Meet the expats: Anakit

The lovely Alja, runs her jewelry shop, Anakit on Etsy.

Alja is Slovenian and was born and raised on the sunny side of the Alps. She lives in Brussels, Belgium but just moved to Berlin, Germany for a couple of months to perfect her German.

Alja makes beautiful jewelry in many different styles. Her work style range from glamorous to a hint of ancient culture and I especially love her porcelain pieces.

Why did you move ?
When I was a kid I was either going to be an astronaut or a conference interpreter.  After university NASA didn’t call, but a postgraduate programmer opened up for interpreters with Slovenian as their mother tongue.

Already during my studies it became clear that in order to make it as a beginner in this profession I would have to move to where the demand for interpreters was great and constant.  There is only one place outside their little country where Slovenes can speak their language in an official capacity:  Brussels,  the home of the European Union .

If I had been born a native speaker of one of the languages spoken in the United Nations, it could have been the Big Apple, but this way, the only choice for me was Belgium.

Biggest challenge of being an expat?
I usually adapt well to new situations, so I haven’t had any major worries as an expat, but there is one thing that you have to get used to, namely being away from your family.

When I decided to move my little niece broke down in tears and refused to accept it. We are a closely-knit family and the timing of my decision coincided with some rough times my sister was going through. When my grandmother passed away I was lucky to pay a fortune to go to the funeral  at a short notice, but that wasn’t possible in the case of my aunt. I wanted to be with my family to mourn and console each other, but the kilometers between us were too many.

The challenge I fear most is not being there as my parents get old and frail. Every time I visit for the holidays they seem more aged. Hopefully not for some time yet, but there will come a point when they will need tending to and I don’t know what I will do then. It’s a terrifying thought.

Biggest Joy of being an expat?
The best part of being an expat is that every day feels like a summer camp.  Every day teaches you something new and the next new experience is just around the corner.

Brussels may not be London or Paris, but it lies conveniently in between both. It has great connections to anywhere in Europe or the world and I have been able to go on many exciting travels since I have lived here.

The city itself is a melting pot, where you can hear all sorts of languages just walking down the street. Everybody brings a piece of their culture with them. I have been fortunate to make several friends here that I believe could be friends for life. They are expats as well, some are Slovene as well, and others come from all over Europe.

We work, laugh, play and even travel together. As we all have to live away from our families we nourish and cherish our friendships here so much more. Strong friendships are the foundation of feeling at home away from home.

Find Anakit jewelry online:

• Twitter 
• Etsy shop 

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions and allow us to get to know you a bit better.

Are you a soon-to-be, been-there-done-that or currently an expat? If you sell on Etsy come and join our team.

Post by: Jacqueline Fouche (Tangentine)

Meet the expats: JustOneLook

Linda was born and raised in the South West of England and started sewing in her teens to make herself unique clothes. She's been sewing for years she's only recently started selling her clothes.

Linda runs two shops on Etsy, JustOneLook and SewFineFashions. Be sure to check them out.

Except for her always kindly words, talk of her menagerie at home (she mostly mentions taking care of her chickens) when we chat, I usually think Linda is a hoot. Her slightly absurd sense of humour has cheered me up many a day as I'm sure she has you too.

She was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.

Why did you move?

I became an expat more by accident than design. I have always enjoyed travelling and experiencing other cultures and that's how I met my American husband, we were both travelling around Europe.
I came to the States, we got married and traveled around America for a while but once we started a family and a business, we found a location that worked for us and have been here ever since.

Biggest challenge being an expat?

I have to say that missing family is the hardest part of being an expat. Not just for me but also my children missing out on relationships with their English side of the family and vice versa.
Also they were born and raised in America and although its, more or less the same language, the culture is still different, which sometimes creates a bit of a rift when I see things in a different light from their friends' and their parents.

Biggest joy being an expat?

Definitely the climate.  I am fortunate to live in South Florida where the sun usually shines and where there is so much to enjoy.  Everything is close... beaches, shopping, restaurants, theme parks, the list goes on.
I also enjoy the diversity of the area.  It's as common to hear someone speaking French or Spanish for instance as English.

Linda's shops:

• Just One Look
• SewFineFashions

Are you a soon-to-be, been-there-done-that or currently an expat? If you sell on Etsy come and join our team.

