I was born 1965 in the southwest of Germany - an area called Saarland which is very close to the french border. I grew up with an older brother in a smallish town called Heiligenwald -  which translates to guess what? Hollywood, yay;) I was a curious little thing with blond curly hair always trying to stand out against my 4 1/2 year older brother. Not only was he a lot older, he also was a big teaser, so, little as I was, I always had to find a way to keep up. Maybe that's the reason why I always liked center stage:) As a kid I loved to sing, to paint to craft and to play with my friends in the outdoors. It was great living there close to nature, running around playing in this huge and wild but long forgotten orchard right to the back of our house.

My family is great. My parents - especially my mom - always tried to treat me and my brother equally, which is great. She's a caring person with a big heart, so I never had the feeling to miss out on something. To twist my dad around my finger o get what I want was way easier - I'm my daddy's girl, always was and always will be. 

Especially when I was older and trying to find my way in the world my parents always respected my decisions and never tried to mold me in a different direction. Well, I guess they already knew that they wouldn't succeed anyways - I have a strong will and once I made a decision (which can take ages - decision making is hard for me - I'm a libra) I stick to it and I want it with all my heart.

 

As I already said - being close to my family had a big influence on my character. But thinking closer about that I guess my grandma (dad's mom) had a huge influence in me. She was kind of a free spirit, had to manage her life with three little boys since her husband went missing in WW2. They realy were poor back then and she knit for a living to be able to buy food for these three boys. Well, guess who taught me crocheting and knitting:) She never married again and after the boys were married and had children themselves she did stuff that my other, more conservative grandparents didn't do. She went out for bowling, went to the beauty parlor, had a lot of friends. When I was around her I always had the feeling I could be anything I want because she let me. She wasn't around that much, but I  enjoyed every minute with her when she was. Unfortunately she died too young at the age of 66 and I miss her a lot. My mom always says that I'm just like her - especially when I'm stubborn, self confident or uncompromising. She does this to tease me, but I always feel kind of proud when calls me "Grandma Liesel";)

 

I always was a creative person - my room was always cluttered with crafty stuff. I never got bored when I was not able to go outdoors to play - I just pulled out my stuff and did stuff. I kind of liked everything that let to creating something. I sewed and knit clothes for my barbie dolls, build closets for the barbie clothing together with my grandpa, I enjoyed cooking and baking with my grandma (the other one). After high school I went to University studying graphic design which is actually still my profession but after finding out about polymer clay this got pushed more and more into the background. I still have a few customers but most of my time I spend creating with clay now. How I came to it? Well, this question is already answered in many online-interviews and most of the people already know it. In 2003 I was thinking about making kitschy snowglobes with tiny winter wonderlands inside as christmas gifts. I figured that Fimo would be a good medium to sculpt these landscapes. I knew Fimo existed but for some unknown reason I never touched it before. So I went online and googled FIMO and there it was: tons of websites showing beautiful patterns and jewelry made from polymer clay. I couldn't believe that I missed out n this medium my whole life. I spent the whole week researching, reading, learning about it and then I went and bought the first blocks of clay and some tools. Luckily there already was a pasta machine in my kitchen (which has never been used to make pasta ever since). And guess what - I never made the snow globes but everybody got a piece of jewelry that christmas:)