#AllCoopedUp with Hortense Bonneau, Jewelry Designer
Hortense designs and crafts jewelry that doesn’t follow trends: her unique aesthetic is a delicate balance that reflects her own transatlantic experience: she is from Paris but lives in LA. Her design philosophy is focused on playful surprises that speak volumes to her customers. I love the way she incorporates her passion for animals in her work. I’m planning on giving her cord bracelets to everyone on my Mother’s Day list. - Jenna
What’s your profession, and what does your day-to-day work experience look like now?
My name is Hortense and I am a jewelry designer and Founder of Hortense Jewelry. With the order to stay at home, our studio is closed, but we are still taking orders on our website. I have been in quarantine for 5 weeks. I try to wake up at 8:30 am everyday. After a quick breakfast and shower, I try to dress up like if I were going to the studio (except for my shoes...) and put a little bit of makeup on just to feel like I’m living a normal life. Then I check all my emails and any inquiries on my Instagram account. After that, I try to plan the next pictures for the week on my Instagram account. During this difficult time, social media is extremely important for all businesses, so I answer all my emails and inquiries. I also look at all the nonprofit associations to help the most vulnerable during this time. I check my orders and feel extremely thankful for all the people that are still ordering items during this difficult time. The support of my customers is absolutely incredible. Then I work on the Mailchimp Letters with the help of my sales rep and think about any ideas on how to bring some sort of light and support to our customers. All my wholesale accounts have had to close their stores, so usually I receive orders almost every day from them, but today it is a very different story!!! The orders are only orders from my website for now, but I still try to support all my wholesale accounts through Instagram.
Are there objects or spaces in your house that you are newly appreciating? Or are there objects and spaces you have come to loathe?
Not really. My office is the space where I spend most of my time each day.
Describe your at-home quarantine uniform.
A pair of jeans, a sweatshirt and a pair of slippers...
Who are you quarantining with? Do you feel the need to “get away”? How do you make it happen?
I am with my husband and our daughter and I don’t feel the need to “get away”. I do have a lot of doctors in my family, and they are in France, and I know what they are going through, so I really don’t want to go anywhere. I feel so, so, so lucky to just be at home and safe. Plus, it is so dangerous right now outside and not safe at all for our health.
What’s the last thing you purchased online? Regret or obsessed?
Just a book, so no regret! I also try to support small businesses such as my esthetician who I bought a hydrating mask from and my hair dresser who I bought hair color from.
Tell us the best shows, podcasts, or books you’re loving right now.
I am reading a French book by a French director, Francis Veber, called Que ca reste entre nous. Last night I watched a movie that I love: Le Dernier Metro (The last Metro) from Francois Truffaut.
Do you have any new quarantine activities or rituals?
I try to walk for one hour with our dog. Where I live, there’s nobody in the streets, so it is all safe to go out for a walk. I do wear a mask to be safe though.
What is your favorite quarantine snack? What restaurants are you ordering takeout from?
I try to cook every night, but for a snack I go for half a banana and a piece of light cheese, or an apple and some protein.
What is the one item you’re glad you stocked up on? What do you wish you’d stocked up on?
I didn’t stock up on toilet paper!!! I can’t find any and we are almost out. I do not understand this thing? Like who bought all the toilet paper? I really do not get this… I did not stock up on anything though, because I believe it’s good to think about other people.
Describe your biggest quarantine indulgence.
Ice cream!! :(
If you have kids, how are you maintaining some kind of schedule for them?
Our Daughter Lola is super organized. She’s 12 years old. Her teachers are incredible and her zoom meetings and online classes are really good. She only needs me for lunch and dinner to cook her some good meals! We do meet at 2 pm almost every day to do a workout together, then we meet again at 7:30-8pm for dinner and a good movie.
What are you doing for exercise?
Yoga and cardio and a lot of walking where there’s nobody around.
What’s been the biggest challenge for you throughout this?
My dad is sick and has been hospitalized twice since quarantine has started. He is in France and I can’t even go there to visit him.
When this is over I cannot wait to ___________.
See my dad.
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