Who are you?
My name is Murielle Victorine Scherre. I am the founder, owner and designer of La Fille d’O.
Your current job:
Maker. dreamer. fixer. catcher. shredder.
In which city are you located?
Ghent. Belgium. Europe.
A word to define what kind of worker you are:
Electric.
What tools are essential to your life (app, software, etc.)?
Roll of white pattern paper + pencil + tape measurer + hand + brain= magic. I can’t believe I used to have a life without wifi.
What does your office space look like?
It’s my nest. It’s organized like a blind person’s home. Everything is at hand without even looking. I dislike clutter. I need a clean space so my brain can play within its own noise. The whole place is drowning in sunlight. It’s an honest space: you can see the scars from the old days, from previous walls or windows. A curated space gives me peace. I think about what actions will take place in a room, then I create the furniture to enable that. I want the room to work with me.
What kind of music do you listen to when you are working?
Depends on what I am working on. Repetitive beats like Steve Reich if I need to write. When drawing or submerging myself I go for Âme, Apparat, Arca, au pairs, Banks, Bauhaus, The Birthday Party, The Black Angels, Black Lips, Bonnie Prince Billy, The Breeders, Chinawoman, Cocteau Twins, The Cramps, The Cure, Danger Mouse, Darkside, Dean Blunt, Death From Above, Depeche Mode, Devo, Dirty Beaches, Disclosure, The Doors, Easter, Fka Twigs, Fleetwood Mac, Foals, Gang of Four, Gazelle Twin, Gun Club, Ho99o9, The Horrors, Iggy Pop, In Flagranti, Isis, Joan Armatrading, The Kills, Kurt Vile, Led Zeppelin, Light Asylum, Lydia Lunch, Mark Lanegan, Mazzy Star, The Moldy Peaches, Morphine, MS MR, Nick Cave, Nicolas Jaar, Nina Kravizt, Nirvana, Oathbreaker, Outfield, Patti Smith, Paul Simon, Peggy Lee, A Perfect Circle, Pixies, Pixeltan, Psychic TV, Pylon, PVT, Raincoats, Rod Stewart, Romeo Void, Ryan Adams, The Shaggs, She Wants Revenge, Simian Mobile Disco, The Slits, The Smiths, Soft Moon, The Sonics, Steve Reich, Stooges, Suicide, Sunn O))), Swans, Talking Heads, This Mortal Coil, Tom Waits, Trentemøller, Tv On The Radio, U.S. Girls, Vincent Gallo, Violent Femmes, Virgin Prunes, Xray Specs, The Zombies, in no particular order.
Do you have a way to organize your day to maximize your work?
None whatsoever.
What tips would you give to improve productivity?
Some days I am utterly worthless. I tried to fight this. Now I know these are the days I am absorbing. Then I need to read and look and feel. No need to try and fight it. Some days data goes in. Some days data comes out.
I am terrible at multitasking yet I do it everyday. It leaves me unsatisfied. The best days are the demanding days. A photo shoot. A trade show. I am cut out of my routines and there is a deadline dangling above my head like a sword. I need pressure. I need a tsunami of work. At all times. This makes me evaluate the essential from the waste. If I have several small things to do in a day, I often misjudge my timing. Then I fail at finishing them all. Now I make a list and put it next to my computer. So I see the goal and my position in accomplishing them. This keeps me alert. I need to visualize when i think of it. A computer can contain so much work it seems harmless and overwhelming all at once. Making a list shows me which boxes to tick first.
You’re better than your colleagues to:
I’m not better. I’m different. I’m a troubleshooter. I think backwards and upside down. This mad perspective hands me answers no one would have come up with. I’m unafraid. This allows me to proceed with the execution of my plans, no matter how mad they may be. I am terrible at delegating tasks. I have trouble making a full sentence, for I am sure keywords will do just fine. I never check if the job is done properly. I have blind faith. My colleagues are good at major parts of some of the above. This makes us flow like water.
What is the best advice anyone has given you?
Someone asked me to put a price on my own head. If I could find someone to do a job cheaper than me, hand over the job to them. Shamelessly. You must know your own value at all times. There is no shame in seeing what are your specific values and maximizing on just that. There is probably someone really good at all the things you can’t handle.
What is your best tip for saving time?
Step away from the www.
What is your routine start and end of the day?
www at dawn. Kissing till dusk.
Aside from your computer and your phone, what gadget can you not go without?
My body.
