La Minette Anglaise

It's been a while...

I haven't disappeared...I just took a little break from the blog....that turned into a long break...

But truly I have a good excuse!  I was working non-stop to help mount a fantastic exhibition here in Paris.
It's called "Matières à cultiver" or "Growing Materials" and it's on at the VIA Association until the 16th March 2008.

The VIA is a non-profit organisation that promotes innovation in design, in particular in the fields of furniture, product and interior design and architecture. The exhibition's theme is Eco-materials and is designed to show the vast range of  materials available from sustainable sources and the different possibilities for ecologically-conscious manufacturing techniques .

The VIA gallery space is housed in three arches of the Viaduct des Arts on the Avenue Daumesnil. If you don't know it, the Viaduct des Arts is a wonderful old railway bridge that has been converted into a long verdant promenade that runs from the Opera at Bastille all the way to the Gare de Lyon, with shops and galleries in the arches underneath.

For the exhibition we amassed over 160 exhibits from all over the world which are being shown inside an amazing undulating organic bamboo structure that runs through the exhibition space like a beautiful cocoon.

The exhibition highlights the wonderful diversity of materials from wood, bamboo, rattan, coconut fibre and straw through to paper, compressed coffee and bio-plastics in the form of furniture, clothing, tableware and even an eco coffin!

Matières à cultiver
VIA
33 avenue Daumesnil
75012 Paris

Opening hours
Monday - Friday 10am - 1pm and 2pm - 6pm
Saturday - Sunday 1pm - 6pm

For more information www.via.fr

Vente Noel

My friend Daniel (a very talented designer) and I decided to hold a little "Vente Noel" which started on Saturday and will run until the 23rd December, here in Paris.

By invitation only , you are invited to  peruse  fine contemporary Swiss  design in the form of a very clever and  neat storage system "Casier" by Daniel Baumann

Amusing "Origami" make-it-yourself objects by Samuel Perret and Joachaim Vogt

With a little English design thrown in too - Silver and enamel jewellery by me

Like a crazy lady, I spent two days drying slices of orange and apple to make sachets of Glühwein spices to sell, whilst Sonia, Daniel's beautiful and very organised wife, baked tons of Swiss Lemon Sablé biscuits. Both have been a great success!

Add metres and metres of home-made paper chains, the wonderful warming smell of Glühwein served in little china cups and it all makes for a wonderful atmosphere.

For an invitation, please leave me a message and I'll be happy to email you the details!

AWOL

My apologies! I went AWOL for a bit. A trip to Lisbon, new freelance job, a trip to Switzerland, more new job, all conspiring against my blogging time..
By the way... thank you Nanette for the very sweet message!

But let me share a few pictures from Switzerland - or rather Bale and Zurich to be exact, where I passed a wonderful long weekend with my friend Daniel.

A little mouse making Christmas cakes

In the window of a clothing shop in Bale, a beautiful paper dress

A wonderful carved door

The beautiful painted courtyard of the Hotel de Ville

A wonderful sculpture of fruits and flowers

Giant fabric toadstools in the Dadaist theatre in Zurich

The worlds biggest  cookie  cutter!

Christmas lights on the street of Zurich

And I promise ...more soon...!

A walk along the canal in the autumn sun

Today, a walk along the canal, soaking up some of the autumn sun. I love the Canal Saint Martin and especially the Basin de la Villette, home to two of my favorite little cinemas, the MK2 Quai de la Seine & Quai de la Loire.

Half of Paris was out enjoying the sun, playing pétanque, or nosing around the rather expensive, but worth a visit  Puces du Design - a kind of flea market for design that happens 3 or 4 times a year.

Further up the canal on the way to La Villette an amazing lifting bridge

Subtle palest blue stripes painted on a building at the side of the canal

The wonderful bridge over the canal at La Villette

Taking in some rays at the canal side.

My new little Etsy shop

Those who know me well, or have seen my photos on flickr, know that I can't pass a brocante or flea market, antique shop or charity shop, market or braderie without having a good rummage around.

