Economist by profession, Cami Dröge (46 years old) simply reinvented herself and succeeded in turning her love for tradition into wonderful art. With needle, sewing thread, old models reinterpreted, imagination and a lot of love she does spectacular jewelry, decorations, greeting cards, key rings, applications for clothes and so many more. She had published a book with decorations with folk motifs, both in Romanian and Hungarian, and also created a big online community where women of all ages find inspiration. Her wonderful products got all over the world, from France, Holland or Germany to Australia, Belgium, Romania, her native country and of course Norway, where she is currently living.

“I don’t think I had learnt this, I simply started sewing”, Cami says, smiling – and the happiness because of what she’s doing can be felt in every word. She is economist by profession, mother of two wonderful girls, 9 and 12 years old, her family owned an engineering consulting firm in Romania, then they moved to Norway when her husband got here a very good job offer.

Yet, love for traditional sewing comes from childhood – memories with her beloved grandmother sewing on etamine are so precious, kept in her heart, as well as the ones with her childhood in a village, where her father was her first teacher, in school.

One day, in 2013, she simply felt she would try – so she had bought etamine, needle and thread. “I have a very good friend, Adela, and all my first “tests” were on her – first greeting card I had given her, my first sewn necklace also got to her, same a T-shirt with sewn applications”, Cami remembers, smiling.

And the story started like this. “It’s about creativity and the fact that you don’t cut your roots. Every little cross gives you the feeling that you are there, with your soul where you have never left from”, she says.

Sewn stories, with hands and heart

Cami makes many things – from spectacular jewelry to decorations, concept greeting cards, key rings, applications for clothes, bookmarks and so many more.

“I find inspiration in Romanian folklore, most of my models are reinterpreted, readapted. From the small part I started from I sew and it practically becomes another model. We can’t, in 2020, wear the same inheritance our grandmothers had, we take elements that we put on the actual context. It’s a traditional Romanian reinterpreted into an extremely versatile jewelry, suitable both for the day or for the evening. I can’t sew two identical jewelry, the colors, the seam – it has to be something different”, Cami says.

Her wonderful products got all over the world, from France, Holland or Germany to Australia, Belgium, Romania and of course Norway.

Book published, in Romanian and Hungarian

Cami had also published a book inspired by her passion – “Grandma’s seams – decorations with folk motifs” – both in Romanian and in Hungarian. The Romanian version was published in 2017, the Hungarian version one year later and the books are already sold.

“I have designed the book, the models, the pictures. There are adapted models, decorations, greeting cards, bookmarks, phone covers, cutlery supports, applications on the T-shirt, painting, cup holder, key ring”, Cami says.

Beautiful online community

Online community “Grandma’s seams” had also beautifully developed, and today almost 22.000 persons follow the page on Facebook. Passionate people find here inspiration, wonderful things to be done both with hands and with heart. “People interact through a lot of messages, ask for models, but there are also persons who tell me that sewing and the page had helped them on difficult times – what they had discovered here and did was a very good therapy for soul” Cami says. One of the members of the community told her how working after the page had helped her pass through a very difficult divorce – and this is only an example.

A teacher of technological education contacted her and she created special models that the teacher can work on with children in school. After the book was published, sewing workshops for children had been organized, based on the models from the book. “My emotional gain is huge, even if this has never been a business”, Cami says.

Work with heart

“When I work I simply forget about time, I’m just there, nothing else”, Cami says, smiling, with all her heart into her eyes while talking about her work. It’s so important to do this – to follow your passion and your heart.

“Not to lose yourself everyone should do this – if you are passionate in anything at one point in your life you have to do that. You have to have your own moment with your soul, otherwise you can’t find yourself anymore”, she says.

You can find Cami’s work on her Facebook Page, HERE

You can also buy her products on an online gallery, HERE

PHOTOS FROM PERSONAL ARCHIVE

Do you know a very special person? Someone who has followed his dream, built it piece by piece, with passion, energy and lot of soul? An usual, simple person who did something in life, who you can identify with, who can be, for others, a source of inspiration? Tell me about that person and let’s tell the others his/her beautiful story. Write me at specialstories00@gmail.com, here, on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.