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!
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!
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!
that was then
good morning dear friends! i have to apologize for going mia for the past week or so but it’s been a whirlwind as usual once we touched down in paris. after provence we all took the tgv to the city and arrived at the glorious apartment my sister in law chose for our family. since we were traveling with their family of five and my parents it was important to have lots of room and this place really delivered! it had more bedrooms than i could count and was in the most magnificent neighborhood (the 8e) with all original details and fantastic state of the art modern conveniences.
as the kids ran around we looked at all the details that were still intact like the stain glass windows, wood floors and original hardware. this apartment must have been like this for a century with all the mouldings and trims you’d dream about in a paris apartment.
it may be the one of the prettiest apartments i’ve ever had the good fortune to stay in and we enjoyed every minute of it wondering who had been here before us and what life had been like when this was built with such love and attention to detail. it’s kind of amazing to think that the gorgeousness of the ceilings and walls and floors and doors were so important in a time when there was probably no electricity, plumbing or heating. funny how priorities change over time…
the french are mixing the old and new in fresh ways and it was a perfect example of how yesterday and today can merge so well.
i thought you may enjoy a tour of the place and if you’re interested in staying or have a large group or family it’s a dream come true for a stint in the city.
the halls were bigger than most places i’ve ever stayed!
anyway that was sadly last week and my family has come and gone, and so has this wonderful dream but the memories will last forever. claudia ii is now in town and we have moved into our new place on the isle st. louis. we’re in a small but cozy duplex and are running around, tired but happy.
this is our new little abode that has now become headquarters for preparing the next leg of the trip. we’ve got clients coming in, the maison objet, the markets, photographing and editing for the book and a trip this weekend to lille for the festival in the streets a couple hours outside paris. i’ve finally caught up as of today and hope to make it here a bit more often with news and shots of what’s going on. till then, we’re off to find some comfy walking shoes and get our gear together for the weekend. more soon, this time i really mean it! i hope all is well in your world and that you have a tres bon jour!
friends are like stars; you don’t always see them, but know they’re there
hi my darling friends. thanks for all your good wishes, it looks like you worked your magic. my dad is making a miraculous and speedy recovery and starting to feel good again. i’m leaving in the morning and couldn’t go without sharing a little of paris during noël. i guess we shouldn’t be surprised that the decorations include beautiful chandeliers hanging in streets, even if they are made of LED string lights! anyway i wanted to send all the love right back at you for your support in the comments you left yesterday. blog friends are family and i treasure you. see you on the other side!
In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.
~ Albert Schweitzer ~
paris blues
hi friends. i wasn’t going to post tonight because i have a heavy heart. but blogging is somehow comforting right now. i thought you’d want to know and also may wonder why i’m not blogging much this weekend. my dad had a slight stroke last night and is supposedly doing ok but i feel so far away and helpless. i love paris so much because of his passion for it, but now it’s cold and dreary and i’m getting weepy and tired. i have to get some sleep under this full moon and will power thru till i get back monday morning, but seems like eternity. thanks for always being there, it really means the world to me.
on the road again
hi guys. how’s life? i have about three minutes before i have to shut down. i’m at the airport on my way back to paris.
i got a call to take a client shopping that i just couldn’t refuse. i wish i could tell you who it is but this guy is such a major player that i better just keep it tight (for now anyway)!
liz and i tied up most of the loose ends and between drudgery of actual work i took pics of some of the stuff i’ve been bringing back here and there.
this pink book was in the plastic but i opened it to check it out and enjoy it myself. then i thought it would be fun to do another giveaway before the holidays since i love you so much and you appreciate booka. so if you’d like to win it, let me know! as for the winners of the chanel and the magnolia, the random number generator chose numbers 11 and 23. if that’s you send me your address.
this is today’s book! i have to board so au revoir and more from the other side!
what’s going on
hi gang, hope you’re having a great week! we’ve been busy over here working on the website and trying to get things photographed and listed. today’s pics are two little peacock colored vases i got last month in paris. they are about as big as large eggs and incredibly delicate.
liz is having me shoot more mood shots instead of just dry images for the site so here are a couple. she was having a blue moment and i went with it. it’s a lot more fun to play when you have a friend to shoot with.
in other news, we have our winners from the drawing the other day! would the following two darlings send your email to me at claudia@theparisapartment.com asap?
judy from petitcreeklavender.com
and mari of way good day
if you didn’t win that once, guess what? glitteratti is giving us these two more books to play with! they’re sending them over for review and i’m giving them away! if you’d like a chance to win just say so!
Coco Chanel by Douglas Kirkland
Stealing Magnolia’s Tales From a New Orleans Courtyard
