VOYAGE VOYAGE : PRINCESSE TAM TAM X WEAR LEMONADE[:]

Hello my lemons! Today I’d like to take the time to tell you about the second season of our collaboration with Princesse Tam Tam. As they put it, Princesse doesn’t like stories with no tomorrow! The first collection was so much fun that we wanted to keep things going and really dive in! Get it, diving, pools, bathing suits and all that? I’m really in a good mood, just to let you know! To tell you the truth, the palm pattern wasn’t what we had planned on using. We had a different one (that you can check out in a few weeks on Wear Lemonade). But as it turns out, going back and forth and getting everything okayed by high-up directors, the first pattern was cancelled. At the last minute, we needed to come up with a summery alternative, something that I liked and would be proud of... and at the same time, I shared my Maria Wear Lemonade jacket made out of curtain fabric that you absolutely loved. I thought that the palm pattern really went well with our style... so I worked another option: watercolors with a pink background but I wasn’t completely happy with it. All you creative people out there know what I’m talking about, that little voice that whispers “I’m not sure, but we’re running out of time so I should just send it.” But you know what? I don’t work that way. I’ll get up in the middle of the night to work on it, I’ll keep starting over until I love it and want to see it all the time, everywhere. The palm watercolor on pink was a no, so I asked for some more time, just fiiiiiiiive more minutes pleeeeeeease and after a night full of painting, paper, leaves and scissors, I thought that we should work on this motif with paper, our signature touch over the years. It was kind of a painful process, but by using Canson paper to give it a texture and a super chic navy blue background, we came up with the palm motif. I think that I have to start over at least 30 times before being really happy with every collection... Certain people have got to be fed up with it, believe-me (sorry Maria...)

I also wanted to let you know that I haven’t been writing much because my life has taken several unexpected turns and it’s hard to be in two different places at once. I won’t even get started on my personal life, but I can tell you about Make My Lemonade. At the very beginning, this was nothing but a little site, lost in the immensity of the Internet and today it’s become a business. My little breath of fresh air, my creative project has become a business that’s a way for people to earn their living. Five years ago, I gave it my all to free myself from my bosses and from the world of corporations to create Make My Lemonade... Today, on our busiest days, there are 10 of us in the office. Can you believe it?! And all of a sudden, I have to be everywhere and available to everyone so that the ship sets sail and it’s not easy to juggle Make My Lemonade, Wear Lemonade, and projects for other brands that we don’t necessarily tell you about. The lemonade bottle is filling up quickly and I’m trying to color and make every bubble in it unique (I can’t go any farther with the metaphors today...), and it isn’t always easy to find the time to carry out all the ideas I have in mind but I think that’s the problem with our hyperactive generation!

As soon as I have some free time, I enjoy designing for Wear Lemonade, coming up with ideas for shoots, or creating pop or permanent sales places, rather than writing for Make my Lemonade. I feel a little nostalgic saying this, since Make My Lemonade and writing were the original building blocks, but to tell you the truth, I think that we’re constantly evolving and you have to know how to reinvent yourself and that everything goes in cycles. I know that you shouldn’t ask yourself too many questions, you shouldn’t force yourself to do things that you don’t feel like doing... plus social media and Instagram have also changed things. I wonder what will come next, why not create a newsletter which would be like going back to our roots, with exclusive content available in your inboxes since in the end, you’re the most important part to us. Without you, all of this wouldn’t exist! I’m wondering about a million different things, as you can see!

Anyways, I’d like to tell you a little more about our collaborations going on right now! At the pop up store (an article will be up soon with pictures of the place) we’ve collaborated with lots of people I adore! As I was saying earlier, there’s the collection with Princesse Tam-Tam, with an adorable little lemonade stand. And we’ve asked the talented Virginie Morgand to design posters inspired by our collection “Bon Baisers de Lemon Bay” (Kisses from Lemon Bay), and also to Melody Leblond for wonderful wordings, but we’ll get back to that! We’ve also worked with Jimmy Fairly to make three pairs of colorful sunglasses to go with your summer outfits... to me, collaborations are like wonderful playgrounds, ways to explore different techniques that were until then unknown to us. When you’re a little brand like us, experimenting with people who are specialized in their field is the best way to test things out and take careful risks... I think that there’s no greater joy than enjoying learning new things and seeing your projects take shape! Long live collaborations!

And since we’re so nice and happy with this tropical collection, we’re going to spoil you with the PDF pattern and Tino shirt dress video tomorrow! Just this once, Princesse Tam-Tam and Make My Lemonade are giving you the chance to win our entire collection! Oh oui... so you can win a:

• One piece palm pattern bathing suit,
• Polka-dotted shirt dress,
• Two piece sailor striped top,
• Palm t-shirt,
• Polka-dotted shorts,
• Palm babydoll top,
• Round towel,
• And three little panties,

It’s really quite easy, you just have to leave a comment telling me which is your go to piece in your wardrobe this summer as well as yours size! The lucky winner will be chosen at random

Friday at noon and the results will be shared at the end of this article! Hugs and kisses, thank you for your unending support! Lisa, your devoted lemon! Congratulations to Clémentine and her wardrobe lacking leaves!! Please send an email to charlotte@makemylemonade.com to claim your prizes!