taken by teachers and are available to the public on the internet page of Primary School in Ribnica

Monday, April 27, 2015

Ferfel - social Entrepreneurship competition



About our idea of Mimice I already wrote here (click). 

Last few months we are working very hard and developing our idea, looking for partners, searching for best solutions, and learning thousands of new things. The truth is that I had no idea about "making toy business" and about many other things before I stepped into the business with social impact. So many things in our life looks so easy and simple "observing" it from far away, but you look a little bit closer, the view changed totally...

It is not easy time :)

We are facing with a lot of difficulties. But also we have very beautiful moments and amazing confirmations of our project. We learn from difficult moments and we charge our batteries on beautiful ones. It is the only right thing to do as long there will be ups and downs.

Very great "up" for us was experiece of the Ferfl competition.

Tomaž and the Giant MiMiCa

Everything started with meeting Tomaž (about Tomaž and about his job you could read here- click).
With Tomaž we met on a workshop about "business for begginers". 
I was on that lecture "by chance". And Tomaž was the one who had a lecture. It was very good lecture about social Entrepreneurship and about starting your own business. It was so good lecture that I decided to stay after it and talk with him and ask him some more questions. And then a miracle happened - me, completely anti-business person started to think about having one ;-) I ve had my artistic head full of ideas and ideals. With Tomaž we met few more times. He gave us a lot of great hints and he helped us to establish our Institute of Culture "Mimi in Jojo". Also he was the one who told us about the Ferfl and encourage us to enter this competition.

Ferfl is a program specialized in social Entrepreneurship. They are working on promotion of ideas with social impact. And lately they organized a competition for the best social impact idea, one of the biggest contest in Slovenia country.
More then 500 innovative ideas entered the competition. 
Only six of them were choosen for "course on social Entrepreneurship" and our MiMiCe were among them! After one month, after intensive course of entrepreneurship, after lectures, workshops, meetings and hard work on developing ideas we had a final competition. On the special event every team, every idea had three minutes of time for "an elevator speech" to convincea jury. 
And the idea who convinced and inspire jury the most was.... MIMICE !!!
We were so happy to get this great confirmation!!!
Now next three month we have possibility to be part of business incubator in Dplac (click) and use some mentoring and advisors for developing our Mimice. 

Keep your fingesr crossed for our Mimice! :-)


Having an elevator pitch.


Mimica in hands of jury

Our little Kalina were all the time with us. She is the reason for the begining of our Mimice and she is so sweet, little helper in all this project. She was with me on stage playing with Mimice while I was pitching. In my opinion the true is that she was the one who convinced jury :)







Our happines when we were announced winner was VEERY BIG!


And first interview for Slovenian television. As you can see in video (to watch it click here), we were still in big, strong emotions :-)

We were also in some newspappers:)
"Novice":
"Ferfl je program spodbujanja idej z družbenim učinkom, ki podjetnikom pomaga na poti do uresničitve njihovih sanj. Letos je svoje ideje na preizkušnjo postavilo preko 500 inovativnih ekip.
Od mnogih zanimivih idej je do konca programa uspelo priti le šestim ekipam, ki so nato približno en mesec svoje znanje izpopolnjevale v Šoli podjetništva z družbenim učinkom. 11. decembra sta bili dve izmed idej izbrani kot zmagovalni.
Inovativna podjetnika, ki sta ustvarila prvi zmagovalni projekt, MiMiCe, sta mlada starša Marija Magdalena Szmatula Černe in njen partner Jošt. Njune MiMiCe so igrače iz recikliranih materialov, ki jih ustvarjajo šivilje iz ranljivih skupin, kot so imigranti, invalidi in drugi težje zaposljivi posamezniki. Igračke sta sprva izdelovala sama, za svojo hči Kalino, sedaj pa razmišljata tudi o knjigah in risankah, kjer bodo glavne junakinje prav MiMiCe. Ker Marija Magdalena prihaja iz Poljske, že razmišlja, da bi svojo poslovno idejo razširila tudi v tujino."

