Remember the birthday giveaway I did in July? Laurence (50) won the giveaway, and I portrayed her in Paris.
It was the first time that I went abroad for AndBloom. Dayenne came with me to help me out with styling and production. Today, I am sharing the first portrait of this beautiful and kind woman.
Tell us what you’d like us to know about yourself:
I grew up in a tiny village, lost up the mountains an hour from Lyon. My childhood memories feel happy and delightful, like listening to my grandmother telling me stories. I have always felt like an outsider and never fitting the mold: too tall and wearing glasses, divorced parents (so unusual in rural France in the 70e), severely depressed father, Protestant in a Catholic country, loner (never liked mixing much with the other kids), loved school and studying.
As a child, I wanted to be a spy. Or I dreamt of building bridges, learning new languages, and meeting people from different horizons. I sought to get to know other people and cultures in their everyday lives. I was in love with nature (and still am) and books and writing. I love to cook, I was raised in a restaurant, my mother, grandmother and great-grand-mothers are “chefs.” I cannot remember a day going by without watching someone cook and introducing me to new products and tastes.
For me, cooking is life.
I guess I have never stopped being that little girl. I have traveled the world and learned new languages. I have pursued my childhood dreams. I met amazing people in faraway places and heard dozens of stories to tell. I never became a spy, though.
What Do You Do for Work?
Currently, I am an administrative manager at the University. Still, I am multi-skilled, as I also teach English and French as a foreign language and sometimes translate. I am also a photographer and a Community Manager. Because working in an office is not for me, I am about to launch my business, Culinary Tours, in the South of France, and I am writing articles for magazines.
Within the next year, my goal is to be able to work from anywhere, be free to travel more and have a place by the Ocean. I love the idea of sitting down somewhere in the country not far from the sea and having a vegetable garden & orchard.
Growing up with all your experiences, the ups, and downs, the people you love, have loved, who have loved you, love you, your fears and hopes, and finding acceptance is what years have “taught” me.
Laurence baudoin
What do you do for play?
I photograph (extensively). I read and write a lot. I swim because I love being in the water. I practice yoga (not enough) and meditate (I would love to be more regular). I cook for myself and others. I walk the countryside by day and the city streets at night. I want to “get lost as much as possible out of my day.” I spend too much time on social networks. From time to time, I have a craving for watching series for hours in a row (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Killing Eve” – by the way, I LOVE the way Villanelle dresses). I go to festivals (opera, music, photography), and I like to go to the afternoon movies.
I NEVER get bored…
Can you tell us a bit about the French view of aging?
Euh, French women don’t “age”, of course! Joke apart, I think older French women, especially in Paris,
are the most elegant ones, and age doesn’t seem to be a problem. The new trend is to embrace aging; being in your 40s is the new 20s. Women over 60-70 are celebrating their “mature womanity”: I learn a lot from my older friends. They are fantastic and so in charge of assuming who they are.
What would you say is the best and the worst thing about becoming an older woman?
I would almost forget about the word “older” in that sentence. I think becoming the woman you are supposed to be is already quite a journey!
Growing up with all your experiences, the ups, and downs, the people you love, have loved, who have loved you, love you, your fears and hopes, and finding acceptance is what years have “taught” me.
Tell us something surprising about yourself.
I appear to be quite “serious,” but I would do something totally unexpected from time to time.
I once (only because sometimes French people lack a sense of humor, especially during job interviews) told a prospective employer that I could undress a man and dress him back in new clothes in less than 2min in the dark (I used to work at The Royal Opera House as a dresser and we had to “perform” quick changes backstage during the show!).
Ps: I got the job.
Last great book you read?
I have just re-read “Camille Claudel” by Anne Delbé, “Diego & Frida” by LeClézio, and “The Unfinished” by Ann Ray (about the ultimate portrait of the designer Lee McQueen – poignant). Any book about strong characters would attract me, and I am completely hooked by Frida’s life and work.
What makes you happy?
Not necessarily in this order: sun-kissed light, the feel of water on my skin, the Ocean, clouds passing-by, children’s laugh (the unrestricted giggles), watching my lover watching me, his hands stroking my hands, a meal of cheese and bread and wine and “mousse au Chocolat” made by me, the after-rain in the countryside (the smell), red lipstick, wearing my “Red dress” by Karma Koma, music by Agnès Obel, traveling the world, photographing details, poetry, finding the right translation (I am obsessed by words)…
Strangest recent middle-of-the-night thought?
Performing in “Chicago” – another old dream of mine!
What is your age, and how old do you feel?
50 (51 in October), much less, in fact, from 7 to 77 depending on the day. I adored my 40e, as it is when I “discovered” the femininity in me, it took me so long, and I loved what I found!
I will make my 50e even better, but I like to keep the child within me as much as possible, every day.
Laurence is wearing a blouse by Uniqlo, jeans are by Levis and earrings are Zara.