Post by: Jacqueline Fouche (Tangentine)

Meet the expats: Water lily jewels and designs

The lovely Eva from Water lily jewels and designs sells handmade jewelry and vintage items.

I've always admired her jewelry and particularly love the pieces she's given a new lease of life. Combining components from vintage pieces and her own work.

She's an absolute sweetheart who makes the most beautiful treasuries and runs her shop full time.

Eva was born Nottingham, England but raised in the U.S. 4 years after she met her boyfriend she moved to Germany to be with him, in October of 2009.

Eva was kind enough to answer some questions on her experiences as an expat for me.

Why did you move?

My fiance is born and raised here in Germany, and, well... he was here. Plus he has a good job with a company here, whereas the work I do can be done anywhere. So it was logical for me to come here!

Biggest challenge being an expat?

Learning the language, without a doubt. And being able to understand it when native speakers use it! They tend, naturally, to speak so quickly that my brain lags behind on processing it, so it sometimes takes me a minute or two to puzzle out what they said. And that can make a person feel a bit stupid and slow. But bit by bit, it's coming together. In fact, I always get a little sense of triumph when I understand something without feeling like I need to run for a dictionary!

Biggest joy being an expat?

The new culture. Seeing how people do things differently. I firmly think that teenagers, at some point when they become legal adults, should go to another country for a period of time to live and experience something completely different from what they are used to. It is mind-opening!

Find Eva:

• Twitter
• Etsy shop

Keep your eyes open, I heard a rumour that we'll soon see Eva's other crafting talents in her shop.

Are you a soon-to-be, been-there-done-that or currently an expat? If you sell on Etsy come and join our team.

Post by: Jacqueline Fouche (Tangentine)

Meet the Expats: The Hope Tree

We all know the lovely Hayley from The Hope Tree. I always admire her new French finds in her vintage shop.




The thing that always strikes me about Hayley is her kindness. Whenever I 'talk' to her online a very thoughtful, kindhearted person comes through.

She also has a habit of posting about being grateful on Twitter. Something that always makes me pause and think about all the things I'm grateful for. Today, it is all the wonderful people I've met through the Etsy Expat team.

I don't think everyone knows this, but Hayley is also a brilliant artist.




She was kind enough to answer my questions.

How do you manage to juggle art, vintage and your family life?

Honestly, in my eyes, I don't! I guess you just have to do what you have to do. My little 2 year old comes first of course. The rest of the time is shared between a part-time job I have and my vintage shop.

Sadly, my art gets left behind. I think that is mainly that I don’t really a place to paint, I paint on our bed when my son is sleeping or at crèche. Luckily  I have the support of my husband and he helps out all the time.

All the things in my life are important to me and I somehow give just enough to each area even though as many do, I wish I had more time.


Why did you move?
My husband is French and so we first moved to France from South Africa straight after our marriage to try it out. During the first year we lived on the French Riviera and it just didn’t work out. So we scooted over to England and all was dandy until our son came along, then it was too expensive.

At this point we could either move back to South Africa (yay!) or move to my husband’s family in the north of France. At this point I had to follow my head and not my heart as France just had a better way of living (schooling, healthcare) for my son. So here we are!

Biggest challenge being an expat?
There are two major areas for me. As most expats will tell you, it’s being away from family.

I didn’t realize I was such a ‘home bird’ until I was living in a different culture. My father passed away a few years ago and that just made my mother, brother and I extremely close. But as they say ‘what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger!’

The other thing that I find truly challenging is how hard it is to relax and be one’s self in a culture which is extremely different to one’s own plus a foreign language. It find it very hard to just relax with others and even when one goes shopping, you are always aware of the difference.

Biggest joy being an expat?
You know, its growing to be a great joy. That is my discovery of the French culture, my way. With my etsy shop I am slowly discovering the French and who they are. Each vintage item I find is like reading another page of the French history and who the French are. It might even become a love affair, who knows.

Find The Hope Tree:

• Etsy shop
• Twitter

Are you a soon-to-be, been-there-done-that or currently doing that expat? If you sell on Etsy come and join our team.

Post by: Jacqueline Fouche (Tangentine)


Photo credits: The Hope Tree

Meet the Expats: Flaurena

Lauren from Flaurena is a gem - almost as sweet as her jewellery is pretty.