"Dnevnik":
"Prva zmagovalna ekipa, ki se je uvrstila v socialno podjetniški inkubator, je mlada družina, ki je v zadnjem mesecu razvijala svojo idejo v Šoli podjetništva z družbenim učinkom. Marija Magdalena Szmatula Černe je mlada mamica iz Poljske, ki že več let živi v Sloveniji. S partnerjem Joštom imata malo hčerko Kalino, ki je glavna pobudnica njune podjetniške ideje - MiMiCe. MiMiCe so unikatne igrače za otroke iz recikliranega materiala. Igrače ustvarjajo pridne roke šivilj iz ranljivih skupin (invalidi, migranti, težje zaposljivi).
Od prvotne ideje, ko sta za svojo hčerko začela izdelovati igrače iz recikliranega materiala, sta sedaj, po enomesečnem obiskovanju Ferfl podjetniške šole, navdušena nad širitvijo posla. Poleg šivanja MiMiC pripravljata tudi knjige, kjer bodo junaki - MiMiCe - skozi učno pomoč reševali različne probleme. V prihodnosti pa želijo zgodbo povezovati tudi z risanko o MiMiCah. “Na začetku sva razmišljala samo o šivanju MiMiC, ob močnem podpornem okolju Ferfla, v katerem delujeva v zadnjih mesecih, pa sva dobila ogromno novih idej in zagona za razširitev zgodbe. Naredila sva tudi raziskave na terenu, kjer nas je zanimalo, kaj si starši želijo za svoje otroke.” je povedala Marija Magdalena, ki že načrtuje širitev blagovne znamke tudi v tujino."

loves! xoxoxoxo!
p.s. Photos made be Jernej Kokol- young and very talented photographer (click).

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

MiMice- the story



I wasn't here a lot lately. To be honest and real I was absent for good, few months... 
Some of you sweet people follow us on facebook and you know what is going on, but some of you probably wonder why I am not here for so long time. 
I wish to tell you a litle story about what I am doing now. For sure you already noticed my toys. I have alredy shown them few times on blog (like here or here) but I am not sure how much you know about them and about all idea of .
Nevertheless I think I owe you this post:)


Our toys- Mimice are created from love. 
I started to creating them when we realized we were about to become parents. I wished to create some beautiful welcome present for my daughter. In the same time with Joštt we were talking a lot about children, discussing about upbringing and also about toys, books and games which are available in shops. Joštt as a kindergarden teacher (yes! I have this luck to be wife of man who is working in kindergarden!!!) has a lot experiences and observations about the way children play and about influence a toy can have on child behaviour. 

As all parents we wish to give to our child the best we can. Of course we want our daughter to be healthy and happy. We wish that she develops well and become smart and intelligent girl and woman. But above all we want her to grow into compassionate, good and loving person. We soon discovered a common issue, which was the absence of toys that would support the emotional development and imagination of our children. We also noticed an absence of heroes with strong characters that would inspire our children with great positive messages.

This was our turning point. 

For our daughter and for every other child, we decided that we were going to create good toys with positive characters and great values. 
We joined forces by combining our knowledge, skills and experiences. 

And that is how MiMice were created! :-)



We have big wish that MiMice will take children and their parents to an often forgotten place, a place of love, good self-esteem, self- respect and respect for others and nature. We believe we are creating with them a world that thrives on love.

We want that kind of world to be created in our kindergardens and our homes. We wish that all children are given the freedom to explore their imagination and self-awareness, develop a secure emotional ground and are encouraged to build loving relationships through quality dialogue.

The first little creatures that were sewn by my hands quickly began to touch people's hearts and soon sewing during nights on a borrowed sewing machine just wasn't enough. We decided to expand. We decided to act in the spirit of social Entrepreneurship because we wanted our Mimice to bring a positive message right from the start. For this reason our toys are made by vulnerable groups - hardly employable people. Our partners are organizations who employ people that are disabled, elderly, migrants and recovered addicts.

