stuck in a groove
hi guys, how’s la vie? j’espère c’est en rose! it’s already the weekend and there’s a lot going on around here. it’s time to decide about taking the store. turns out it wasn’t very hard to get and is a great opportunity. of course i hear the negative and lots of people are telling me not to do it. yes, it’s one more responsibility but the truth is that having a store type of place is something i’ve always enjoyed cause it can be a warehouse, showroom, office and workspace. i’m going in on it with a girlfriend who sews so that will be fun. plus i can do what i love which is travel and shop, restore and display. working on the web has been great for a few years and i don’t knock it, but i do love being around pieces that speak and transforming them with paint or upholstery.
bookforum.com sylvia beach and james joyce 1925
i started looking up shops that are legendary, and of course, shakespeare and co. in paris came up with this image of sylvia beach and james joyce so i’m tying the store into my post today which once again focuses on what i can’t get enough of right now, the great minds of the 1920s. hope you don’t mind another indulgence in this infinite era. i spent way too much time surfing just now but i liked it and hey, isn’t that why we blog?
i stumbled on to way too much but loved every minute of what i could save.
gartersandlace.tumblr.com bernice abbott by man ray 1921
reading up on so many great lives
centroduncan.it isadora duncan
writers, dancers, actresses
can you believe this shot above is actually two well known women of the 20s, dunja barnes and solita solano?
i was looking for stores that were memorable (above was madeleine castaing’s and is now laudree).
photo by sollis.se/2010/11/there-is-always-beauty-in-mystery
via topsyturvystyle.com madeleine-castaing
i started looking into madeline and one thing led to another. so many amazing designers were cutting the edges at the time! i love the mirrored pieces of course, and the chevrons, the bold patterns and stripes.
Cecil Beaton’s sister, Baba in syrie maugham’s ‘party room’.
claystephens.wordpress.com glamour-syrie-maugham-all-white-rooms
lilmisscatterbrain.blogspot.com elsie-de-wolfe
stirredstraightup.blogspot.com rose cummings
ana-lee.livejournal.com gertrude lawrence
well, that’s enough from me today, i have to stop or i won’t ever work. or play! have a great day et nuit!
the paris apartment 
Peony and Thistle replied:
These are fantastic photos! Love it!
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July 21, 2011 at 7:17 pm. Permalink.
The Paris Apartment replied:
Thanks Peony!
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July 21, 2011 at 8:13 pm. Permalink.
Lily replied:
Gorgeous images !! Love all the mirrored rooms towards the bottom. I think the store sounds like such a fun idea and I am sure you would make it extra fabulous !
xxLily
goldandgray.com
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July 21, 2011 at 7:34 pm. Permalink.
The Paris Apartment replied:
j’adore the mirror too, especially the mirrored bed since i used to make on. guess there’s not a lot new in design but it’s fun to revive it! THESE ladies were the innovators!
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July 21, 2011 at 8:14 pm. Permalink.
beverley christenson replied:
Wow Claudia love your post , great to hear about your new store cant wait to buy something from you again love Beverley xxx
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July 21, 2011 at 10:06 pm. Permalink.
Lara Snydal Mijatovich replied:
Love these photos! Thanks for sharing your finds with us!
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July 21, 2011 at 10:07 pm. Permalink.
Michele replied:
Hi! I enjoyed your pics. I went to Paris last summer for the first time and spent 6 weeks. Shakespeare and Co. was a favorite haunt of mine but I had no idea it had such history. LaDuree was wonderful as well. Thanks for the trip back in time! I enjoyed it.
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July 21, 2011 at 10:26 pm. Permalink.
tinkerbelle86 replied:
im just happy its friday. great pics!
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July 22, 2011 at 12:27 pm. Permalink.
Style Maniac replied:
A store! How exciting. Can’t wait to hear more. Wishing it was in my town — we could use some new retail ’round here.
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July 22, 2011 at 3:01 pm. Permalink.
