Marzia Bisognin's Blog

THINGS ARE CHANGING.

October 22nd, 2018

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I just posted this video on Youtube.

I’m not going to write about it as I think I’ve said what I needed to, so please do watch it if you can.

Since this blog is personally connected to my life, I had to come here and let you know I’ve decided to close Marzia’s Life as well.

I’ve wondered many times if I should keep posting or not, but I realised that I need to detach myself, my life in particular, from the internet, in order to properly give myself the chance to experience something different in my life.

I’m not disappearing from the internet, you will still find me on Instagram and Twitter, but I had this feeling of needing a change for a while now, so I had to end my journey on Youtube and take back some of my private space.

Thank you for reading my posts, watching my videos, and being so supportive even when I was doubting myself. Reading your lovely comments really motivated me, but I’m hoping you can respect my decision to stop sharing certain things about my life.

I’m sending you all a virtual hug!

Marzia

AN EXCITING MONTH!

October 1st, 2018

Happy October!

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I’ve just gotten back from another short trip to Italy, and although you can see what I have been up to in my most recent video, I wanted to share some photos I took, while writing about things I look forward to.

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I was in Italy so I could try on some wedding dresses with family and friends, as well as to check out possible venues. I cannot believe that temperatures there are still so high, as they reached 31’C while I was there!

So to be honest, it felt quite cosy coming back to the UK as the weather is lovely, yet much chillier, making the transition into autumn more defined.

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I’ve been eager to reach this month, this year, more than other years: of course there are birthdays involved, and my favourite holiday – Halloween – to be excited about, but Felix and I are starting to really begin focusing on the wedding, so we are going to check out venue after venue, and I also want to have one more dress session before making my final decision!

Right now the “Brighton dress” (which I’m keeping secret) is winning over all the other ones I’ve tried on, mostly because of the feeling I got while putting it on, and the fact that I can customise every aspect of it… but you never know! At this final appointment I may be wowed by something, and if not, I will then know that the one dress I fell in love with, is truly the way to go.

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Felix’s parents are also coming to visit very soon, which is is lovely as I haven’t gotten to see them in a while and I’m looking forward to have them over.

There is also something else happening, which I will tell you about in just a few weeks!

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Last night we drove to the holiday home so today I’m working on more pottery; I’m eager to open the kiln as I’m bisque firing the pots I’ve shown you in my previous post, and I cannot wait to glaze them all!

I’ve also started watching Maniac, on Netflix – I’m only 2 episodes in, I have no idea what is happening, but I’m into it! haha

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Are you guys watching it as well? Thoughts?

Anyway, I just got back from my regular stop at the post office to ship out some Maì orders, and on the way back I bought some apples. I never liked apple cakes, but I’m so excited about the new month that I wanted to do something small to celebrate… apple cake seemed fitting, so I’m going to attempt making one this evening!

I will share a photo on Instagram if it turns out.

Wish me luck!

Marzia

BEGINNING OF AUTUMN.

September 22nd, 2018

A change of season.

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Whenever the season changes I feel excited. As a kid, autumn was my least favourite season – due to the beginning of school and the increasingly shorter hours of light – but as I’ve gotten older, I find something to look forward to in each season. 

Autumn is now something I see as very cosy; a transitioning period.

The busy summer months have ended, and I’m able to take things much slower. I’m still running around here and there, with guests coming and trips around the corner, but my day to day life has slowed down, allowing me to find time to read and catch up with Netflix shows.

It feels like the quiet season, to me.

Mine and Felix’s birthdays are in October, as well as my favourite holiday – Halloween.

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I’m already excited about the spooky period to begin, and I’ve picked up this book – Eight Ghosts – a couple of weeks ago, from a book shop.

When I saw it, I enjoyed the fact that it was a collection of short horror stories, but I’ve been liking this book more than I could have imagined:

usually, whenever I buy ‘a collection of’ type of books, I get brief stories from the same writer (which is totally fine) but because these are written by different authors, it is interesting to notice how varied their writing styles are, and their approach to the horror theme;
each writer was given a location to be inspired by, in order to write their story; after I read one, I like to google the place. I have never seen or heard any of these buildings before, so whenever I stumble across one I am fascinated by, I add it to my list of possible places to check out, here in the UK.
In a section of the sleeve, it actually says that by purchasing the book, we are helping to conserve these historic buildings; which I think it’s fantastic.

