French Marché aux Puces

As I mentioned, I went to a great flea market this past weekend. It's sort of "curated" and the vendors have to be approved by the Load of Fun group before they're allowed to sell. Load of Fun wants to make sure that the monthly market doesn't get trashy. I got some great things, and would have gotten more if I could have found an ATM.

When I was travelling to Paris on a regular basis, I would always try and visit the amazing marché aux puces or flea markets. Some flea markets here in the US have a bad name as a place to get rid of stolen goods, or sell multiples of white tube socks. I have been to flea markets in London and Rome, as well as some of the really fun ones in Los Angeles but I love the French ones the most.

Clignancourt is the most well-known of the Paris markets, but there are two other large markets, as well as smaller brocante (second-hand) markets that pop up around the city on an irregular basis. Bargains at these markets are less frequent than in the past, but there are always a ton of interesting things that you won't find in the States.

Lile also has a huge annual sale, La Grande Braderie de Lille, which took place the first two days in September. This market is much older than Clingancourt, dating to medieval times. Any resident of Lile can find a spot and set up shop. You are always expected to bargain at these markets, but be polite about it. Now's not really the time to be looking for bargains, especially with the pitiful exchange rate for the US dollar.

Photos of the Lile Market: The Guardian UK

Looong Weekend

It was the end-of-the-summer weekend in the US, and I was glad to have three days off, since I've been working six days a week much of the summer. I had a list a mile long, and was delighted to be able to check many of the items off the list. Brunch and dinners with friends, a lot of errands and chores done and HGTV Design Star Marathon today.

I went to the Book Thing and among other books, got a copy of What Remains by Carole Radziwill. Most of the reviews I've read have been mixed, but leaning towards good. I think this will be one of those books that I have to be in the right frame of mind to read. It's going to be devistatingly sad with the deaths of John Kennedy and his cousin Anthony Radziwill two weeks apart. Continuing on sort of a Kennedy-family theme, I got P.S., an autibiography of Pierre Salinger who was witness to many of the century's most fascinating moments. On Saturday morning, I did a bit of flea marketing, stopping by the Station North Saturday market. For you Baltimore types, it's the first Saturday of the month, and is in the parking lots across from the Charles Theatre. I picked up about five yards of Manuel Canovas fabric for $.50/yard, considerably less than the retail price. It's an old pattern, Bienaimee', but the gorgeoushot pink flowers and blue and white ginger jar design hooked me. Now all I need to do is figure out what to do with this!

I also got some small stretcher frames for a fun project I am working on. Earlier this summer, I learned how to print directly onto fabric from my inkjet printer. It involves freezer paper, an iron and some fabric... Here's how. The print detail is incredible, and so I am printing out some digital pictures and then putting the canvas on stretcher frames.

I always find September to be a bit melancholy, heading down the slippery slope towards winter. I've got a lot going on in the next few weeks, so maybe that will distract me!

In Memory

Thomas Paul

I was looking at the brilliant Brilliant Asylum's blog the other day and she referenced Thomas Paul, a maker of home accessories (with the most annoying website). Coincidentally, I had picked up a couple of his pieces earlier that afternoon. I am a collector of notebooks, being the slightly obsessive person that I am. I used ruled notebooks, but not ring or spiral bound. I use coloured pens, changing colour with each meeting or new conversation.

So I bought a silk-covered notebook that looks like one of those old marblized black and white composition books, except in red, a double silk photo frame, in a damask print and a small photo album, in a 60's looking print. I had a red composition book before and filled it, so was glad to find another one.

Thomas Paul's colourways are wonderfully named: aqua-peacock-leaf, chocolate-orange-marigold, persimmon-pink, kabuki black and goldfinch green. His things are fun and creative. He seems to work mostly in silk, linen and twill, and has a line of malamine plates. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to have a store, but his items are carried in Gracious Home, Elsewares and Fred Flare.

Thomas Paul graduated from FIT in New York with a degree in textile design and went on to work for as a silk colourist and making ties for Bill Blass, Calvin Klein and DKNY. In 2001 he launched a silk pillow collection, utilizing the silk mills which had done the ties. He hopes to have Thomas Paul accessories for every room in the house.

Remember Katrina

Two years ago when Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and destroyed swaths of the area, I was in Scotland for a conference. The majority of the attendees were European and didn't understand why people just didn't leave. The Americans amongst us did understand. People just could not afford to go. They wouldn't leave their beloved pets. There were hundreds of other reasons that they stayed. I spent a lot of time in Louisiana and have seen first hand the grinding poverty in New Orleans and across the Gulf Coast.

