Q&A: Deborah Stein

Welcome to the glittering, elegant world of Bonbon Oiseau.

Get into the holiday spirit and check out her blog, 

where she's hosting a raffle to benefit The NYC Food Bank!

cutie Deb.

1) Describe who you are in 10 words or less.
awww...do i have to...wait that was 5 words...damn. 11.

2) Tell us what you do for work, and who you do it for, OR how you spend your days. (besides blogging. HA!) 

I'm a jewelry designer with a company called Bonbon Oiseau. I do it for myself (and to feed my husband and 2 cats and often times friends and family members who wander in)

3) What organization methods do you use to keep all your bits and pieces in order?

 Nice question! In the studio I use plastic boxes with all kinds of little compartments stacked on shelves so we can see everything as we need it. There are a few things we keep in old Clementine boxes because I like the way they look but my assistant hates them because we can't see into them. (She also had me get a labeler so we label everything we can't see) We also have cubbies (the "Expedit from ikea"--love this one--am a big fan of cubbies to keep us organized) and inside each one we keep a different family of things. We use nails on the wall to hang all of our orders up with those clamp clips...basically we always revise our organizational system as we grow...it's the only way...

4) Share a defining moment in your life, which had a direct effect on who you are today.
Hmmm... I suppose a defining moment was the time I spent in India working with the toymakers. They were very poor as were a lot of the people I spent my days with there and it taught me to not waste anything, that I don't really NEED anything and to be thankful for everything I do have every day. I think it did shape who I've become.

5) Please tell us the story of the biggest belly laugh of your life.
Well, there are a lot. I have a lot of funny friends. The only one that immediately comes to mind and that I can repeat (kind of) was the day after The Coney Island Mermaid Parade in 2000. My friends and I entered a float themed "Only a Starfish Can Open A Clam"..our float was great, and I was the clam--I designed a soft sculpture clamshell that opened and closed and I could sit inside and threw confetti and mardi-gras beads from out of my shell-- we had a full on extravaganza with our own parade leader and sexy dancing girls all dressed alike with a little dance routine and a brass band from Wisconsin following us and the next day, after it was all over, I got a call from my friend Jen who said, "Guess who's in the inside cover of the NY Daily News Deb?...You are...you are Deb." We laughed pretty hard...I guess I was a pretty good clam but the thing is..can I say this here? I had glued a pretty obvious beard to my chin and wore all

 pink and sat in a clamshell that opened and closed... The Daily News put a Bearded Clam on their inside cover...anyway..we laughed and laughed...I'll look for the picture and send it to you!

6) What work of art, creation, project, photo, etc. are you most proud of?
I think to date I'm most proud of my Fall Collection right now..it's based on Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass and I think it embodies the feeling and spirit of that collection of poems...It's one of my favorite collections in that it's literary and also wearable. That's not always that easy to do.

7) Which children's book influenced you the most? 

I think Jacob Two-two and The Hooded Fang which i thought was by Roald Dahl but I just looked into it and it turns out to be by Moredcai Richter---it was about a little kid surrounded by adults, like i was, but he ends up going to jail for doing something bad I can't remember... he was a very cool little character... I also loved the Great Brain series by John Fitzgerald (my collection was illustrated by Maurice Sendak which was great)... that was about a little Mormon kid who was always outsmarting all the adults (but as my older brother always says, the adults were just really stupid).

8) What is your favorite pie? Favorite flavor Ice Cream?

 Favorite pie: tarte tatin, (and often humble pie) favorite ice cream: green tea or Ciao Bella's Blood Ornage Sorbet

9) Which blog post of yours has had the most comments? 

l don't really have that kind of rock star blog but i get the most comments 1) when i've had a giveaway (how do people know?) 2) when I post a recipe or pics from my garden or 3) after a Bonbon photoshoot... but this one got a surprising number of comments (for me) because people liked the pic of my dad:
bonbonoiseaudesign.blogspot.com/2008/09/even-if-your-weekend-is-busy.html

10) What message would you like to leave for the world? (here is your chance)
My message is from my favorite grafitti artist--the tag is written large on a wall in williamsburg: WE ARE ALL BUDDHAS. I would say that's a pretty good message.