It is by far, one of my favourite pastimes. And here in France, much to my delight, you find a whole different mix of things.

Since my appetite far exceeds my storage space, I decided to open a little Etsy shop, La Minette Anglaise, selling the best of the wonderful vintage things I have found.

I will be adding more things all the time and even some of my jewellery.

So please do visit, let me know what you think and don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions...happy browsing!

Oh..the flattery..!

When I moved to Paris, I left behind a beautiful apartment.  An apartment with roof top views, huge rooms and all day sunshine.

A few months after I got  here I realised that, it's not quite like all those dreamy apartments you see in cool French films. Not everyone lives in huge Hausmann-style apartments with beautiful plaster mouldings and carved marble fireplaces. Well, it burst my bubble just a little!

Two years later and we are living in a modest, small but not too small, light filled apartment in the 11th arrondisment. It's what is known as a "quartier populaire" and I love that I have everything I need right on my doorstep.

So, surprised and flattered I was when I got an email via flickr from Victoria over at sfgirlbybay asking if she could write a little something about my apartment on her lovely blog.

It is now on-line, so check it out on her great blog here.

Bureaucracy

I think it must be the French who invented bureaucracy. Form-filling, proof-of-postage certificates for piles of documents, endless hours of standing in queues are national pastimes. Where one set of information is required, please fill it out in triplicate...and that is just the beginning.

Since I moved here, I think I have filled out more forms, photocopied my passport and sent off more information about myself than I ever have before. Getting married required at least seven trips to the Marie with various bits of information and now that I am setting up my business here, well, I better get used to it!

However, there are a few advantages, like coming across the interior of the Greffe Tribunal de Commerce de Paris - an imposing building on the Ile de la Cité, sandwiched between the Conciergerie and the flower stalls in the Place Louis Lépine.

I was there to collect yet more forms from the Registre du Commerce and I couldn't resist taking a few photos of the amazing central staircase.

On the same note, and in the same week, a visit to my notary.

Again an amazing, sumptuous office.  I couldn't resist taking a sneaky photo (below)

Now I just need to find some time to fill out all those forms...

Tourist in my home town

How strange it is to be a tourist in your own home town! But that is just what I was last week.
I was back in London for a few days to visit 100% Design and some of the other satellite shows and a couple of friends from Paris joined me for the weekend.

Walking around with them, sharing some of my favour spots, I started looking at the city in a different way, looking up, noticing the wonderful architectural details, new shops and bars and the of so British flavour...

Above ~ Dr.Martens shop in Camden
Below ~ Window of the new Luella shop, Conduit Street

Above ~ Giant Plug socket off Carnaby Street
Below ~ Strange plant and fabric installation at 100% Design

Above ~ A favourite view over the Thames
Below ~ Bridge near Waterloo station

Above ~ Mornington Crescent tube
Below ~ Coffee shop next to Spitalfields Market

Above ~ Rocking horse in his best suit
Below ~ Gnomes in a window on Bond Street

Blissful Brunch

Ahh.. Sunday brunch at our friends Sonia and Daniel's place was a treat. A table beautifully laid out with seasonal fruits and yummy cheese from the Marché Aligre, Sonia's sublime carrot cake straight from the oven and Daniel's new batch of blueberry jam straight from the Swiss mountains (the only man I know who makes jam!)

After brunch we headed up to the top of the 20th arrondissement for a stroll through streets unknown. We came across this wonderful little enclave called the Cité Leroy, with it's own Flat Iron building...

Right next to it is a tranquil little passage, the Villa de l'Ermitage where I saw the courtyard of my dreams..

I want to live here...

We finished up our walk with a drink at the café at the top of the Parc de Belleville, with one of the most wonderful views over the whole of Paris.

If only every Sunday was as beautiful as this!

Jardin Debrousse

Yesterday, a sunny day in the Jardin Debrousse, I found myself like a little squirrel, stuffing my pockets with chestnuts.
I brought them home and now they are sitting in a beautiful black lacquer bowl just under the window.
I have no idea what to do with them...