I don’t have many stories left to go, but my favourite one so far is Foreboding by Kamila Shamsie; another I enjoyed is the very first one, They Flee From Me That Sometime Did Me Seek by Sarah Perry – I liked it mostly because it reminded me (veeery loosely) of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House.

That is such a great book! But then again, I love Shirley Jackson’s stories.

There are two movies based on it, one from the 1963 in black and white; the other one is more recent, from the 90s. I haven’t seen either just yet, but I’m sure I will get to watch them soon.

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I was surprised to see that Netflix has just released a trailer for a new horror show, with the same title. If the show was its own thing, I would be thrilled as it does look very interesting and creepy, but I was slightly confused by the fact that I can’t seem to see any similarities to the novel? Other than the title, the show doesn’t have anything in common, but then again, I may just have to wait and see – I may be surprised!

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Anyway, I always give you a quick update on my life, so here is one for the past week: Felix and I drove to the holiday home, which is always fun as it’s a beautiful ride, and I love road trips.

We had some furniture delivered to us, so we got to put up this bookshelf in the living room, which made the space feel a bit less empty.

We want to keep a clean, simple look – as stated in the past – so we are being very selective with what we bring into the home.

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It feels much cosier, and I’m looking forward to chilly nights sitting around the wood burner.

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I’ve also got two full days to work on pottery, so I managed to make 6 (when you work with pottery, it’s a bit of a waiting game). Unfortunately they weren’t dry enough to sand and put in the kiln yet, so I had to leave them. I was hoping to have these up by the end of the month, but we can’t make another trip to the holiday home in time, so they will be available in October.

On Wednesday evening we drove back as we had a work meeting on Thursday, which went great – as you may know, my team is based in Canada, so it’s always nice to catch up, face to face.

Yesterday I spent the day filming and editing, so expect a video later today!

What are you guys up to this weekend?

And are you excited about the change of season, or do you wish that summer lasted a bit longer?

 

Marzia

POTTERY

September 16th, 2018

Making some progress!

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It’s been a little while since I updated my blog, and because I have been busy working on the pottery (and showing some relatives around Brighton), I figured it was time to come back and share my creations so far! 

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When I glazed my first round of pots, I found out how differently each glaze works: some are thinner and runnier, other are thicker and dry faster. I also realised why they say that some are to be used to paint, whilst others are to dip the pot straight in.

Being the stubborn person that I am, I though I could just ‘make it work’, but I quickly realised that was not the case.

I ordered more glazes (originally I had just two to work with) and tested them out.

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I obviously have still a ton to learn, as – for example in this pot up here – you can see how the pink glaze turned blue.

I felt like that only added to the pot, so it worked out perfectly, but it’s good to always keep in mind that since I’m inexperienced, the glaze I apply may not turn out as expected.

This pot, which I named Creep due to it’s intense staring, pulled out the blue drips as it made it look as if it was sweating – adding to the weirdness.

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I was very surprised to see that lots of you actually wanted me to still make some more ‘messy’ looking bowls, so I did. Yet I believe even in these, you can see some differences from my very first batch – which is good! Let’s say that the mess is now somewhat more on purpose, hehe.

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And so I made a few small bowls; but also added plant pots, which I didn’t have before as I wasn’t able to make pots big enough to hold plants.

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I know this post feels like I’m giving myself a pat in the back, but I am very happy with seeing progress with my creations.

You guys are being super supportive – as usual – so thank you all so much!

These new candles and pots were up on the shop for just a few minutes before they were all gone, so I’m very motivated to make lots more!

I also hear you about the cart issue (some of you wait to get something, to then add the product but it gets taken away the second someone is faster at checking out). I will reach out to some more experienced people to see if they can help me with adding a feature to stop that from happening.

