what good is a blog
unless it actually keeps a web log of your life?
good morning friends and happy friday. the photo above was so fascinating i had to post it. it’s the return of the mona lisa to the louvre after the nazi invasion of paris. once they were conquered she was free be the paris we take so for granted. our muse!
i hope you don’t mind a second day posting about my trip to paris with okl. they posted a lot of information on their blog about the trip yesterday after susan’s container sale went up. since they took the time to interview me about my favorite markets, i turned into a jpeg that can be read below. for me it’s a virtual scrapbook and this is the best place to keep it cause, hey, a blog is forever. (sort of)! hope you enjoy it!
i
onekingslane.com/live-love-home/insiders-guide-to-paris
day trips to paris markets
thanks for coming by and hope you got some info and maybe a bee in your bonnet to go to paris or anywhere soon, there’s nothing like traveling. i’ll be putting my trip together for late summer and fall soon and will keep you posted on the progress. maybe i’ll close up the apartment here since i have to move and just hit the road for a couple months. after all, times they are always a changin’ and you never know what’s next. till then, have a bon weekend!
a dream came true
good morning mes chere amis! it’s been a long winter and hard to believe that i was able to keep a secret for 6 months, but today can finally reveal a career highlight i’ve been sitting on! i didn’t want to spoil the fun of having takin one king’s lane founder, Susan Feldman on a wild shopping spree in paris in january for her container sale that’s happening right now! it was brutal weather and we trudged through slush with wet uggs and red noses but we beat down doors and got beautiful treasures for a sale i hope you’re going to really enjoy! take a look: Susan’s Container Sale
well, i better get back to reality. it was fun reliving our trip and i hope we can do it again soon, as it was a dream come true to be there together. as you know, i love to share my sources and passion for the markets and Susan really absorbed it. she had a vision. i hope you and i can shop together sometime too! i’ll be there in september, maybe we can plan a blogger’s meet up if you’re there? something to think about. for now it’s back to work to make it happen, more soon!
museum quality
brrrrrrr! it’s downright bone chilling cold in paris! today was our final day trudging though the slush and snow at the markets all weekend but i can definitely say our mission was accomplished!
i was fully focused on shopping with the crew so didn’t get much but photo memories which is somehow ok, at least this way i’ll have them forever.. and as my guy always says, you can’t buy it all!
going through the shots i couldn’t help but see that this trip i was attracted to art, paintings, sculpture and architectural artifacts…
the markets are so rich and thick that it really feels like a living, breathing museum. it’s a place where you can find junk juxtaposed with truly fine art.
and it’s not what a piece is worth but the joy it brings
and who makes the decisions as to what’s valuable if not the beholder?
the way the market vendors curate their booths is much more than you’d expect at a typical flea market and this year many sellers are really stepping up their game.
all sorts of busts and statuary are displayed as if they’re uber important pieces in super simple vignettes.
of course you can always find the funky, fun stuff
and the french certainly have a sense of humor about their past!
and one piece can really set a regal mood. you’d never know these were flea finds!
i guess i do wish i could buy it all and surround myself in my own tiny museum
but for now i’ll settle for just enjoying the pics and thinking about ways to incorporate more art in my world.
as for the gang, we finished up our weekend with stephane who always brings the market to life and today he greeted us in the cold with champagne and oysters, using snow in an ice bucket and along a huge silver tray for the shells he shucked. we had a ball and everyone left happy and well overfed. i’ll clue you in when the time comes as to what we all did but for now it’s off to bed, a couple pounds heavier but i guess that’s what winter is for, n’est-ce pas? enjoy the rest of your weekend!
the other side of paradise
greetings from paris mes amis! it’s beyond cold, in fact it’s downright bone chilling! but not cold enough to stop the shopping and yesterday was an incredible adventure.
we went to visit my friend stephane blanc’s warehouses in a tiny village an hour outside paris. it couldn’t have been more picturesque and even better, full of surprises.
you never know what’s behind big old doors and we were not disappointed when he opened the vaults to the 1750s barns where he and his father have gathered incredible treasures from french châteaux and estates over the years.
