ABOUT
OUR HAPPY PLACE came about because we kept asking ourselves what the space was for us. We kept coming back to the fact that "it is our happy place”… a space to escape from the busy world we live in and enjoy creating something over a cup of coffee with friends. A place for women to feel inspired in. A place for connection and making new friends in a foreign country. A place where you can be who you are without judgement and feel like you are “home”. A place for letting kids use their imaginations to their hearts content and for adults to reconnect to that inner creativity that they no longer feel they have. A place where parents can sit back and enjoy the party, while we take care of all the mess and details.
This is what Our Happy Place is!
Our Happy Place is very aptly named! The atmosphere here is very relaxing, welcoming, and creative. I have visited a few times now for German Coffee Klatsch and various (business) workshops. The brains behind it, Julie & Sandra, are a fantastic team and do what they do best with great dedication. Come and see it for yourself!
- Manca Pangerc, Thalwil
Meet the team
julie
Hello!
my name is:
I grew up wearing clothes made by my Mom and Grandma, napping under my Mom’s crocheted blankets and watching Bob Ross paint “happy little trees” every week at my Grandma’s house. Surrounded by creative women, I was always drawing, painting and making handmade gifts for my family and friends. My ultimate dream…to become an Art teacher so I could make kids as happy as I was when doing what I loved! Life took me on a detour to the corporate world of accounting, where the Midwest girl from Missouri who had never travelled outside of the USA (except for Canada) landed in Zurich, Switzerland.
Fast forward two international moves (to the USA and back to Switzerland), 2 kids (now teenagers!), a dog, an escape from the corporate jungle, and trying my hand at running a small retail business selling handmade products, I found my way back to my dream of teaching arts and crafts to others! I love what I do and am committed to creating special moments for my clients.
Julie Blume, Owner & Founder
sandra
Hello!
my name is:
Growing up in East Germany, I know exactly how to make a fancy bike out of an old rusty nail...or something like that! You had to be inventive and with an engineer for a father, my playgrounds were his crazy workshop and the old junkyards nearby. Thanks to him, today I could build a house with only a Swiss Army knife and I know how to use power tools!
When I moved from Berlin to Zurich in 2008, I had no idea of my luck - my husband and my 2 sons (4 and 7 years old this year) also love my creative ideas at home. So after a year in an office job, I quickly realised that I missed the creating with my hands and started taking pictures and making things again. I am so glad that I met Julie at a Koffermakt and since then we have put countless of great ideas into action.
Today, Our Happy Place is my second home. My favorite thing is to come up with great themes for kids' birthday parties to see the pure look of joy that comes to their faces when they create something they are proud of.
By the way, with me the glass is always full... full of pink lemonade ; )!
