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“Want to watch a writer squirm? Tell them you have a three exclamation point per year rule. With a straight face.”
Nichole Robertson

Nichole Robertson is living the dream life. She’s one of the few people who not only dreams of living in Paris, but actually does it. And she writes. For money. And she and her husband have the cutest, most genius Etsy shop on the planet. And, and, and…you can’t help but be a little envious!

Seriously, I love her work. Her tweets are right up there with @gwenbell’s, so you can imagine how important it is to follow her. Right this instant. (After reading this fabulous interview, of course.)

Dream come true: An interview with Nichole Robertson

You’re a writer, blogger, and you run an etsy store with your husband. Are you a big believer in multiple income streams? How does that work for you?

My main focus is my writing career. I’ve been a copywriter for ten years, and love what I do. I’ve been fortunate enough to establish a solid client base and network, so I’m fairly busy. Currently I’m the Copy Director for Amala–an organic skin care brand from Germany.

I started blogging because it keeps me sharp, and forces me to get out from behind my computer and “live.” I enjoy taking photos, love sharing ideas, and honestly just connecting with others. I don’t plan to derive income from my blog, so I don’t really consider that a revenue stream. It does in some instances lead to writing jobs, but that’s just a perk!

The etsy shop is a fun little side gig for my husband and me. What began as a relatively small project, blossomed into a fairly decent business. We’ve slacked off in the past month because we’ve both been very busy with our jobs, but I’m eager to carve out some time so we can brainstorm some new ideas.

Oooh…another couple who works at home together! (Wish you could come by for coffee, but Paris is a little…far.) We have a hard time getting ourselves out of the house, and we’re surrounded by people who–literally–speak our language. Is that a difficulty in Paris? What do you guys do besides work?

I love working from home with my husband, and though it’s not alway ideal when it comes to boundaries and children, I am very careful never to complain for fear I’ll wake up from the dream.

It’s definitely tough to get out some days, especially because my husband and I wax toward the introverted end of the social spectrum, but we make a point to. But between our work and day-to-day with the kids, there’s not much time for anything else. We certainly miss our friends in the NYC metro region and would love to have them here.

The video you made for the holidays was beautiful, inspiring, and most importantly…made me want to order all of your great printables for my gifts! Can you go into detail about the production of that video?

The main thing with stop-motion is that everything needs to be absolutely untouched or the shots will jump around violently as the video progresses. To give us the best shot at getting a good result, we mounted the camera to an I-beam in the ceiling over the table (thanks to my very handy and supportive dad). The table was fixed to the floor. The whole thing was shot over two exhausting days. We had a basic outline and knew what song we were using, but allowed ourselves little experiments as we went along.

I’d love to know a little more about your elusive writing career. What got you started?

I started my career during the height of the dot com boom in 1999. I was involved in marketing and editing, and polished my skills by writing a daily newsletter. After dot boom turned dot bust, I bounced around for a year or two, and finally landed a full-time position as a copywriter for a beauty brand–Mark. Once I had my foot in the beauty business, the rest was surprisingly simple. I scored a few key jobs with bigger brands–Bumble and Bumble, Esprit, Prescriptives and Bravo TV, and the relationships I established have kept me busy. The Brand Director at Amala (my main client at the moment) was part of the marketing team at Mark (my first stint in the beauty industry).

Recently I’ve stepped out of the beauty and fashion world a bit. My most recent projects include a piece on Lindt Chocolate for Real Simple Magazine and an interview with Iefke de Roos for Design for Mankind Magazine.

It’s an incredibly fun job, and am thrilled that I get to play with words everyday. For the little girl who liked to sniff new books, arrange them by color and obsessively practice her handwriting, this is a dream come true for sure.