stephane brings pieces back to paris and restores them to sell at clignancourt in his tiny, curated booth on rue paul bert. my mystery guests and i were the first to go behind the blue doors. although he was casual about the enormity of his collection, we were blown away.
every kind of imaginable style is stacked up in chilly, cobwebbed rooms filled with furniture, mirrors, doors, chandeliers, artwork and toys.
we must have been there for 5 hours going through every nook and cranny in the cold.
no one left empty handed and at the end of the day we were exhausted and tired but happy with our treasures.
as someone who loves to restore old pieces, i couldn’t help wanting to take it all home and bring it back to life myself.
still, my philosophy these days is ‘no projects’ especially since i’m preparing for my OKL sale in just a couple weeks.
so at least for now, the clocks and tables are safe and sound, sitting quietly in wait.
and until i have the chance to come back (hopefully in warmer weather)!
i’ll just settle for getting pieces that are ready to go like these little treasures we found at the market. we’re heading out again tomorrow and sunday to vanves and clignancourt for a big day of shopping and shipping so i’ll keep you posted and take lots of shots! have a great day and happy weekend!
minuit à paris
pinterest.com/pin/29414203788016995
allo tout le monde! how’s your winter wonderland? i hope it’s warm and cozy in your world. i wish i could say this was me in the shot above but alas don’t think i’ll ever be that girl…but i just landed in paris and am about to go on the adventure of a lifetime.
i left miami today and snap, it’s midnight and i’m in gay paree! i vowed never to come again january but my most exciting flea market tour ever is about to go down. i don’t mean to play coy and am dying to drop the bomb on who i’ll be with but haven’t got the OK (hint hint) to post about it yet!
thefancy.com/things/274434105/Paris
we’ll be traveling to the markets and also going to the outskirts of town with a friend/merchant who’s had a stall passed down for over 3 generations at clignancourt. it’s a place i’ve always wanted to check it out and now finally have a reason to go.
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it was snowing earlier but once the jet lag hit i crashed and didn’t get to run around and shoot the beauty that is paris in the snow.
so instead of reinventing the wheel i searched for images of paris in winter and came across so many wonderful interpretations and moments captured over the years.
parisianfields.files.wordpress.com
while i’m here, i’ll be shopping for my next OKL sale which is scheduled for the week of march 3rd. if you want me to look for something special let me know!
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for now it’s off to bed. it will be nice to have the next few days at lorraine’s place with not too much on the agenda except enjoying the city for a change.
i’m hoping to get some flowers and take shots of her pretty little pied-à-terre that she has so beautifully maintained over the years. it’s like coming home and just knowing it’s here is such a dream. it’s right in the heart of the marais at the place des vosges.
she rents it out so if you come to paris and need just a little place to hang your hat, retreat or write, this is it. luckily not too many people want to come in january so this week it’s all mine!
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the clock is about to strike midnight so i’m heading off to dreamland, have a beautiful night and sweet dreams to you my darling friends!
same stuff different day
hey guys, happy sunday! we spent it with a lovely guest and hit the markets to give her the lay of the land. she asked me if it ever seemed the same each week. i had to say no even though it really IS the same things over and over in a way. i but t never ceases to fulfill the promise of something wonderful around every corner. i didn’t get a chance to take a lot of shots today but we were really focused.
i did pick up something for myself in a pile of books out back at clignancourt. it’s an old version of letters written from a mother to her daughter that chronicled an era in paris in a way that was both literary and a sort of diary.
anyway i always wanted to know more about madame her since she lived in one of the most fabulous places in the city, hotel carnavalet.
and i couldn’t resist a 200 year old book…
sadly carnavalet is closed on mondays and we did vow to do something cultural. maybe the musee des arts decortaif or the boheme show at the grand palais.
but if you know me, ask monument vs market and i’ll always choose the latter. turns out clignancourt is having another one of it’s famous fetes all weekend.
these old pics are from the program. crazy to think how many times this stuff really does go round and round!
i’m supposed to spend the next couple days writing about the markets for my book while i’m here. i realize now that you have to be obsessed with your subject to write about it.
and thankfully i am! tomorrow i’ll head back for one last day of fleaing till spring. ok well i’m off to bed. have a great night!
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!!
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!
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!
