mad dash
hi guys, ca va? i missed you over the past couple days but was really trying to force myself to focus. i’m a hardcore uni-tasker and can get a lot done if left to my own devices. it’s the end of round one today and heading into the night shift. i figured enough was enough and i couldn’t stop myself from saying hi a moment longer.
still i have a deadline tonight so have to make this short and sweet. part of the reason i hadn’t been here was that i didn’t have much to say! i’ll let the photos do the talking, they were out-takes and just i recovered them from the trash. so a complete non sequitur as a post but between you and me i thought you may enjoy them!
and i can say hi for no reason at all!
ok gotta dash. have a great nuit!!
the middle of the road of life
happy sunday gang, hope you’re in the throes of a blissful weekend! i’ve sequestered myself (practically) for the past couple days in order to get some manuscript under my belt for tomorrow and also get going on okl. i was on a roll when a book called to me like a magnet and i’ve been off in another world ever since. le livre de mon ami. once in hand i couldn’t put it down. everything from the three toned leather spine with raised details and gold letters. yum! and inside was original the silk ribbon book mark.
i’ve been thinking of taking a french class lately, or even starting to try and read it more. i can only imagine what i sound like to the french! so what better time than the present? the first line is in italian, translated to french. i figured if it was a phrase in two langues i had find out what it meant.
the google translations really got me thinking and this is my cue to take a break. the translation of italian to french went from, ‘nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita’, (in the middle of the journey of your life), and in french, ’au milieu du chemin de la vie’, which translates to ‘the middle of the road of life’.
anyway i better get back to it while it’s stil nice and bright. i’m editing the last of the pics for my book and the clock’s already mocking me. i’ve already gotten lost in this book for too way long. but then again, i could keep it closed and on a shelf or just to myself. or i could open it, read the first line and realize i’m ‘in the middle of the journey of life‘. and there’s always time for that!
sending good sunday wishes to you. have a great night!
between the covers
good morning and happy friday gang! it’s 7:42 which means i have 3 minutes to get this up before the doorbell rings and quickbooks takes over the day. i had a chance to crack this mag , nos loisirs (our leisure) from 1927. it’s another time capsule, pages filled with articles, little ads and all the things we think about today. i thought you’d enjoy it~
it was a time of new ideas…and branding!
this is a cutex ad!
so many great designs, so many ways to tie a long scarf!
it was a new era, what was chic was being rethought for the moderne gal
and having bebe look good is always in style
eyelash ad
the ads were so sweet. fonts were always a big deal!
and you could have all this for 3150 francs, not sure how much that was but maybe about $350? dad?
ok she’s here, gotta dash, have a wonderful weekend!
driven to distraction
good morning guys, happy thursday! the weekend is fast approaching thankfully! what do you have planned? here at chez moi, i’m trying to focus on catching up but getting completely consumed by the few things i had a chance to unpack last night.
it’s just a couple of books but they’re sitting in front of me, begging to be touched, opened, held, read, and admired. they’re full of life and color, with gorgeous endpapers, vibrant bindings and delicious, perfect golden edges.
the placemark ribbons, the illustrations, the handwritten dedications (one even by colette)!
all i want to do is dive into this little pile.
but work calls and clients want to know where their handles are so i better get to stepping.
don’t get me started on the watercolors. more soon, have a fantastic day!
a moveable feast
good morning all, happy wednesday! it’s great to be back stateside and i’m readjusting to my little world. the time change woke me good and early to catch a sunrise and spend some time on the beach playing around and reconnecting with home.
fortunately lots of the stash was waiting when i arrived but my apartment looks like a warehouse of boxes and bubble that’s been transplanted from our paris apartment to miami. truth is the french post office was a great way to ship and i recommend it if you’re sending boxes back when you go. they just can’t be over 50 kilos (whatever that is, it’s a lot) or over 2 meters in size over all). you can get boxes and bubble at bhv in paris. anyway the phone is already chirping and ringing and the inbox is downright mad but i wanted to say hello and thank you for being there throughout the trip. i didn’t get a chance to comment back but it was so much fun to have you with me! needless to say i brought stuff for you so send out as tokens, and i have NOT forgotten about the last batch i was supposed to ship either! it was just that things got crazy. so if you sent me your addy a couple months back and didn’t receive anything yet, you will!
