Etsy Around the World: lapomme

This week's featured seller has quite a vivid imagination. After you finish reading her interview, be sure to check out her Etsy shops to see her other creations!

Who are you?

My name is Apol Lejano-Massebieau, and I have two shops, La Pomme and La Pomme Stories.

Where are you located?

I live in Aigues Mortes, a village in southwest France.

If you have you ever visited North Carolina, what do you remember about your trip?

I haven't had the pleasure of visiting North Carolina, I'm sorry. In the United States, I've only been to New York.

What do you create?

I make toys and soft sculptures, and that's what you'll find in La Pomme. In "real life," I'm a writer, and have been thinking for some time now about how I can combine my writing and my crafts-making. So I recently opened La Pomme Stories, where you can find my handmade books of fairytales. I like blogging about whatever it is that's keeping my hands currently occupied!

What is your favorite place to visit in your hometown?

I'm not originally from here, I was born in a big sprawling megalopolis. Living in the French countryside for me is a wonderful break from big-city stress. Where I now live they sometimes call France's Wild West. It is a wonderfully quirky region. And I enjoy driving around everywhere, so I really can't pick favorites!

Why did you choose your medium?

I think it has to do with my general state of mind. I used to work with semiprecious stones and metals, making jewelry, but when I decided to slow down a bit and change my lifestyle, I began finding stones too cold and metal too hard. So, fabric. Soft and so much more malleable.

What is you most popular item that you create?

I've just opened La Pomme Stories, and I am pleasantly surprised to find that my fairytale books are selling very well. Why? I think people always love a good tale, especially fairy tales. They make us dream, and dreaming is always a good thing.

What is your next project going to be?
I am itching to make bigger and more complex fabric sculptures, like my White Swans, but on a grander scale. I just need to find the time. Us members of the European Street Team are always looking for the Etsy shop that sells more time...

What online activities have brought you the most noticeable success?

Being featured on design and crafts blogs, definitely! Recent features have been on decor8, Heart Handmade, and Emily Martin's blog. There's been a few others, and I really cannot thank the people behind these sites enough! Plus, I bought a spot in the July/August Home Sweet Home Market of Poppytalk Handmade, and that helped generate interest in my shops too.