Flaurena makes beautifully intricate jewellery - fit for a princess. Well, I'm sure that's how you feel when you wear it. She has a penchant for striking, bold designs and blames her Amazonian frame for that. She's rather tall.

She was kind enough to answer some questions on her experiences as an expat.

Why did you move?

The truth is, I’ve always been on the move.

I was born in London, England, but most of my childhood was spent living overseas: I went to school in southern Spain, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., and Assisi, Italy.  Additionally, I spent a few months in Miami and Jaipur, India.

Later on, I studied French and Spanish at university in London.  Typically, most B.A. degrees in the U.K. are three years, but when studying languages it’s a four-year degree, because you are required to spend your third year abroad: I spent 7 months in Madrid, followed by 3 months in Paris.  It was there that I met S., an American who would eventually become my husband!

Since then, S. and I have lived in London once, and twice in New York.  We’ve been living in Brooklyn for 5 years now, and it’s the longest I’ve lived in any one place (city AND apartment!) without moving.  I tell you, I’m beginning to get itchy feet!  We’re thinking about leaving the Empire State, but don’t know where to… suggestions/ recommendations welcomed!

Biggest challenge being an expat?

To be honest, both my parents are ex-pats, so in some ways I don’t think of myself as one.

Also, my immediate family is comprised of people who are all different nationalities – British, American, Belgian, Spanish, and Bulgarian – so for me, moving around and being immersed in different cultures feels perfectly normal.

But that’s not to say there aren’t challenges living an ocean away…

Firstly, living so far away from family is hard: it seems that I either have the time or the money to visit them, but never both!  I’d love to be able to pop round for Sunday lunch every week…  On the plus side, the advent of Skype means we can ‘see’ each other when we do speak.

Secondly, paperwork: the day I naturalized and became an American citizen was wonderful for many reasons, not least of all because it signified the end of immigration bureaucracy.

Finally, crossword puzzles, ha ha!  The fact that I didn’t spend a lot of my formative years in the U.S. means I am sometimes at a cultural disadvantage, which means I don’t always know the answers to clues…

Biggest joy being an expat?

It seems that wherever I go, I’m a foreigner: I’m too emotional to be English; too reserved to be Spanish; too eccentric to be American…  Being considered an outsider can be frustrating, but most of the time I enjoy “being different”.  Most people are naturally curious and the fact that I “speak with an accent” (in both English and Spanish) here in the U.S. can be a wonderful icebreaker.

Thinking about this question more, though, I think the biggest joy is the fact that I think of myself as a true world citizen.  My eyes have been opened to the world around me, through being exposed to different cultures, languages, and cuisines.  Moving around as much as I have has made me more culturally sensitive, more independent, and more open-minded.  And though I may have plenty of room for improvement, it’s made me a better artist and, I hope, a better human being.

I love reading these expat stories. Thanks for taking the time to make this post happen Lauren.

Next week I'm featuring a lovely collector and secret artist.

Post by: Jacqueline Fouche (Tangentine)

Treasury game - Memories

We finished our first Etsy Expat Treasury game yesterday.

Linda, whom we all know in her two guises, JustOneLook and SewFineFashions, came up with the idea. The theme was 'Memories'.

After much contemplation and gnashing of teeth, Linda, finally made her decision on the winner. *Drum roll*

Jo, from Russel Jewelry Designs won with this treasury:

Jo took up the torch in selecting the theme for this coming week - open until Friday 5th of February 2011.

Note: Because we're all in different time zones - we won't be too hard and fast on the closing time - but Jo will post in the thread we've opened for it to remind you when she's choosing.


This week's theme: 
It is a music title theme. Choose a music title you like or means something to you.

Here is a list of great titles to get you started.
.
Please post your treasury links in this forum thread.

Congrats again Jo! Well done on an excellent idea Linda.


Post by: Jacqueline Fouche (Tangentine)

Meet the expats: UniqueNique

UniqueNique is one of those people that exudes compassion, even if you've only met her online. She's always close by with a word of encouragement or a little joke to cheer up the day.  

Monique is our resident glass artist. If it contains silica, you can put it in a kiln and want to get something pretty out - she's your girl. She generally makes jewelry but also dabble in other crafts - like her pretty dragonfly and butterfly stained glass ornaments.

