to the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world
bonjour toute le monde!
i hope you’re having a bon weekend and le soleil is shining. i’m winding down my trip and just wanted to share this little handpainted card on parchment i picked up this morning for a euro. my french is far from parfait but basically it says that to be happy with myself, i need my friends. it made me think of you and how much it meant to have you along on the trip even if it was from afar. your notes and comments mean so much to me and without you this wouldn’t be half the fun, so thank you for being there and i hope to share paris with you one day soon. i’ll be back in september, so check for flights!
anyway tomorrow is another early morning, i’m shopping for a sweet pâtisserie in california so lots of goodies are headed west. monday i’m back with my clients to make sure their chandelier crystals are all in line ;p
for now it’s close to 3am and i’m ready to drop so bonne soirée with love from paree!
objects of desire
bonjour chère friends. i’m in a romantic mood tonight. after taking over 300 photos today i’m narrowing it down to the highlight of the day. as usual i was digging through papers in old boxes and stumbled on over 100 love letters written by a prolific jeune homme to the object of his affection, mademoiselle gabrielle. she must have been some special lady. or a femme fatale.
the letters span from 1898 to 1909 (so far, i haven’t even checked them all). everything about them is incredible from the stationery to the handwriting, to the few he seemed to write in code with criss crossed precision, making them a little hard to read. claudia II thinks maybe this was a clandestine romance. one thing is sure, he was creative and devoted. maybe they’re a little risque? i can’t read them well and want to have a french friend translate.
as a hopeless romantic this was a goldmine to discover and i can’t help but imagine who these lovers were and why they were separated for so long. mlle gabrielle must have kept these letters for years and i wonder how this treasure ended up in a box at the flea market.
maybe there were no children to treasure them (that would make sense if they were separated ;p
but i’ll keep studying them and see what i can decipher. for now, i knew you’d enjoy them as much as i did and will keep you posted when i get a few translated and try to put their love story together. have a wonderful weekend with the ones you love!
i don’t care what they say
allo everyone, it’s another bright and sunny day in paris! what a difference it makes when it’s warm here, it’s a completely different experience. just two weeks ago i had to buy a coat, gloves, scarf, boots and sweaters. it’s going to be 73 degrees so traipsing through the brocantes and the boxes of dirty papers and letters will be a lot more fun than doing it than with gloves and runny noses.
claudia II and i love to sift through all the papers, letters, etchings, watercolors, postcards and documents that are taken for granted by the french. wonderful ephemera from the 18oos, handwritten agreements, original sketches, music scores, grocery lists, menus and paintings can be found in folders and boxes if you spend time to go through each one.
some i can understand and others can’t be deciphered but who cares what they say? it’s so much fun to find a treasure and see them all together at home. the handwriting, seals and creativity is endless! it thrills me and i’ll never get enough!
most tourists skim the surface at markets but the trick to finding treasures is to take your time. it’s so worth it!
anything paper is magical and has so much information and detail in the tiniest space. you really get a bang for your euro and it’s not heavy to transport back.
quel signature!
original water color above, probably a detail for a wallpaper sample in the 20s.
these are the kinds of folders you’ll see along side merchant’s tables so look underneath at the stuff that hasn’t even been unpacked or displayed.
well, these are some of my personal secrets to finding le diamonds, and for those of you who have asked for my resources, i promise to share all that with you with the launch that’s happening any day now. (we’re at the last stage, it’s just a matter of time and will have all the info in one place)!
ok well there are a couple brocantes and vide greniers (antique shows and attic sales) happening today and we’re itching to get out in le soleil so off we go! more soon!
upon closer inspection
bonsoir guys, hope you’re gearing up for either family time or a little time to yourself. i’ve been laying low lately. boring stuff like taxes and organizing. tomorrow my bud, liz is getting married. you remember her? then it’s up to orlando to see a friend’s new baby for easter. i’m about ready to hit the hay but just downloaded these pics from the memory stick and thought that only you would appreciate these vintage french soap and perfume labels as much as i do. they range from the turn of the century through the 30s and each one tells its own story when you look close.
as i may have mentioned, i was having an affair with the label man last week and ended up getting a couple things from his site and then a couple more the next day. it was impulsive (he’s so reasonable), and i do have a sort of thing for them. i knew they would be interesting but what i didn’t expect was the impeccable quality and intricate detail of them all. i usually look for stuff like this at the flea markets but it’s nice to know it’s right here too ;p
if you haven’t been, stop by, he’s a doll and he even threw in a couple on the house!
this one is slightly raised
this one is edged in gold
and the detail on these is insane, the biggest one is only about two and a half inches tall.
well anyway, it was a good excuse to stop by and say hi.
have a fabulous springtime weekend!