We wish Mimice to carry good message in every level and we are very proud of our values:
  • handmade and unique: every Mimica is handmade and has a unique knitted face
  • community: Mimice are made by hand, made by vulnerable groups. They are sewn by the hands of disabled people, migrants and recovered addicts.
  • environment: we up-cycle using unused materials and giving them a new, better life.
  • safety: all toys can be washed in the washing machine and they don’t have any pearls or buttons that could fall off or be swallowed. Materials are certified and safe.
  • local: Mimice have European not Far Eastern orgins. All are sewn in Slovenia with Slovenian materials.
  • fair play: fair salaries and safe working conditions.
  • communal: our proceeds are reinvested in the local economy
  • simplicity: our designs are cute but simple. Mimice are leaving space for children to develop their own imagination around them.
  • dialogue: When we develop Mimice’s characters we listen to the desires and needs of both parents and children
Mimice are created from love and this positive energy is spreading through every toy we make.


Och, I forgot about the name: MiMice!
Why MiMice?It is very simple. My name is Maria Magdalena but my friends call me Marysia or simply MiMi (combined from the first letters of my name). And "ninica" is slovene word use for cuddly toy children use to sleep with. Name MiMice sounds obvious and our friends start to use it to named our toys even before it become a brand name!

The story of Mimice has just started. And there is a long way and a lot of challenges waiting for us (and I love challenges). 
There is a lot of great people we've met thanks to MiMice (and I love meeting great people). 
I can not wait what will be next step:)
I believe that with all love and all postitve energy Mimice have around them they will develop into world wide project:)
back soon! xoxoxo!!!



p.s. this great pictures are taken by very talented young photographer Jernej Kokol (click).We had a very nice - photoshooting day with Jernej lately. I so wish to show you more of this great pictures- it will be very soon:) 

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

miłe chwile- reaktywacja

Wreszcie nadeszła ta wspaniała chwila - spokojny, cichy momencik dla mnie. Tylko zielona herbata i ja. Świat jest piękny a w dodatku jeszcze słońce świeci!
Dwie moje miłości "piuchnają" słodko w sypialni. Kalina zasnęła (nareszcie!!!!!), Pan Mąż też śpi (niestety w stanie prawiechorobowym). Mowice sobie co chcecie- kocham te moje Isoty bardzo, badzo- najbardziej na świecie, ale też lubie i potrzebuje takich właśnie chwil jak ta teraz.
Korzystam zatem z tego świętego momentu.
Rozkoszuje sie chwilą, gorzkawym smakiem herbaty i ciszą.
Niech w tym wspaniałym momencie nastanie reaktywacyjny wpis na blogu.
A na tak doniosłą okazję przełączłam nawet klawiature na polską (i dopiero teraz widze jak bardzo przyzwyczaiłam sie już do słoweńskiej....).

Za oknem słoneczko roztapia resztki sniegu. Krótka ta nasza zima słoweńska. I choć mieszkam w kraju Alpejskim, to jakoś wcale mi nie jest żal, że nie umiem jeździć na nartach... Ciesze się, że nos nie będzie mi zamarzał podczas porannego biegania ;)



Zdjęcia autorstwa Edvarda Trobca pochodzą z zamierzchłych czasów okołosylwestrowych, kiedy to Lublana pokryta była śniegiem.

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Christmas greeting cards and a giveaway!

Dear Friend,

We are almost in December (a few more hours and we are there).
Thousands of lights will soon illuminate in the city centres and thousands of lights and emotions will fill our hearts. Beautiful time of the year. And this smell of hot wine with spices...and gingerbreads, and coffee with cinnamon, and... Christmas time is coming! New Year is coming!
For this ocassion I prepared for you two, brand new collections of "MiMi greeting cards".
One is very magical and colorful. One is simple and elegant. All of them made with great love.
For sure you will find your favourte which you wish to send to your beloved.

