When I first came across Miwitipee, the French brand designing sustainable, limited-edition home accessories, I found it hard to pick a product to feature on Green with Purpose.
I ultimately opted to introduce our readers to the minimalist plant hanger that adapts to different flower pot sizes. But in the back of my mind, I knew I wanted to talk about their other designs too. And I especially couldn’t ignore the cute little houseplant adornments that they call chamans. You can stick these these whimsical figurines in your flower pots, and they’ll watch over your houseplants. Or, if you’re the grumpy kind who doesn’t believe in magic, they’ll just put a smile on your face.
I reached out to Julia who, together with her dad, Marc, is the creator of these adorable characters, to chat about her creative process.
Hi, Julia. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your work.
My name is Julia. I live and work in Toulouse, a city located in southern France. I’m the happy co-founder of Miwitipee which is the fruit of a collaboration with my father, Marc.
We design and manufacture objects inspired by our imaginary journeys to make your home travel. We’re very concerned with the well-being of our environment, so we only use natural materials such as wood and paper.
How did you start designing houseplant accessories?
Our playground is all about how to make homes more enjoyable. Since it is difficult for us to imagine a house without plants, the idea of making objects that are dedicated to them came very quickly. So we started by drawing a plant holder and … a duet of chamans. They have met a success we were not expecting. Naturally, we’ve been drawing others to add to the collection.
The chamans are irresistible and so different from all the other objects usually adorning houseplants. Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Oh, thank you ! As far as I can remember, I’ve been imagining and drawing little characters.
I love to invent characters with names and personalities of their own. I like them to look cunning and caring, fun and cute. They are like little friends who are always in a good mood.
How does a typical work day look like for you?
On a typical day, you can usually find me working in the workshop. We prioritize the preparation and shipping of orders, so that always comes first thing. Then we spend a lot of time making our products or custom creations. We usually work ten hours a day, but it really depends on the workload, which can vary a lot!
Occasionally I will work from home, pencil in hand, to draw the products to come.
Do you have a favorite houseplant?
I do not want to make others jealous, but I think I particularly like my two little avocado trees that I watched turning from pits to shrubs.
Where can people find you online?
We sell all our products directly in our online store, Miwitipee, and we ship (almost) everywhere in Europe.
Thank you for your time, Julia. To check out the chamans, click this way.
Photos by Lucie Paimblanc for Miwitipee
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