Amelie has an infectiously positive energy; always happy, always smiling!

I first met Amelie through her French cousin, Marie, who is also a SOUL customer and had told her about us…Amelie soon became a regular ‘pop-in’ into the studio, often with one of her gorgeous children in tow; she soon started bringing her friends…each time she would say ‘I'm not going to buy any more SOUL today - I'm going to be good’ and then a few hours later I’d often get a message asking me if the piece she loved was still there and could she in fact take it!

I love the way Amelie has embraced living in Africa, soaking up all it’s creativity, it always feels inspiring to see Cape Town through Amelie’s eyes…

Amelie, Please can you tell us a little bit about yourself - where are you from originally, where do you live now and what do you do?My Name is Amelie, I am from Paris, France and I’ve been in South Africa for 11 years! 8 years in Johannesburg ad then we moved to Cape town 3 years ago. After 6 years of taking care of my family (I have 3 kids, Max 11yrs, Lili almost 10yrs and Juliette 7yrs) I decided to start sewing for my girls…. and some of my friends asked me to sew for their kids… then I decided to start selling my creation and it works quite well! When we moved to Cape Town, I decided to focus on one of my best sellers, the reusable wipes (to clean your face, remove make up…) and I created my own brand Shwely! I love to sell my product at the French School Christmas market in Cape Town! It is at that French market that I started to fall in love of all SOUL design products and I started selling them !!

What’s your most memorable adventure?In addition to the birth of my 3 kids, it was the day we left France to arrive in this amazing country!!! I think my life here in South Africa and especially in Cape Town will be the most memorable adventure of my life!

How does travel feed your soul?I love talking to people, discovering a new culture, a new way of life and a new way of thinking! I love going out of my comfort zone.

They say home is where the heart is. What does ‘home’ mean to you?This is a difficult question! After 2 years far away from France, I will say “France is home” but if I want to be completely honest Home is everywhere with my super lovely husband and my 3 kids (and my dog and my twin cats hihihi).

What makes Africa special compared to others places you’ve been to?Two of my 3 kids were born here and I gave them a zulu name… it is part of the story of their life and it means a lot!!! And then here in your country, you have something that I will miss !! the smile and the kindness !

What are your favourite SOUL Design pieces to travel with?First I want to say that I love ALL SOUL design pieces ! and each time I come to the studio I buy a new piece ! but to travel it is definitely my necklaces MAMA, and I'm thinking of having SISI at the back of the charm! One of my best friends did it and one day a guy called me sisi i was so so happy to be sisi !! I will do it !

Finally, we know you are (sadly) going back to France at the end of this year, any exciting plans you’d like to share with us?It is going to be so so hard to going back to France ! but in the meantime I miss my family…. I would love to open a soul design studio in France with other brands that I love here like Bamba Zonke, Sitting Pretty, Good Clothing and of course Jane Valken !!!! My little Africa in France !!!