Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/fr/shop/LesRevesNomades
Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/lesrevesnomades/
Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091286493118
Email: lesrevesnomadess@gmail.com
Behind “Les Rêves Nomades” we find Gaëlle. She lives with her partner in a converted vehicle and travels in Europe. She makes dream catchers and costume jewelry. In life, her passions are music, feathers, animals, traveling and nature.
OJL : Hello Gaëlle.
Gaëlle : Hello.
OJL : Four quick questions before getting to the heart of the matter.
As you live in a converted vehicle, can you tell us where your favourite café is located? And what do you like to take there ?
Gaëlle : My favourite café is the one I haven’t visited yet! (laughs). Otherwise, the local beer is always one of the first things I taste when I arrive somewhere.
OJL : And what is your favourite park or place ?
Gaëlle : A gigantic forest with no one around. It is the kind of place where I find some inspiration and where I recharge my batteries.
OJL : Next, what was the last book you read ? And the last song you listened to ?
Gaëlle : _Regarding to the book: “Brisingr” by Christopher Paolini.
_Regarding to the song: “Volupsà” by Wardruna.
OJL : Finally, do you have a quote and/or proverb that you like ?
Gaëlle : “If the ocean dies, we die” by Captain Paul Watson. As well as “I don’t always listen to metal, but when I do nothing else matter”(laughs).
OJL : Let’s talk a little about you now. How could you introduce yourself ?
Gaëlle : I would say that I stand out with my lifestyle because I am nomadic. In fact, I have been living in a converted vehicle with my man and my dog since 2021. And otherwise I cannot work without listening to a podcast or some music.
OJL : Can you tell us a little more about your partner and your dog ?
Gaëlle : My partner is a super heavy driver. He drives semi-trucks. He works with temporary agencies in the areas where we decide to stay for a certain period of time.
As for our dog, she comes from a shelter. She would be a border collie, griffon and labrador cross.
OJL : Many people wonder about alternative housing. What feedback can you offer us ?
Gaëlle : Regarding advice on nomadic life, I would say that you need to make a list of your needs, both material and financial.
But first of all, ask yourself these questions :
_ “Am I able to be alone in a vehicle ?”
_ “Are we ready to live on top of each other in a small space ?”
_ “Do I want to live all year round or just a few months a year as a nomad ?”
And especially :
_ “Am I ready to make concessions on my comfort of life?”
Because living in a vehicle can be uncomfortable or even physically restrictive. For example, if the vehicle has a low ceiling, we are always folded in half inside, we cook where we do all the other things of our day.
To become a nomad, it’s different for each future « backpacker », you can be a nomad in a truck, van or camper van, in a tent, in a hotel while hitchhiking, Everything also depends on the financial situation in which you are is, the budget that we want to allocate to the possible purchase of a vehicle and whether or not it is already equipped.
To summarize, I would say that you have to ask yourself the right questions and think carefully to know if you are made for this life. It’s not always the life we see on Instagram and we can often wonder if we made the right choice. Even if it’s just for part of the year.
Then, we also have to think carefully about the financial side, it is certain that we have fewer expenses but we must also remember that our “house” is also a vehicle to maintain. For work, this lifestyle also has an influence. In our case, we are in seasonal operation at the moment.
OJL: Who are the artists who shaped you ? Who struck you down ?
Gaëlle : My mother. She painted and drew a lot and often went to choirs. I grew up in a fairly artistic and very musical world. Mother nature also inspires me enormously with its colours, its shapes and its creations.
OJL: How did you choose your pseudonym ?
Gaëlle : Being nomadic and having started with dream catchers, I told myself that it would fit perfectly.
OJL : Let’s talk a little about your work now. What are you creating ?
Gaëlle : I create dream catchers and costume jewelry. I hope to eventually diversify into creations using more natural materials. I’m taking advantage of our current trip to Norway to try out some things, like working with animal bones and antlers found in the forest.
OJL : How can you define your style ?
Gaëlle : I would say eclectic (laughs). I do modern and contemporary. But also gothic, hippie and a little bit ethnic.
I always try to diversify in style but I naturally tend towards the gothic style (which is my favourite style), as for my model “Milk Way” and Crimson Moon” which are two of my favourite creations.
OJL : Gothic culture suits us (wink). What techniques do you use ?
Gaëlle : I do macramé on the circle then a simple or more complex weave in the center, it depends on the style I want to give to my piece. On some dream catchers, I put a pretty central stone and/or several small ones on the weave. I always choose my feathers as best as possible because I like to have beautiful feathers that highlight the model.
OJL : Indeed, In saw the name of the stone “howlite” passing around (wink).
Gaëlle : Indeed, I love “pretty pebbles”, I like to put a beautiful stone at the center of my dream catchers, like amethyst, rock crystal, white howlite, labradorite, malachite and other quartz. On the Vulcan dream catcher [main picture of the post] , I used lava stone beads to stay in volcano/fire topic. In particular, I made a dream catcher with a tree of life with pretty turquoise on it.
OJL : What type of thread do you use ? Is it cotton, wool ?
Gaëlle : Regarding the thread I use, for the moment I use cotton thread. I would like to use other types of yarn later but I don’t have the materials in mind yet even if I would like it to be more natural.
OJL : Can we place you a custom order?
Gaëlle : Yes, by contacting me by e-mail, on Instagram or on my Etsy store. I really enjoy working on personalized pieces.
OJL : Do you have an anecdote about the creation of one of your products ? Or one of your sales ?
Gaëlle : When we arrived in Norway, I saw a deer antler in the house of the person who hosted us and I was allowed to transform it into a dream catcher. The day after my creation, the neighbour came to see me with a very beautiful deer antler and asked me to create a dream catcher of the same type for him because he really liked my first creation. I had free rein to make what I wanted with this wood and I really liked the result too !
OJL : Terrific. Last question. You certainly have friends who do wonderful things ! If you want to promote them a little, now is the time !
Gaëlle : I have relatives who have a metal music group. They haven’t finished their recordings yet but they already have three demos on their Soundcloud. You can listen to them exclusively here : https://soundcloud.com/search?q=volphonevo
OJL : Bravo for what you do. May Our Lady protects you.
Gaëlle : Thank you.
Alpha Centauri
