Meeting Heju

DIY Hooks by Heju

Passionate French architects Hélène Pinaud and Julien Schwartzmann are the people behind Heju, where they share creative ideas, inspiring product and graphic designs, and also easy to follow DIYs. Their collection of crafts is so pleasing to the eye you would never guessed they were simple crafts that you and I can do too! Read on for the rest of our interview with Heju about where they get their inspirations for such creative craft projects, and also some really helpful tips for those of us less adventurous. Continuing from where we left off on the Bloesem Gazette..

What is you favourite DIY project so far?

The DIY that we are most proud of is the "lampe bijou" which is a lamp made with bracelets. We feel that this DIY represents our desire to modify and enhance the functions of an inexpensive item to create something more. We like to create aesthetically pleasing and ludic objects but above all, useful ones.

Yeah I saw it too, we thought it was really smart! Where are some places you go to online to find inspiration for such cool DIY? 

It’s not really original but we spend a lot of time exploring Pinterest. It’s a great tool to find some DIY ideas, some recipes or just inspiration for decorating your home.

Read on for the full interview..

Lampe Bijou by Heju

What about other DIY crafters in the community that inspire you guys?

Among our favourite DIY blogs, there is 'The House that Lars Built' created by Brittany Watson Jepsen. Her whole concept is really consistent and she is a role model to us. We are also big fans of Beci Orpin’s work, she is so sweet and very talented. We love her patterns and her style is distinct and easily recognisable. Last but not least, we would recommend the all white and minimalistic blog "love-aesthetics". It is full of simple DIYs made with some unexpected materials.

What do you think are the top 5 crafts or trends of 2015?

It’s really difficult to list my top 5, the craft community is just so creative! But, in any case, we found that there was a large range of materials used in DIYs in the last couple of months. We loved all the DIY ideas using marble or gold brass!

DIY Coasters by Heju

Share with us a form of craft you admire and would love to try, but have not.

We would love to attend a pottery class though we haven’t because of a lack of free-time. That’s such a shame! In fact, we have been in love with ceramics since we first discovered Ben Fiess’ work. We are constantly fascinated by the know-how of the ceramists in general and their nimble hands.

What are your favourite materials to work with?

Our favourite material is wood. Even if working with it may seem scary at the beginning, you always feel extra accomplished and satisfied when manage a DIY using wood. It is also a multi-purpose material, you can make small objects as well as large furniture.

Heju's first architecture project.

True! And where do you think is the best place to find craft materials like wood and many others?

In Paris, we often go to le BHV Marais. It’s a department store near the city hall where you can find anything you want. Obviously, we spend a lot of time on the hardware and the craft floors. Besides that, we also love to use Farrow & Ball paints in our DIYs. The colours they offer are pastel and soft, just the way we like them!

Share with us some tips to avoiding crafter's block.

When things don't go the way we’d like to or when we can’t find anymore ideas, we usually take a free day to visit an art exhibition, for example the Le palais de Tokyo, a museum in Paris that we love, or go ride a bike through the streets of Paris. It’s a good way to clear the mind for a bit and think of something else.

And any advice for people doing DIYs for the first time?

We would say that it’s okay to fail sometimes, it happens all the time. To everyone else, you might even be the one they admire the most! Just keep in mind that tomorrow is a new day and perhaps, you’ll achieve something far beyond your expectations instead.

That's definitely something to take away.. Thank you for such an inspiring chat, Hélène and Julien!

All images via Heju.

.. Heju
.. Have you given our latest Bloesem Gazette a read?