Meet the creative soul Marili (40)

Marili Rooba – mother to two bright eyed kids (16 and 8 years), wife to one football coach, good friend and member of friends club ‘Disco Team’, interior decorator, artist for multiple TV series and occasionally fashion designer who came up with an iconic fashion piece – a Froufrou skirt.

Marili, you seem to have quite a hectic and colorful life. You have built yourself several homes, made dramatic career moves, found tranquility and satisfaction in your interior decorator profession. At the moment you are having a avacation with your new found love (whilst I, Tiiu am minding your kids and my love TUUB).

Tell me about love, losing and rediscovering it. What actually holds a relation together and what makes it worthwhile holding? I believe with your 23 years of experience with family, home and all that goes with it puts you in a position to advise others on how to do it.

I have been together with my husband for more than half of my life. We met when I was 17 and in couple of weeks I will be celebrating my 40^th birthday. One can thing – wow, how boring can that be. Well, to be honest it sometimes is, but at times I even enjoy this ‘boredom’. You might consider me weird, but I like to read my favorite books again and again after a time. Some books not so often but others maybe few times a year. I know what’s coming and enjoy over and over these bits, but every time I also discover new nuances in the story. I have read the Estonian epic novel ‘Truth and Justice’ I have read more than 20 times and each time I see a new angle. The same is with a long relationship. Sometimes you desire to read it, sometimes you get bored, but you always know it is there for you.

Tell me about your work. Interior decorator Marili has created several fascinating interiors with her business partner, including the boutiques of BonBon Lingerie. What is it with the interior decoration that keeps you going?

I have realy had a great and versatile career. The interesting thing is that all those job related challenges have come to me literally from outer space. As a rule randomly and at the right point in time. I have a guardian angel, this I am very sure of. In the 1990s I started with kitchen furniture company Arens Mööbel. That was fun and gave me technical know-how and insight to interiors and furniture. I studied then at Estonian Art Academy and soon gave birth to my first child. I first met Eleka, my partner in interior design in the Academy and I remember admiring her for her thoroughness and magic feel for colors. Only couple of years later we became business partners in interior design.

Then came the economic downturn. Whilst sitting on a rented premises and thinking how to survive I received a call from Tuuli Roosma, a TV show host of ‘Secrets’ who asked my help for decorations for her show. Tomorrow! So I quickly did a Google crash course on what’s what in TV world. That was a start to my TV career …

Then couple of years later came Froufrou between all my undertakings, just appeared out of blue. It became a bestseller! But if your beloved hobby becomes too much of a job then suddenly you feel that you are out of ideas and can’t find the way forward. My beloved Froufrou got new owners who bring it forward to the bright future.

So I thought, I will take a break and just relax so that I can find my mojo again. But my guardian angel had other plans for me and I am not a person to just sit around as it will give me depression. It all flew in one day at the parking lot of a supermarket in the face of a former colleague from Arens kitchen furniture company. My boss later asked me why was I absent from work for 15 years. J Today I am thoroughly enjoying the wonderful world of furniture again.

Tell me about friendship. I see your friends and things you do together as a great chapter from a film full of fun and love. What is this ‘Disco Team’? How and why did it come about? What are you actually doing there and what does it give you?

*Disco Team’ is an incredible bunch of friends. There is six of us. We are all same age, but very different people. There is something unexplainable that ties us together. It all started for our unconditional love for disco music, but now it is a circle friendship, family and love.

We are one big family indeed. We laugh and cry together, share joy and problems. Our spouses and children have become part of our team. Every year ion November we go to South-Estonia for a disco camp, a weekend full of fun and laughter. And of course the birthdays, these are real costume shows where every detail is carefully thought through.

What was the phenomenon of Froufrou and how did this come about? You brought one overly lacy skirt into fashion in Estonia, where every women in Estonia had to have one willing to pay hundreds of euros. Those who had some sewing talent tried to copy for better or worse. Some even tried to copy your identity. Today you’ve closed down the skirt empire and are back in furniture business.

 It really was a side kick. At the same time we were shooting TV series ‘Cops’ when my colleague showed me a picture of fluffy and gorgeous skirt. She wanted something similar. Well then I gave it some thought and tried out a few things and that is how the first Froufrou came to being. When I myself was rumbling around with it at one of the neighbourhood fairs the orders started coming in. I couldn’t even dream of my Froufrou becoming such a hit. Well, where there is creation there are always copy cats, some quite brutally copying my design.

Talking of Froufrou we can’t get over TUUB – these two things match like wonder. You’ve also had a role in the birth of TUUB. It was you who I bounced the TUUB ideas back and forth at the early days and your contribution has been invaluable. So tell me, why do you like TUUB and how do you like to wear it?

 I agree Froufrou and TUUB are match made in heaven. I found clean line of TUUB to be perfect match for my fluffy Froufrou. I was often asked what to wear on top of Froufrou and TUUB is great piece of clothing to bring out feminine figure.

I believe TUUB is great as it doesn’t make a girl chubby (that is the fear of everyone of us, isn’t it). One might say that TUUB even forms your body to ideal shape no matter your size. In TUUB you are at your best!

Marili, how do you prefer to travel?

I love to travel and I do it in every possible way. We do long weekends with ‘Disco Team’ to European capitals. We enjoy family retreats to resorts.

Having packed a lot of suitcases, I have figured out that the ‘maybe I need clothes’ are not worth carrying along. As a rule carry your favourite pieces of clothing and that’s enough. For that matter in my suitcase a black TUUB has always a reserved  place.

Here is Marili wearing our brand new TUUB merino #007