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On another note, I do have some prints available in the shop! When I printed these, they ended up costing a lot. I selected some amazing paper, which may be why they costed me a lot to produce, but if any of you know of good printing companies, please let me know, as I would love to make some prints every once in a while, but if I could make them more affordable, that would be ideal!

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Anyway, I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend! I’m going to pack up all the orders now and then enjoy a chill evening watching Atypical (season 2 is out and I’ve been loving iiiiiitttt!).

Marzia

WHATEVER COMES TO MIND.

August 29th, 2018

Simply here for a chat.

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Generally, if I come on here, I have somewhat of an idea of what I want to write about, but today is one of those days that I just want to start typing and see how this develops. 

Back in February, on my way to Japan, I was looking for some entertainment on the plane.

I came across the Great British Bake Off – which is quite a popular show here in the UK, obviously, but because I don’t have cable TV, and didn’t grow up here, it’s something I never really felt like watching. I had heard about it, but that was about it.

They had two episodes available to watch on the plane, and so I gave it a go. I really liked it right away, and when my friend Sophie looked over at my screen, and realised what I was watching, she was ecstatic!

We decided that this year, we should watch it together, as it’s something she has been watching for years and years. I was down.

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So last night, the first episode aired.

She invited me over, as well as Signe and Emma. We all brought sweets, to be on theme: I made mini almond doughnuts covered in cinnamon (which people liked, thankfully!). I meant to take a photo to show you, but I completely forgot. Eh.

Watching the show with others was so much fun, as we are all so invested in the different contestants already!

Do you guys watch the show as well? Do you have a favourite yet? (I think the past seasons are on Netflix).

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Something else that happened this week was related to Maì.

A few months ago I had thought about a new range to add to the shop (up here is the first doodle I made for it) and I was able to put them for sale.

The yellow gold pieces are gone, but the white gold ones are still available right now! (necklace and bracelet).

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I also got around to make my first batch of pottery available.

I would be lying if I said I think these little pots were perfect, and I even thought of just keeping them for myself and wait to put anything out for sale till I’m fully satisfied with the results, but with a bit of encouragement from Felix, and knowing how long I had you waiting already, I did it.

I was incredibly relieved to see that people liked them, so thank you all for the positive feedback. I’m totally aware that I need to develop my skills a lot, but I’m also glad to see that my early work can still be appreciated. It does mean a lot!

I think a big issue was with the glaze, simply because I had never glazed anything, and I quickly realised how different each glaze acts when in contact with the pot. But it’s all a learning lesson, so I’m hopeful that I can keep making progress overtime.

I can only work on the pottery when I’m at the holiday home, which we only really go a day at a time (or two), to then come back to Brighton for the week; so practicing and finishing each piece takes far more than it should – hence why I’m so slow to put products out. But thank you all for being patient!

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Today I’m realising how once summer ended here in the UK (the weather has become so chilly and cloudy already) I have coincidentally toned down my colour palette. It has to do with my change of hair, but I thought it was fitting.

Anyway, I think I’m at the end of the post.

Thank you for reading, I know it’s all over the place!

Marzia

 

 

HELLO, BUDAPEST.

August 24th, 2018

3 Days in a new city.

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Every year, for our anniversary, Felix and I travel somewhere we haven’t seen been before.

This year we went to Budapest, because the photos from there looked so magical I knew I wanted to see the place in person.

Here is what we did!

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The first day there, it was our 7th year anniversary, so we wanted to do something somewhat romantic: the Gellért Bath seemed out of this world, so we booked some tickets in advance and spent the entire afternoon there.

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Budapest has quite a few baths around the city, and the Széchenyi thermal bath seemed stunning, but because we went during the weekend, we opted for a smaller (which was still huge) bath complex.

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There is this indoor pool with cooler water, in the middle of the most scenic room; but there are also some more things on the outside.

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This swimming pool seemed just like any other, but at one point everybody started getting in. Felix and I were confused by why everyone just stood there, waiting, but we did the same…

Pretty soon we realised it was one of those pools with wave machines! It was really fun, even if we weren’t expecting it and got totally covered by the waves.