How to orderr MiMi greeting cards?
Just write emial on: mimiinjojo@gmail.com in topic write: Mimi-greeting cards.
In email write which cards or which collection you wish and postal adress on which you wish to get your cards. I will write you back to confirm your order and send you details of bank account for payment.

Costs:
1 greeting card = 2€
4 greeting cards (one collection) = 6€
postal costs depends on country and weight of your order

update:
After great feedback on my FB I decided to make a little giveaway. If you wish to get a colletion of Mimi-Christmas cards, in a comment under this post write which of this two collections you choose and why. Share this post on your FB (if you don't have Facebook share it on your blog).
On the 15th of December I will randomly choose one of you. The happy winner will get collection of cards. I will sent them immediately so that you can use cards for this Christmas! :-)

update no2:
we already know who is the winner!
Our randomly choosen winner is EMILIA MAKARO!
Congratulations!
Emilia, please send me your postal adress that I can send you the magical collection of MiMi-greeting cards:)

elegant collection: 

1.houses

2.the star

3. rabbit

4.santa


magical collection: 

1.town


2. the star

 3. angel

4. winter forest








Monday, November 3, 2014

a litte toy dog

Last week our little Kalina get a present. Very sweet little toy- a dog head (ok I know it sounds a liitle bit scary;). It was really cute, but I couldn't help myslef to "redecorate" it a little bit....


how it was:


how it is now:


and in the progress:

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Ljubljana's chicken


This is how Ljubljana's chickens look like:


They are very simmilar to pigeons, but unlike pigeons they won't fly away if you come with your bike, stroller or if you just pass by very close to them. They cannot. They are too fat. They sit in the middle of pavment (exactly on your way) barely able to move their lazy butts and just waiting you give them your piece of pizza.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

exhibition in Cameral in Koper, Slovenija

Hej People!
I was not here for a while. I am all the time running around and preparing some new things. 

With my dear Husband we are working on our institute of  art and spending long hours on this. In meanwhile I am preparing exhibitions and planning new collaborations.  I am also preparing new post for you, trying to paint and do some art and sleep and eat somwhere in between ;)
But about that all I will write another time. Today I wish to invite you all for an exhibition of my works!

The opening of the exhibition "Seaside stories" will be 
on the 9th of October at 8 p.m. 
in Bar Cameral in Koper, Slovenija

On the openning we will have opportunity to hear amazing live music by Cirkusz-KA. 
The band come from Hungary. 




Sunday, September 7, 2014

Dnevnik- daily newspaper


Hello! So much happened lately. I even have no time to think about it (even not mentionig writting about it;). I promise to write soon much more about it. And also share more photos from our Slovenian trips (we made a few lately:). I have to admit I hide some photos from trips which took place "long, long time ago"v"and almost in another galaxy;). I hope to find them soon and show them here. It is so difficult with time now. Is running so fast. Days we are spending all three together, enjoying our time and observing Little Kalina growing. She is so cute and adorable! Evening are for two of us. And sometimes it is so hard to find time for writting. Uh, I wont write I wish day were 26 hour long- I will write I wish I am better organizator of my own time. I wish to paint more, sew more, draw more, writte more, workout more, run more and of course (and on the first place) have great time with my beloved.... I hope it is not impossible, but it is just a matter of organization:)
How do you organize your time?
Do you have some good ideas or methods how to pack all you wish to do in 24 h? Wish to read your ideas!


Lately I was asked to give an interview for a slovenian newspaper "Dnevnik" and in yesterday edition there was an artice about me based on the interview. Nice. 
If you wish to read I am copying it here:)
It is in slovene. If you wish in other language please use any of the translators (google?). I will be more fun ;)
loves xxx

Mesto z naglasom

Prestolnica ob morju pod Triglavom

Maria Magdalena Szmatula pripoveduje, da se je že prvič v Ljubljani počutila, kot da to mesto pozna od nekdaj. Takoj je napovedala, da se bo preselila sem, in pred petimi leti je to napoved uresničila.