As we mark the second anniversary of this American tragedy, please know that there is still much work that needs to be done. Please think about making a contribution to a charity that supports the Gulf Coast and those whose lives were destroyed by Katrina.

RIP Mark Birley

At the risk of becoming your local obit pages, another great has passed on to the great beyond. Mark Birley was the owner of the oroginal members only nightclub, Annabels in London. But that was far from his only claim to fame. He was from a distinguished family and went to Eton and Oxford. Then, in an unusual step, he went to work for J. Walter Thompson, the advertising agency, where he took the place of David Hicks! He opened the first Hermès store in London in 1959, their first venture outside of France. A young Terrance* Conran did the interiors.

In 1963, he founded Annabel's in Mayfair. The club was located in the basement level of the first legal casino in London and was designed by Sir Philip Jebb, who had never been in a nightclub before. Annabel's was named after his then-wife, who is now Lady Annabel Goldsmith. Mark Birley lead an interesting and full life, but it was marred by tragedies, including the mauling of one of his children by a lioness at a private zoo and the abandonment by his wife. In the early 1970's, he was the money partner for Nina Campbell's furniture store.

Birley was one of those people who is so interconnected... his sister is Maxine de la Falaise, and his niece is Lou Lou de la Falaise, both muses for Yves St. Laurent. His associations with trend-makers David Hicks, Terrance Conran and Nina Campbell, and his own personal style made him the center of a very interesting circle. For a more detailed look at this man of his age, check out New York Social Diary's obit.

*Thanks for the correction, House of Beauty & Culture!

Black and White, Again

As a treat, I bought an issue of the British Homes & Gardens magazine today. The cover story was about France and all things French. I was looking at their website later on, and they have a wonderful gallery of images. I found myself being drawn to the black and white rooms, which, while I love them, I know I could never do that look. There's just something so sophisticated yet simple about black and white, with maybe just a pop of another colour. Here are some images from BH&G. Let me know what you think.

I love the different patterns, but all in b&w.

The curtain headers in this dining room really accent the window height.

The Roman shades in this one are great!

Although there isn't any black here, I love the mirror and the green!

Again with the Fireplace!

Le Coterie sent me a great photo from In-Style magazine that she thought would be good for the inside of the fireplace, since I am not ever, ever going to have a fire in there. It was a silver champagne bucket filled to the brim with roses. It was the big style I was thinking about, but since I am on a non-profit budget and I don't have a line item for flowers, I did some thinking.

I went to the local Tuesday Morning, which looks like a huge junk shop and is a terrible mess. However, I have found some good stuff there and my pal KitKat swears by it. I knew I needed a large urn-shaped vase, and found a great pottery one for $19.99. It's cream and has a raised pattern on it, which echoes the marble fireplace surround. I then went to the florist and found some huge heads of hydrangea in greeny-bluey-browny colours. Since their stems were long, I thought they might work and I can just let them dry out for the next month or so. I need to add something else to fill out the vase, and am looking for that.
Thanks for the suggestion, Ally!

Dorothy Draper Auction

I read in today's WashPost that there's going to be an auction of Dorothy Draper items from the famous Greenbrier Inn in West Virginia. The auction will be held in Alexandria, Virginia on September 29 by Potomack Company. The auction catalogue will be on-line beginning September 22, but they have a little DD slideshow on their site now. Now's your chance to own a piece of Dorothy Draper history!

Fireplace Finished...

...maybe! I finished scanning and printing the archived photographs from our programs and put them into the frames I found at the dollar store. I liked these frames because they were black, square and double mounted. And they were a dollar. I ended up using pictures instead of words because the inside dimensions of the frames are 3.5" x 3.5" and some of the words didn't look right. Additionally, the top set of frames are at about six feet, so the words might have gotten a bit lost. I also liked the graphic look of black and white pictures in black and white frames. It's also been a conversation piece for people coming into the office.

I attached the pictures using double sided mounting tape, since the chimney breast is brick topped with plaster, and I didn't want to put 16 holes into it (and neither did the estate staff!). Additionally, if I needed to take the pictures down, or swap them out, it wouldn't be so hard. I was at Ikea the other day and found some of the curly bamboo and some little palms, which I've added to the sides of the mantel. I think this softens all of the hard surfaces a little. I really want to put a large plant in the fireplace to get rid of the black hole, but haven't found anything I like yet. Comments, please!!!