till then it will be unpacking like crazy, i’m sure the it will look like an episode of hoarders in here soon, but it’s my french feast
the phone is relentless so i have about 30 seconds and wanted to pass along something that has been a fascinating new change. i came home to a boyfriend who cut his long hair, dropped 17 pounds and went from eating a despicable diet to fresh juicing. it’s not the kind we do at home, it would be impossible to have this array of ingredients and combinations, not to mention it’s cold pressed. (apparently the shiz)! i fell right into the cult and in two days we’re having these delicious drinks whenever we’re hungry. it’s a thrill to see such a transformation and joie de vivre in him that i couldn’t help but jump on board. we can’t get enough of them, and when we do eat it’s no longer about heavy meals and desserts. so refreshing and an incredible shift for both of us! check out the menu on the link. they ship anywhere in the us.
ok, well duty calls, have a beautiful day!
all change is not growth, as all movement is not forward – e. glasgow
allo all! it’s very late and my last post from paris this time around. it’s been a fantastic trip with lots of great memories and pretty things coming home. but for the first time, it’s a little different for me. as you know i adore the flea markets and all the stories they tell. lately though, i feel a little bittersweetness about it because the subtle ‘progressive’ changes in the city are becoming more apparent and i’m not sure they’re for the best.
ok maybe at times paris can be a bit of a gilded lily, and i can understand wanting to mix the old with the new. but paris is the worlds’ muse and we come for her beauty and inspiration.
le train-bleu, in paris’ gare de lyon
and as someone who loves interior and exterior architecture, i can’t for the life of me figure out why the french allow their beautiful city to be ravaged by renovators.
the changes are everywhere, from the windows coming down and satellite dishes going up
to small details like the books being pilfered for engraving and endpapers sold as scraps
glass fronts on traditional boulangeries and boucheries are tossed aside and the storefronts are cemented over
handpainted panels are removed and separated from the grand walls they once adorned
and apparently stained glass is considered passé
why someone would want to dismantle a marble fireplace and mirror is beyond me
and why would the city allow such destruction?
i mean, i’m not complaining, it gets circulated all over the world i suppose
but it just seems that in this day and age we should preserve what we have and take care of it as stewards
these apartments will be here long after us and what will be left?
where is the love?
and why is it being replaced with ‘sanitization’of the city’ as the french are calling it?
ok maybe i am complaining just a little. it’s happening throughout the city. these beautiful old tile frames in the metro are all coming down
and the old bouquinistes kisoks are being replaced with one of the prototypes below
maybe like joni mitchell sings, paris, is old and cold and settled in its ways. but isn’t that why we love her so? if the powers that be want to make changes, i humbly suggest adding a few more escalators in the metros, make it easier to catch a cab and run a design contest for a pretty something to cover the hanging clear plastic garbage bags on the streets. of course outlawing satellite dishes and making it a crime to dismantle apartments and store facades over 100 years old wouldn’t hurt either! but some say it’s progress. i say it’s heartbreaking. what do you think?
les affairs to remember
bonsoir guys, ca va? it’s one of our last nights in paris and hard to believe it’s been 6 weeks already. the days have flown by and the nights are mainly work but claudia II is our social director and if it weren’t for her we may have missed a lot of great soirees.
last night we were invited to a grande fête at the one and only clignancourt marche aux puces. the paul bert and serpette markets were the hosts and the tapis rouge was rolled out along the alleys both indoor and out. seeing the market by night is such a different experience than in the lazy afternoons. the vendors really let their hair down and put on a night to remember with trimmings to rival a ball at versailles.
it was both intimate and inviting
with furniture you wouldn’t even touch by day being enjoyed by all
the tables were beautifully dressed
and the scent of flowers was everywhere
and bien sur, the champagne was flowing
and the petit fours were plentiful
a good time was had by all, even the kids
this little one below curled up on a chair and took it all in.
so now i bid you adieu, it’s getting late and we have an early morning for our last market day. there are brocantes, fairs and shows going on and we can’t do it all, but you know we’re gonna try!
and last but certainly not least, i wanted to introduce you to claudia’s friend who we saw perform the other night. he’s a funny, charismatic homme francais. we all fell for him, maybe you will too! click the pic above for one of my favorite seductive video of his. there are more on youtube including this live performance. he plays in cosy, clubby spots (we saw him on a houseboat) and just has a real joie de vivre. ok c’est tout pour c’est soir. bon nuit mes cheries, a demain!