Slikarka, ilustratorka, konservatorka-restavratorka in leteča mama Maria Magdalena, ki je k svojemu priimku že dodala še slovenskega Černe, se je slovenščino učila sama z branjem Malega princa. (Foto: Jaka Gasar)

Šest turističnih vodnikov po evropskih državah. Tri je izbrala Maria Magdalena Szmatula, tri njena prijateljica. »Kam greva tokrat?« sta se vprašali in začeli prebirati. Prva je bila na vrsti Maria, ki je kot prvega v roke vzela tistega po Sloveniji, in ko je končala branje besedila na zadnji strani, sta se strinjali, da bo to naslednja destinacija, in že naslednji teden sta sedli na vlak proti naši državici.
Pohajkovanje po Sloveniji sta Poljakinji začeli v Ljubljani, kjer pa je Maria Magdalena že po nekaj urah vedela, da bo živela tukaj. »Saj ne znam razložiti, veliko sem potovala po Evropi, vendar se nikjer nisem počutila tako kot tukaj. Seveda mi je bil Pariz všeč, London tudi, povsod bi živela, vendar le nekaj mesecev, v Ljubljani pa sem se počutila, kot bi prišla domov,« skuša v slovenščini strniti te občutke, ki so jo prevevali pred šestimi leti.

V Slovenijo, ne na Slovaško

»Zakaj nič ne fotografiraš?« ima Marysia, kot jo kličejo prijatelji, še v spominu, da jo je vprašala prijateljica, ona pa ji je suvereno odgovorila, da ve, da bo kmalu spet tu. »Ti nisi normalna!« je sledil nejeveren odziv in tudi pozneje, ko je doma povedala, da se bo preselila, je ni nihče jemal resno. »Super, saj to je blizu, samo čez mejo,« so ji odgovorili nekateri, ki so najprej pomislili na Slovaško, drugi pa te možnosti sploh niso dopuščali. Pri 25 letih je imela namreč odlično službo v narodnem muzeju. Bila je celo vodja oddelka za restavriranje papirja, iz česar je magistrirala na ugledni univerzi Nikolaja Kopernika v Torunju. »Če ne zdaj, potem ne bom nikoli,« si je rekla, sezula udobne copate, ki bi jih lahko nosila še 30 let, in obula prave slovenske copate.
»Saj tudi na Poljskem poznamo copate, ampak nosijo jih samo domači, ne dajemo jih gostom, in to na prvem obisku. Si predstavljate, koliko ljudi je že hodilo v njih?« se nasmeji tej slovenski posebnosti, ki pa je bolj kot ne edina navada, na katero se je morala privaditi. Mi, Slovani, smo si zelo podobni, pravi in prizna, da bi težko živela v bolj tujih kulturah. Razlika, ki jo vidi, je le ta, da so Poljaki bolj tradicionalni. »Na Poljskem je običajno, da se par, ki živi skupaj, ima otroka, poroči. In to že zgodaj, saj Poljaki prej začnemo odraslo življenje. Ni študentskega statusa in delodajalec nima nobenih ugodnosti, če vzame študenta,« pojasni. Doma je po koncu študija preprosto poslala življenjepis in dobila prvo službo.
V Sloveniji na drugi strani eno leto ni dobila potrebnih dokumentov za bivanje, kaj šele službo. »Na spletu je videti, kot da te komaj čakajo, a na koncu ni tako. Obe državi sta članici Evropske unije, pa so me obravnavali, kot bi prišla z drugega konca sveta,« opiše dobrodošlico, ki je pomenila začaran krog uradov in papirjev. Med drugim je slišala celo, da njenega položaja ne morejo urediti, da ne more ostati tukaj, a je bila dovolj vztrajna in se je sama naučila tako jezika kot svojih pravic.

