From Dill to Dracula

Time for another business feature! I love stumbling upon Romanian-made products, especially when they’re steeped in an authentic or traditional motif. That explains why I was so drawn to Andrea at NeedleSChoice’s shop on Etsy.

↓ Check out their interview and some of my favorite pieces below! ↓

Tell us about your shop and what you create, and why you do what you do.

My name is Andrea and I’m a Romanian artist. Well, stay and work at home Mom of six, but let’s face it, raising six kids is in itself an art, right? So, in between the cooking and the folding laundry, and wiping snotty noses and breastfeeding, I create what you see in my shop, original handmade jewelry with traditional Romanian motifs. Why? A wild combination of reasons actually. First, because I grew up in a picturesque area of Romania, surrounded by traditions and incredible women, my mom, my aunts, my grandmothers, who delighted themselves (and me) with a wide range of talents: weaving, sewing, knitting, embroidery, and crochet. I pursued them all myself, in different stages of my life, but for a few years now I stopped at cross-stitching. Why I opened this Etsy store? To be able to stay at home with my kids.

All in all, this is not just a way to be able to work at home, but also a means to keeping traditions alive and passing on our heritage to our children. I hope you’ll enjoy what I have in the shop and I look forward to delivering a little piece of our heart and country to your home!

What does your typical workday look like?

My day starts at 6AM, preparing the kids for school and kindergarten. After they leave, I have around 3 hours to work, with interruptions because our smallest child is only 4 months old ❤. I have days for embroidery, days for finishing the jewelries, days for posting in the shop and days for SM, but if I have open orders, then I work on them until they are ready and shipped ?

What makes your products unique?

The fact that I use our traditional Romanian motifs in combination with premium quality materials and lots of love.

How long (on average) does it take for you to complete one piece?

On average, around 3 hours. But I rarely have 3 free hours at once ?

What are some of your favorite pieces?

If I have to pick one, this would be it

{Boho Bride Earrings}

Do you ever create something and keep it for yourself, opposed to putting it up for sale? To counter, how hard is it to part with your artwork?

The only piece I managed to keep for myself is my pair of bride earrings. I have 5 daughters, so you can imagine why.

When I create something new, I always say I keep the first one, but as soon as it’s posted, it’s sold.

What’s your favorite part of Romania?

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Oh, that’s a tough question. I grew up in the North West of Romania, Satu Mare / Oas / Maramures, so that is one favourite. But I also love Banat, where I live now, Transilvania with his mountains and castles and Moldova with his monasteries

Tell us something about Romania that most wouldn’t be familiar with.

Romania is the country that has Transylvania at its center, in fact 42% of Romania is Transylvania

Dracula: does he exist?

He does exist, in people’s imagination at least

Do you have a favorite Romanian meal you’d like to share with the blog?

Yes, the polenta cake:
a layer of polenta {From Dill to Dracula note: otherwise known as mămăligă, featured in my cookbook here}, a layer of sour cream, a layer of (telemea) salted cheese, a layer of fried sausages, a layer of sour cream. We repeat all the layers twice, then add a last layer of polenta.