the whole is more than the sum of its parts-aristotle
allo dear friends, how are you? i hope you’re into the fall weather and are getting your autumn on! we’re still running around and no matter where we turn paris is still ful of surprises. the day started with a rainy marche but it warmed up when we got to le square trousseau to meet friends/fellow bloggers, vicki, author of french essence and haleigh, blogger extraordinaire from making magique. both of these girls know how to live and they record it all with the most gorgeous photography! if you’re ever in need of eye candy or to drift off into neverland, just click your heels on over to their blogs. we shared ideas, tips and just had a great leisurely long lunch which i doubt any of us get to do very often! below is a glimpse into haleigh’s world in paris:
and vicki’s in provence
of course we couldn’t leave without lusting after the desserts…
we thought the day couldn’t get any better when on the way home claudia and i took a shortcut. we came across one of the last men working in his studio on the dying art of handmade engravings. when our friend ellen was here she was telling me all about the copperplates, hammering them backward with tiny pins to create the detail we see in so many familiar works of art.
olaf was diligently working but stopped to chat. he happened to have one of my favorite plates, le souper fin (below) which he purchased from a workshop that had recently closed. if you look you’ll see it was all done in reverse. the detail is incomprehensible and so is the idea that this is how so many important events were recorded! it takes black tar, ink, acid and god knows what else to produce a perfect engraving and it’s all done on handmade paper.
souper fin, Jean-Michel Moreau. he did admit he’s one of that last to do this painstaking craft…
not sure what this one was about but his work was stunning. i couldn’t resist getting a couple to bring back!
the day is now coming to a close and we’re nestled snug in our pied a terre, happily fed and another unforgettable day under our belts, but also aware it’s quickly coming to an end. when i get home lots of goodies will be waiting there. in the meantime, it was nice to know we got a little press in the states today! miles redd recommended one of tpa’s mirrored pieces in an article for the home section!
thanks, miles!
someone here asked me if mirrored furniture was ‘over ‘and i had to think for a minute. it will never be over, it’s a style that’s been around way too long to become passé now!i found this shot from the market last week and it re-confirmed my opinion that mirror is and always will be tres chic. it’s been worked on furniture since the 2os with details we can’t even produce now. how they manipulated mirror is yet another mystery the french started!
ok well this was a bunch of non sequiturs but isn’t that what a journal/diary/blog is for, to remember the details of life big and small? well, it’s time for bed, officially midnight yet again. have a great night!
days of wine and roses
bonjour mes amis, ca va? we’re fully immersed in parisian life over here, for another week anyway. i’m trying to make it last and enjoy every minute (even if that’s a nap here and there)! paris is like a laduree candy shop with unexpected, delicious beauty around every corner. especially at the markets. we can walk for miles and still only skim the surface.
the fleas are full from the vendors’ summer finds and we’ve been getting up early to make the most of it.
i definitely have a thing for chairs and have been getting sofas, slippers, vanity stools and bergers…
sad for the ones that got away…
but n love with what’s coming back to the states! thought you might enjoy a preview.
and we know you can’t get it all. but we sure try! we’ve been to the maison objet (a little uninspired this year but i’ll post the pics from it. then again everything pales in comparison to the fleas for me!) instead of heading back we went to the markets with our client for the past few days. she’s been shopping for her store, shed home and tomorrow we’ll be packing her goodies up to ship.
the photo above is dave bloom’s of sophie atlan’s booth in clignancourt at vernaisson. we spent a couple days shooting together for the new book.
the detail in this country never ceases to amaze me
the closer you look the more you find
even a tiny powder puff is still as pretty as ever.
well tomorrow is our last day together, and i believe a good time was had by all.
thought you’d enjoy a shot of cindy’s room at caron de beaumarchais. amazing what you can do with 4 little walls!
we’re invited to a big party at clignancourt on friday eve and a concert tomorrow. we’re hoping to get to the show above if we can squeeze it in! well it’s minuit, so more soon, have a great night!
the women who started it all
hey guys, how’s your day going? we’re in full swing chez nous. tomorrow we’re heading out to the maison objet for opening day. our client has arrived and will be shopping for her store so it will be fun with miles and miles of eye candy. i got a press pass so i’ll take lots of pics and hope to share them, at least a little each day. till then i’m trying to keep up with packing and before these goodies got bubbled and boxed i thought you’d enjoy a sneak peek of some of the stuff for the OKL sale coming up in november. claudia’s finds are a great addition and made me see think about the women who really started the trends we still follow today! anyway it’s back to le bubble! have a great nuit!
