Xpat Interview 2: Sylvia Llewelyn, Artist, Jewellery Designer

  • 30 Nov 2015 11:00 AM
Xpat Interview 2: Sylvia Llewelyn, Artist, Jewellery Designer
1. What’s been happening at work and at home since your first Xpat Interview?

Click here to read her first interview

Since the last xpatloop Interview I have published my book ‘Old Buttons’ in English and also in Hungarian. It’s a book on Buttons through the ages with 900 colour photos. It has been a success and is in Second publication. It sells all over the World on- line and at the Louvre Museum in Paris, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and Museums in Budapest. I also have opened a website selling my Vintage buttons www.oldbuttonsshop.com

2. On a scale of 1 to 10 how happy are you with your life in Hungary, and why?
9. The weather (even the cold winters) and the busy nightlife makes me feel like I still have a teenager’s life.

3. What’s the best party you’ve been to while in Hungary, and why?
There’s been so many!! But the Private parties are the best when a friend opens up their home to you.

4. What’s your favourite drink?
Black Velvets...Should be Guinness and champagne (but Dreher Bak is my favourite now with a splash of pezsgo!)

5. What hidden talents do you have?
I’m already multi-talented.. so who knows what new talent will come out next? But I am slowly becoming an expert on Hungarian Folk Art and a Hungarian Food critic as I work on my next book.

6. What was the most interesting travel trip you have ever taken?
All travel is interesting..but I am glad I travelled all over Hungary 15 years ago because I found all kinds of unusual sights and places in the country and I have seen so many changes since then to the city.

7. If you were given a wish that could come true, what would you ask for?
A good husband as I’ve never been married. It’s hard to meet an equal.

8. What’s the last book you read, and movie you watched?
The book ‘The Goldfinch’ by Donna Tart (it’s about a work of art and the antique business) and I have just seen ‘The Martian’ film and I was delighted to recognise a couple of actor expats and the Balna building.

9. If someone wrote a biography about you, what would the title be?
‘The Empress of Buttons’.

10. What is the perfect pizza toppings combination for you?
Hawaiian with extra black olives.

11. If you could trade places with any other person for a week, real or fictional, with whom would it be?
Hugh Jackman’s wife.

12. On a scale of 1 to 10 how unusual are you, and why?
Probably 10..because I do so many different things but I hate people calling me eccentric!

13. What’s the best website you’ve ever visited, and why?
The best website I’ve ever visited is my own. With 600 button styles on line it’s a major accomplishment to have it all in order, working, and aesthetically pleasing. And to get all the lovely feedback from all over the World! Check it out www.oldbuttonsshop.com

14. Who do you admire the most, and why?
My Mother. She survived the Second World War, was a Hungarian refugee, lived in Vienna and Great Britain and went to the top of her Profession as a Designer for Marks and Spencers.

15. What do you like best and least about living in Hungary?
I love the lovely old large Artist studio/apartment building I live in but hate the backward bureaucracy here.

16. What has made the biggest impact on your life so far, and why?
My passionate love of Art and Antiques means that I love doing my work, whereas most people I meet don’t like what they do for a Living.

17. If you won USD 30 million, what would you do with the money?
Buy a building for a Button Museum.

18. If your life had a theme song, what would it be?
‘Que Sera, Sera’, Whatever will be, will be, The Future’s not ours to see.

19. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
Palm Springs, California, U.S.A. to escape the cold Jan-March period in Budapest.

20. In ten years from now what will you be doing?
Hopefully running a Button or Hungarian Folk Art Museum.

  • How does this interview make you feel?