Brez spodbud za naraščaj

Intimnost majhne prestolnice je mladi mamici, ki je odraščala med barvami in glino, saj so bili starši umetniki, zelo všeč. Največja prednost življenja v Ljubljani pa je zanjo njena lega: »V soboto zjutraj me mož vpraša, kam bi šla pa danes. Kamor koli hočemo, imamo uro in pol vožnje, na Poljskem pa imamo 600 kilometrov do hribov in 600 kilometrov do morja.«
Samo njena regija na Poljskem je velika kot Slovenija, zato dodaja, da z njenega vidika Ljubljana leži ob morju pod Triglavom. In tu je srečna. Ne bi šla nikamor drugam, a zdi se ji, kot da jo okolje sili prav v to. »Država je zelo neprijazna do mladih družin. Če ne bi bila poročena, bi recimo dobivala večji otroški dodatek. Ali ni to nesmiselno?« je razočarana in ne ve, koliko časa bo imela še energijo slovenske muzeje opozarjati nase. Z vztrajnostjo, potem ko je poslala prošnjo po trikrat, štirikrat, ji je sicer uspelo dobiti nekaj projektov, a ti se žal hitro končajo. Na srečo si vsaj prosti čas hitro zapolni z ustvarjanjem in tako je med drugim nastala serija ljubljanskih razglednic, na katerih deli svoj vtis mesta, v katero se je zaljubila.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

wet summer in Slovenija


Lately days are very, very grey here.
I am very dissapointed because of this summer, which actually had passed away in the middle of July... All winter I was so longing for hot, sunny summertime (and easy livin' ;) and now..it already the end of it. Wet, rainy summertime... I didn't swim enough. I didn't catch sun and I didn't keep it on my skin in the forms of freckles. I didn't walk barefoot as much as I wanted to.
Sometimes when it happen that there is some sunshine passing through clouds I feel like in a spring time- like I am after very long winter. But no, winter is just coming. 
I have no idea how to help myslef....
At least I can just keep my short but sweet memories and keep in my heart and on paper. 


Now I am going to rise up level of endorfins in my body. And hard training is the best thing for that:)
Sweeping out all worries :)

Saturday, August 23, 2014

handmade toys- the process


People ask me how I am sewing my toys. Usually I talk about it and I am explaining all process. 
But I think it would be nice if you can see a little bit more. So I decided to show you the whole proces on some photos. And how my working pleace changes from "illutrator atelier" into "sewing atelier" ;)(atelier- what a big world for my table in our living room!! ;)
Now I start to sew some new toys and I decided do take some pictures and to show you the process. 
Hope you will enjoy:)
Then how it looks when I am working on new toys?

1st step is to prepare tekstile. 
I am using used baby clothes to be sure that materials are safe and will not colour in washing (and what more the idea of recycling is very close to me)So first I cut clothes to get proper pieces of tekstile and proper means as big as possible:)


2nd step is to cut shapes from pieces of materials.
As I am using recycled materials I never have pieces of material in the same shape or the same size. That is why I draw EVERY shape by hand without using any patterns. It makes my toys so unusuall and exceptional. Every toy is very unique.
When I have the shape drawn on the material I cut it. In this step I prepare bodies, ears, legs, tummies, tails and everything each of my cheracters needs for her or his living:) I am choosing colours carefully and it is fun to play with all those materials to find the best combination.



Step 3 is where it is time to use my sewing machine.

(actually the machine is not really mine and all toys untill now I sewed thanks to my friend Hana and her machine - and here is place and time to say nicely: THANK YOU HANA!)First I am sewing all small element like paws, ears, legs, tail, etc. Of course everything is sewed on the lef side. When all small elements I ready and turned on the right side, then I am finding for them a proper place on the toys bodies. Then is time for sewing everything on the machine.


Step number 4 is very funny. 

