When a passion becomes a lifestyle
Silvia has been part of Jeanne d'Arc Living for many years, so many that I actually don't remember how long. She is my permanent representative and ambassador for JDL in Switzerland and Germany. She is what you can call a real "Jeanne d´Arc Living girl" as we usually call her. She loves everything romantic, combined with the rustic. Also, she is really creative and occasionally contributes articles to the magazine Joan of Arc Living. She loves decorating and meeting new people. She runs the business"Los MiMi's Armoire", with a beautiful shop in a barn, which has a very special atmosphere. It was a bit of a dream come true for Silvia when she was able to open the shop! A barn with approx. 110m2 of rustic charm that has been carefully live and beautifully restored by her and her husband, Stephan, where you can participate in workshops and creative events.
Privately, they live in a nicer house that is only 30 years old. To get the style Silvia loves, she has therefore furnished it with lots of old furniture and flea finds. The style she has in the shop is the same as at home. One of her tips for interior design is to use old windows, doors and shutters in the interior. Both to create space and as a background for your setups. Keep the surroundings neutral in white and muted colours, so they disappear a little and make room for the focus to be on your beautiful old furniture and things. Silvia herself loves that the things she surrounds herself with have a history and she is not shy about using things in new contexts. A good example is the old handkerchiefs you so often find in thrift stores and flea markets - with beautiful embroidery. They are not just hidden in the drawers, here at Silvia - they are, for example, used to decorate eggs and boxes or turned into envelopes. There are more and more own designs, both textiles and decorations made from recycled materials and paper. The photos below are from Silvia and Stephen's private home.
The interest in decorating began when she was only 17 years old. The family used to travel to the US every year on summer vacation to visit her sister who lives there. Over there she discovered an English magazine which showed beautiful old houses and interiors. At home, they were often moved and redecorated. However, Silvia decided to study law, which was something completely different from her real passion. When she met Stephan in the US and they got married, she came to live in Switzerland and discovered all the thrift stores, WOWW it was amazing!! She had never seen stores like this before. Every year the couple go to a beautiful little town called Le Grand-Pressigny in France to visit Stephan's aunt and uncle. Then she visits every flea market and every brocante shop she passes - "I'm in heaven" says Silvia.
When Stephan's grandmother died over 20 years ago and he inherited all her antique French furniture, they took it all to Switzerland and Silvia started painting it. The children were small and she wanted to be at home for them, so she also started making creative crafts and sold them in a small stall that she set up in front of the house. Then people from the town could buy her creations and Silvia could put the money aside. A year later she opened an online store, later a small 60 m2 shop...and now the 110m2 old barn.
You can see much more of everything she does on her website, where there are also links to her many creative films and sales of products on, among others, Etsy. Los MiMi's Armoire
If you have a shop yourself and wish to sell the magazine Jeanne d'Arc Living, in Germany or Switzerland, you are also very welcome to contact Silvia.