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A lucky find was this particular ice cream place called Gelarto Rosa: Felix and I were looking for some food and looked up a place with veggie options. Not only we ate the sandwiches, but also tried the ice cream (of course!). The vegan pistachio flavour was incredible… so good that we kept coming back for more.

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In the evening we went to Mazel Tov, a really cool restaurant I had seen photos of, and looked too pretty to pass on.

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The food was great, so if you are ever in the area, do grab a bite here!

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After dinner we walked back to the hotel, and admired the pretty buildings.

Both Felix and I agree that Budapest is just as pretty as Paris, in our opinion: anywhere you look there are incredibly intricate buildings and the way the city is lit up at night makes it so romantic.

The only complaint we have about the city, is about the taxi service: we tried 3 times, in 3 different occasions, to grab a taxi. The first time we were denied, we were 10 minutes from the hotel so we thought it was just not far enough; the second time we were 20-30 minutes and the taxi driver was doing nothing, so we asked for a ride and he waved us away; the final time we tried, we had a long way to go and 3 taxis were empty, waiting for customers… Felix and I expected an excuse, and in fact we did get one. The driver, at first, tried to tell us that where we were going was too close – Felix pointed out that he wasn’t correct as the place we were actually going to was in fact pretty far, on the opposite direction he was indicating; so then he said ‘oh no, I can’t drive you there’. Felix questioned why, and the man simply replied ‘I don’t want to turn around’.

Right after us, a group of 3 people approached the taxi, but the driver had already thought about a way to send them away – he told them he could only fit 2 people.

So then an elderly couple asked him to drive them to their hotel, about 10 minutes away. The taxi driver said it was too close and he wasn’t going to move the car for that.

This was so bizarre! So we just ended up moving around by foot, bike or public transports.

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The second day was a National Holiday – the Foundation of Hungary.

Saying that the city was crowded would be an understatement. Everybody seemed to be out, but we were set on visiting the busiest area: Buda Castle.

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After an extremely slow bike ride, we queued up for the funicular.

The sun was burning us but it was worth waiting in line, as the view was spectacular.

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We spent most of the afternoon up there, looking at the cute stands propped up around the castle, and admiring the city from up high.

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But the best bit of the day was beginning at 9pm…

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FIREWORKS!!

They lasted about 30 minutes, and we made sure to be there plenty of time in advance to secure a nice spot.

Being there during the national holiday was messy, but made this trip really incredible, as we got to experience something completely new and unexpected.

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Seeing all the people gather in the squares to watch the show was such a cool experience.

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I’m glad we got to be a part of that.

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On our final day, we checked out the Central Market, which was packed with foods and traditional crafts.

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At this point, from all the walking, I had 7 blisters on my feet and I had run out of bandaids, so excuse the cotton coming out of my shoe!

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In the afternoon, we needed a change of pace so we headed a bit out of the centre and strolled around the ELTE Botanical Gardens.

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This area was much more calm, so we took our time to relax and look at all the pretty plants.

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Plus, I have a thing for glasshouses and orangery style buildings, and the one in this park was so stunning.

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Just look at how idyllic this place is.

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Later in the afternoon, the bad weather approached and we could hear thunders from far away getting closer.

We knew we had a bit of a walk ahead of us, so we made our way back to the centre.

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We ended the evening with walking along the Danube river.

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Eventually we reached the shoe monument that commemorates the lives of the people that were shot in this spot, during Wold War II. People were forced to remove their shoes before being killed, so the iron sculptures symbolise the shoes left behind from all the victims.

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Sorry to end it on a sad note, but that was it for our trip. The day after we hopped on the plane back to the UK.

I see a lot of people confused by why Felix and I decided to visit this city for our holiday (to be fair, we always get asked that type of question no matter where we are) but to be honest, Budapest is simply beautiful. I’m glad we got to see it!

Have you ever been there?

Marzia

A HAPPY, RAINY WEEK.

August 12th, 2018

The sun is currently on holiday.

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This summer we were blessed with multiple consecutive weeks of sun and warm temperatures, here in the UK, which – growing up in Italy – was something I was missing a lot.