After sewing everything together I turn toy's "bodies"  on the right side. While sewing I always left a little hole so that I can easily turn the toy. And yes, sometimes it happenes that I forget to leave a hole...
Sometimes it also happened that I sewed something wrong and then it appears that the bear or rabbit has heart sewed on his little bottom...;-) 
This time  everything is ok - no hearts on bottoms;) 


I already have a "skin" of the toy. Loose skin with legs, hands, ears, heart on belly (or on a bottom;) of anything I imagined for my little creature. Now is time to fill it. For filling I am using 100% clean poyester. It is safe, it does not cause alleriges and you can easily wash it in washing machine.
I hear some people telling me:
"use buckwheat it will be more healthy" or
"use organic cotton it will be more natural".
And I am not listening that voices! Let me explain you why:
1) buckwheat cannot be normaly washed (as you cannot wash any other wheat). And please show me at least one mum who wish for her child a toy which cannot be washed? or which can be washed only once?
2) Organic cotton cannot be washed in washich machine as it will stick together and it is not fluffy and soft anymore. To use organic cotton as a filling I have to made every toy open with a zipper with possibility to take cotton out before washing.
And please show me at least one mum who wish to "play" with taking out cotton filling before washing toys and then putting it back? Or show me mum who wish to find her child eating cotton (even it is organic) becasue her sweet baby just realized how to open the zipper?



Ok. it is time for a next step of sewing my toys- the 6th one. I have already filled "skins" with polyester, and sewed up the holes (as I already wrote - never forget to leave hole for turning sewed toy on the right side and for filling it!) And now little creatures are almost done! Now is time to give them faces: eyes, noses, mouths and cheeks:)


And the next step - the last one is embroidering faces.

Every eye, every nose, every cheek is sewed with hands!
Every little creature has different face - nobody wolud have the same toy as you/your child/fiend/beloved have.
And here they are- brand new and ready for hugging!


Sunday, August 17, 2014

orange cups? longboards? chestnut tree? It must be TOZD


Once I went for a walk I took with myself not only my dear Husband and our baby girl, but also my sketchbook. I wish to do some drawings and catch ideas coming to my head. We had our coffee at TOZD. I have already wrote you about TOZD bar in Ljubljana. We like that place and we are coming back from time to time to drink good coffe in orange cups.
I made some sketches there. They needed time to grow and become an illustration but finally here it is!
Ta-dam!
"under the chestnut tree" or
"always in orange cups" or
"he come with his longboard"



Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Slovenian seaside and malvazija


After a few extremly beautifull, sunny, hot days here in Ljubljana we have a very, but really VERY rainy time now. Ok, let's be honest it is not really "time"... it's just one day (by now), but it was completely enough for me to feel autumn depperession. Honestly! I don't know what happened to me, but suddenly I feel like a baloon treated with a neddle.... all power went out of me. 
Even another cup of coffee din't work. Instead of doing something positive all day I was walking around like a ghost washed out of energy and without any sign of optimisem...

I hope we will go to a seaside soon. I long for sea! Salty skin, salty hair, seaguls, white wine malvazija and this amazing smell in the air... I think we should move to the south;)


Friday, July 18, 2014

postcards from Ljubljana

Dear Friends!

I's been a long time I haven't write you.... my fault...
My days are full - filled with love, happiness and also with some troubles (as it has to be harmony in the world:)
We happily come back from Poland. We had happy, happy. happy time with mum in my beautifull Wrocław. Unfortunately I didn't manage to realize my "Big Plan" of showing to my Husband some other "Very Important Places" like Torun or Warsaw... So exploring other cities we are leaving for next time. Now we are coming back to Slovenian reality....
Slovenia welcomed us with sunny, hot weather and finnaly I feel this beautiful summertime when you are melting somwhere in the shadow and waiting for evening. Ljubljana is amazing in summertime (when the livin' is easy, fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high...;)

And now - glued to my chair and melting from heat I want to share a good news with you:


If you wish to have my postcards please email me: mari.szmatula@gmail.com