Marika replied:
Hello! Just wanted to drop a line that I am loving your blog! keep it up…
Peace,
Marika
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July 22, 2011 at 11:16 pm. Permalink.
designchic replied:
How exciting…can’t wait to hear more about your store. Wonderful nostalgic images. Happy Friday!!
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July 23, 2011 at 3:15 am. Permalink.
Rosalie replied:
I love visiting your site. It is like wonderful chocolate the end of the day. The photos are amazing. I think taking a store will be a dream come true. Don’t we all want to do that? May you have Fabulous Fortune with that. Keep us posted,, please
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July 23, 2011 at 6:34 am. Permalink.
Michelle Chafin replied:
I love the party room and that white dress she is wearing stunning:)
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July 24, 2011 at 1:57 am. Permalink.
Camille replied:
I once had the honor and opportunity of pouring tea at the Shakespeare and Co, back when I lived there when I was 19. What a time.
I cannot begin to express to you the way in which I have been affected by your blog. I discovered it on a trip out East (over the 4th), and was sitting on my Aunt’s couch with my laptop and my jaw dropped so far, I thought it would scrape the mouse pad. I had never seen so many photo in a row, one after the next, that have sung to me the way yours do. (And I’ve been looking through art books, interior mags, and have been to so many museums, I can not even say). Anyway, it was an ecstatic, aesthetic moment of kinship with you; your eye, and your entire perspective on all things beautiful….awwwww
Thank you, from the deepest recesses of my aesthetic bank.
This is just the first of many love letters….
Camille
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July 24, 2011 at 5:10 pm. Permalink.
David Caldwell replied:
It is worth mentioning that the current “Shakespeare & Co. ” in Paris is a modern reincarnation and is not the shop and the publisher of Ulysses run by Sylvia Beach depicted in the photos.
The second last photo is the Rue de Lota apartment designed by Eileen Gray for Madame Mathieu Lévy with her Pirogue sofa.
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/09/e-1027-roquebrune-cap-martin.html
Nice thematic post with good research and links.
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July 24, 2011 at 8:30 pm. Permalink.
Lucinda Keller replied:
Peggy Guggenheim and Isadora Duncan … wow, wouldn’t they have been just them most amazing gals to meet? Fantastic photos!
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July 24, 2011 at 11:26 pm. Permalink.
VanillaDreams replied:
Hi. I love the vintage photo of the two women in the 20’s. They look very glamourous. They remind me that ladies should look like these women everyday, or at least try to look good even when just wearing modest clothing. Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos.
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July 26, 2011 at 3:54 pm. Permalink.
Mandy {à la parisienne} replied:
Claudia,
You know, opening a brick and mortar store now days is somewhat of a gamble, but people with your talent are the ones we need to keep these kinds of stores going. If all we had was online shopping, life would be missing something. If I lived near your store, there’s no doubt that I would be a frequent customer. I can just imagine what your customers will happily whisper to themselves when they walk through your doors. They will feel transported to a by-gone era of femininity and glamour. Who wouldn’t want to go there?
Mandy
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July 28, 2011 at 9:15 pm. Permalink.
Claire from French Furniture replied:
Thank you so much for this blog. I love the photos. I sometimes think I was born in the wrong era. It just doesn’t seem as elegant today but with your blog and beautiful shop you are bringing elegance back.
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July 29, 2011 at 12:25 am. Permalink.
Monica Shulman replied:
One can never visit you here with only 5 or 10 or even 90 minutes to spare…you need unlimited amount of time to browse your beautiful blog. i’m reminded of that every time I make my way here! so much inspiration. I hope (I see) all is well and I’m so happy I came here today!
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August 8, 2011 at 11:21 pm. Permalink.
Solli replied:
Hi! I just saw that you have used my photo (the one on Ladurée) in your blogpost, that’s fine, but don’t forget to refer to its source: http://sollis.se/2010/11/there-is-always-beauty-in-mystery
;-)
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March 21, 2012 at 7:06 pm. Permalink.