Her jewelry style range from - girly and sweet, bold and interesting to intricate and delicate - all beautiful.

She was kind enough to answer some questions for me.

Why did you move?

We came, we saw and maybe conquered, the ultimate move from one continent to another (or at least our little part of it) because my husband was transferred here.

He had a choice of Switzerland or Tucson Arizona – at the end of the day we decided Tucson as he had visited the US often and loved it here. The funny thing was that although I have travelled a lot the US was one of the places I hadn’t yet visited, but I am always up for an adventure.

Everyone we knew in South Africa said wonderful at least you won’t have to learn a new language, they speak English there as well. After being here a week I wrote back to my friends and family and said “about learning a new language, that is exactly what I am doing, I am not sure that they speak English here.” The poor salespeople I had to deal with when I first got here had no idea what I was asking for most of the time.

To this day my children correct me when I don’t speak American English, which they, of course, speak perfectly.

Biggest challenge being an expat?
My greatest challenge as an expat has been dealing with not having my family within driving distance and knowing that they are not getting the chance to see what amazing people my children are growing into. I in turn miss out on seeing theirs.

This also seems to encompass the problem of not really feeling at home in your adopted country but yet when you go “home” you don’t feel like you belong there either, you are continually caught between two worlds, like having a foot in each country but no place to put your butt. It is hard to be in a strange country without any kind of support group beyond your husband and children, but it does have a tendency to make or break your family unit.

Biggest joy being an expat?
My greatest joy is the fact that not having a work permit when I first got here gave me permission to allow my creative side a chance, something that I had been putting on the back burner for many years while growing a business in South Africa.

Finally! I could create without being sneaky or feeling guilty about wasting time. I could allow my brain the opportunity to play and experiment – now that my monster is out I never want to have to put it back in its box. This has also brought some amazing new friends into my life they have offered unending support and understanding of the trials of living an expat life and also the common trials of living life in general. This has been a lifesaver for me in more ways than one as with our recent move to Florida we are once again in the midst of trying to find our feet.

The thing about being an expat is that you learn to adapt and be flexible and definitely to think on your feet. There is something new every day and without the challenges you could never truly enjoy the rewards.

Are you an expat, going-to-be-expat or once-were-an-expat and sell on Etsy? Come and join our little group.  We understand what it's like to buy supplies and get funny looks from sales people.

Next week I'm featuring another world traveller and she also makes jewellery.

Post by: Jacqueline Fouche (Tangentine)

Meet the expats: moonandlion

moonandlion comes across as cheerful bundle of energy and is one of our Etsy Expat paper masters. She makes interesting, enchanting prints and sketches.

Her work is interesting and unique. She freely admits that she finds it difficult to label her work and I have the same problem – so I'll let you make up your own mind.

Why did you move?

When I first started traveling, I didn't know I was going to move. I did leave Buenos Aires and planned to move to Patagonia, but that didn't last long.

Then I just knew I wanted to travel, like in year-long. My partner at the time felt the same, and we headed to the Basque Country because he got a job as a cook there, in a lovely posh restaurant. After the whole winter there, we could not endure the climate anymore.

The Basque Country is absolutely amazing, its people are friendly and the landscape is a dream in green, but all that green comes from 300 days of rain a year. So we headed South to visit a friend in Palma. We found work quite fast, and after the summer we just loved the pace of the island. It's like a small town floating in the sea. Living by the sea was a big plus. And then we re-formed our band in Palma, so another reason to stay.

Biggest challenge being an expat?
The friends and family you leave at the other side of the sea.

Biggest joy being an expat?
The new friends! The borrowed new families. The endless adventure of being somewhere which is not quite back home, but definitely home now.

Post by: Jacqueline Fouche (Tangentine)

Out with the Old, in with the New!

As the end of the year approaches and as most shops have slowed down after the Christmas rush, it is the perfect time to wish everybody lots of success in the New Year. May 2011 be the year of growing inspiration and sales!

I Can Almost Smell it - Results of Team Theme Challenge

So many different smells in this treasury and in the end two prevailed. Some people craved glamasaurus' cookies while others smelled a rat by our second-time winner and record-holder fibrous.

Congratulations to both!