I tried my best to enjoy and appreciate each sunny day, but beginning this Tuesday, it sure feels like summer is coming to an end. 

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On Tuesday evening my parents landed in Gatwick, and after picking them up, we drove to our holiday home.

Before they left for the airport, I remember telling them to leave their jackets at home, since we were having such a heatwave. Surely, the moment they arrived here, it started pouring down.

I was hoping that they would get to experience the place with nice weather, but I have to say, the rain was very cosy.

Felix hadn’t seen my parents in a long time, so this visit was the first one after getting engaged.

After my parents left, my mom texted me saying how much they like us as a couple, which made me incredibly happy! My parents don’t really say things like that often, so getting that text was very sweet.

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Another reason why I was hoping for good weather was because I was filming a video about the night sky (already up on my channel). I filmed the intro for it before picking my parents up from the airport, earlier in the week, and I told myself I would get a few nights to get some amazing images of planets.

Well… that didn’t really happen but I did managed to see Saturn, which was so cool.

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I had never been able to see it before, an even though I didn’t get much footage, I was relieved to see all your wonderful comments on the video!

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Other good news: all the pots I’ve made survived my very first firing! (don’t pay attention to the jug up there, it’s not ready yet).

I can only work on my pottery when I’m at the holiday home, as that’s where my office is (with the wheel, tools, sink and kiln) so that slows things down quite a bit.

Before leaving last week, I had the kiln fully loaded, and started the firing process: it takes maaaany hours to be completed, so I had to leave and come back to Brighton before I could open the lid of the kiln to check on the pottery.

When I finally went back, I was hoping that at least half of my pots would be intact, but to my surprise, they were all fine! A few had minor cracks, which I’m going to keep myself, but the rest was all in perfect condition, so I’m looking forward to start glazing them all next week!

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On Thursday evening Felix and I accompanied my parents to the airport, and once we got back, I had to prepare for the Maì restock.

Some of the white gold Foglia bracelets and Estate perfumes are still available, if you are interested!

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The support and feedback I’m getting regarding Maì is really amazing – thank you all! I’m loving the process of sketching product ideas and then making my doodles come to life, and the fact that so many of you are willing to wait weeks to get my creations means so much to me.

Anyway, I spent Friday and Saturday editing and preparing the orders. I still have a bunch of parcels to put together for tomorrow morning, but I wanted to quickly come here and talk to you guys.

Are you guys doing anything fun this weekend?

Marzia

ANISEED POPSICLES.

August 4th, 2018

The taste of summer.

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Do we share the same childhood memories?

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Growing up in Italy, every summer we would go to the beach for a few weeks.

My dad would drive our RV to the same camping site, year after year, which resulted in creating lots of good memories from that time; the one that I miss a lot  during summer, is being able to lay down in the sand, just to hear the ice-cream truck passing by.

Now, I’m sure you are all imagining the regular ice-cream truck with the cutesy song, but we didn’t use to have those at all in Italy (I’ve never once heard or seen one); we have so many ice-cream shops that there is no real use for something like that – instead, only at the beach, there would be a little truck driving by the shore. It wouldn’t just sell ice-cream, but all kinds of snacks, like cheese puffs and chocolate with grissini.

Yet my favourite was always aniseed popsicles!

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I could eat so many, and never get tired of them.

People either love the flavour, or hate it… so I’m curious: where do you stand?

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As you know, not long ago I went back to Italy for a few days… my friend and I went to grab some cold sweets and I asked for an aniseed popsicle – which I can usually get there.

BUT THEY DIDN’T SELL THEM ANYMORE.

I was not happy about that.

So I asked my mom to send me this bottle up here, which contains aniseed syrup to mix with water to create drinks and – you guessed it – popsicles.

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So I made myself some, waiting impatiently for them to be ready so I could finally taste some after so many years.

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I’ve told legends about these popsicles to Felix, so as soon as he got home, I made him try one.

He hated it. I expected it.

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SO. I’m curious: where you live, do you have aniseed popsicles available? Have you ever tasted them? And do you have any similar childhood memories to share?

 

Marzia

SALTED CHOCOLATE ALMONDS.

July 26th, 2018

A tasty snack.

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For the past few weeks I’ve been enjoying snacking on salted chocolate covered almonds, as I feel like they are the perfect pick me up for when you are craving something sweet, but they are small enough that you can just grab a few and be satisfied with how delicious they are. 

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I can only find these almonds (pre-made) in a particular store, so if I’m not nearby I cannot get the exact ones I like, so I figured I could try to recreate them.

I’m sure this snack is not new to most of you, but I can say I had never had chocolate almonds before and only now realised how great they taste!

To make mine slightly healthier, I opted for some Vegó chocolate, which is vegan, just so even if I indulge in these my stomach won’t pay the consequences.

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Start by melting the chocolate (I used 10 vegolino ‘bricks’ for this recipe).

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Once it was all soft, I added half a teaspoon of salt (adjust to taste, but I found this to be a pretty good mix for me).

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Bathe the almonds in the salted chocolate and let dry in oven paper, overnight.

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I put mine in the fridge as we are experiencing a heat wave in the UK, so as I took them out they looked a bit ‘wet’, but they were totally ready to be eaten, and tasted amazing (you can’t really fail!).

I placed mine in a jar, storing them in a cool place.

Have you tried some before?

Any other combinations I should try myself? 

Marzia

WHEN YOU MESS UP.

July 19th, 2018

Me realising I’ve made a pretty  e x p e n s i v e  mistake. 

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Let me tell you what happened.

As you guys know on the 1st of July I launched Maì. 

I had this date in mind and wanted to make it work. Sometimes I can be pretty stubborn.

I didn’t have the kiln, and I didn’t have first hand experience with selling online.

But I wanted it so badly, so I tried my very best to make it happen, and told myself as long as everything else was working fine on the website, the pottery section could wait.

I was right about that, but here is something I didn’t consider: the price of gold.

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The night before launching Maì, I checked that everything worked correctly, and spent a few hours doing some math to figure out prices for the fine jewellery I was about to sell.

I had this e-mail saved, in which I was told how to calculate what my final prices should look like, if executed correctly…

weight in grams x gold title = gold weight
divided gold weight x daily quote (the price of gold changes everyday) = gold value
gold value + manufacture = cost per piece (% to be added)

(this is translate from Italian so I may not be using the technical wording)

Alright, so it’s a pretty simple and straight forward formula, yet on the invoice I was given (and this is all my fault) I wasn’t fully sure what numbers I was looking at, and because I was rushing to do the math so I could put the pieces for sale, I must have misunderstood some amounts and went on to create a price for each item in my store.

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Cut to now, I’m realising that I’m not making money, compared to how much I’m spending myself to buy the pieces.

So today I decided to bring out my invoices again, look up the numbers, and check each piece.

It turns out I was selling some of the pieces for way less than I, myself, was buying them for. Luckily some others weren’t negative, but actually matched the price so I didn’t lose too much money, but the bottom line is that I’m awful at math and only now realised – after hundreds of orders that I’ve sold and shipped – that I had extremely low prices which wouldn’t turn a profit.

You can imagine the joy, and how stupid I feel.

But I guess I’ve learned my lesson, and if anything all the people that bought the jewellery so far had a pretty good deal!

I’ve now adjusted the prices, but you will see yourself that unfortunately they are much higher than before.

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When I went to Italy my cousin warned me that by the numbers on my shop, it seemed like I was underselling the jewellery, but I was being stubborn, once again, so when I restocked everything, I kept the same prices, worried that if I put them any higher, it wouldn’t seem fair.

What I’ve learned now is not to rush when it comes to business, and to listen to people that know more than me on the field!

This situation really sucks, and I’m trying to brush it off and tell myself that I will make the money back, but I wanted you to know that if you see higher prices on the website, you will know why.

On a positive note, thanks again to all for the amazing support you are giving Maì: seeing you guys ready on the website on the day of the restock made so happy. I will keep adding more and more products, and I hope you will keep liking what I put out, even if the price of jewellery has increased!

I hope you are all having a much less stressful day than me.

UUUUUUHHHHHH.

Marzia