OUT AND ABOUT IN PARIS

The Musée d'Orsay was a short stroll from our hotel through the Tuilleries Gardens.  It had been a while since visiting this guardian of the world's largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces.    I was looking forward to gazing upon Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Renoir, Van Gogh and Sisley once more. 

The walk through the Tuilleries is rather interesting  as one is reminded that this 23- hectare site which links the Louvre to the Place de la Concorde has been in existence since the 16th Century and is over 300 years old!  It was also the first garden to become open to the general public in Paris. Originally designed by Catherine de Médicis, the gardens were later modified in 1664 by André Le Nôtre and more recently by Cribier and Benech.   

image via pariscentral.com

image via vitra nostra

I loved walking through the gardens on this cold grey day.   The scattered iconic green chairs, were silent reminders of sunny, warmer days.

The stark beauty of one of the many walks in the gardens

The Musée did not disappoint.  Time seemed to stand still as I visited old friends and I was astounded once more by their beauty.

Paul Cézanne

Paul Cézanne

Vincent van Gogh

Renoir

Edouard Manet

We visited Musée Cluny and saw La Dame à la licorne - The Lady and the Unicorn.  The six tapestries which make up this collection held a special interest for me as they were re-discovered, rolled up and damaged,  in the Chateau de Boussac.  We have visited this Chateau as it is situated in the small town where we own a house.   George Sand, (a woman) the French writer who used to visit this Chateau regularly, and who had a relationship with Frédéric Chopin, wrote of these tapestries, describing their sorry state.  She correctly dated them to the end of the fifteenth century and her references brought their plight to public attention.  They were restored and now hang in a special space designed for them in this museum.

Some of the beautiful plates and bowls I saw at La Tuile a Loup, a beautiful destination for those who love tableware with a difference.  All the pieces are hand made by French artisans throughout France and are truly beautiful.  I will write more about this delightful store later. 

Food always becomes an important part of our holidays!  We returned to Bistro de Paris in Rue de Lille and once more enjoyed good food and excellent service!

Staying with good eating,  we made a new discovery. A very good friend recommended this restaurant and we were very lucky in securing a lunchtime booking.    Hiding quietly in the charming Passage des Panoramas, behind white curtains, is Passage 53.  The dining experience was one of 'surprise'.  There is no menu and the wines are selected for you.  The food was exquisite - both in taste and in the presentation.  A very small restaurant, all in white, but packing a punch of perfection with every course.   

Passage des Panoramas

The entrance

The unusual ceiling lights

The utterly delicious wafer thin vegetables covering a cervice of scallop

Cod with spinach three ways.

The chef is Sinichi Sato and the restaurant has 2 stars!  The lunch was very reasonably priced at E70 per person excluding wine.  It was an experience I can highly recommend.

On a more frivolous note - Owen Wilson and his brother Luke were staying at our hotel - on our floor actually!  One morning,  he barged out of floor as we were getting in and said "Excuse me" most politely!!

Finally, we visited Château de Fontainebleau, 55 kilometres outside of Paris.  We spent a few perfect hours in this magnificent palace and gardens and you can read more about Fontainebleau here on the fabulous Quintessence Blog.

This image above is of Napoleon's campaign tent which I found intriguing!   

HERMÈS & ARDMORE - A Special Collaboration

HERMÈS & ARDMORE

A special collaboration

via Hermès website

Two very special brands have collided and their origins and heritage couldn't be more different.  

Ardmore is a brand very close to my heart as it is South African.  This dynamic organisation began life in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains in KwaZulu-Natal nearly 30 years ago. It all began with Fèe Halsted teaching Bonnie, the daughter of her housekeeper how to work with clay on her farm Ardmore.  

Fèe Halsted ( via website)

Gradually more and more women took up the training opportunities offered by Halsted and in so doing,  created pieces which began bringing in income for the newly formed studio.

via google images

Ardmore Design Collection launched in 2010 producing superb quality dinnerware, ceramic sculpture, tapestries, fabrics and more.  Over the years,  Ardmore's artists have won numerous awards and exhibited in South Africa as well as around the world.  Ardmore is currently available not only in South Africa but throughout the world at various galleries and fine art retailers.   These artworks are also available  through auction houses such as Sotheby's, Bonhams and Christie's who have acknowledged Ardmore Artworks as "modern day collectibles". 

via google images

via google images

Back to the collaboration story and obviously,  Hermès, the French Luxury brand needs no introductions!  Hermès designers approached Fèe Halsted at Maison et Objet in 2013 and the collaboration process was set in motion.

Catherine, Fèe's daughter, together with several of the Ardmore artists, began working on the designs for the scarves, and the results perfectly capture the brand's dynamic personality.

via House & Leisure

Two designs have been created - La Marche du Zambèze and The Savana Dance.  The former features a central elephant surrounded by indigenous flora and other creatures of the Zambezi.  

via House & Leisure

The Savana Dance shows a leopard chasing a monkey, surrounded by protea flowers and other symbols of Zulu Culture.  Both scarves come in various colour ways.

via House & Leisure

I visited the Hermès store in Rue de Sèvres this week to view these gorgeous creations!

 

Walking into this iconic store validated the amazing outcome for this once fledgling South African ceramic studio.  I can only think that their continued journey will prove to be astounding.  We laid each scarf out on the counter and what a thrill it was seeing them in reality.

There was another customer standing close by and she listened as I told the story of the collaboration.  She bought one of them for her daughter "she will love the story behind it all" she said!

The silky folds revealed exquisite, vibrant works of art.

With special thanks to House & Leisure South Africa. 

HELLO PARIS

HELLO PARIS!

A last minute decision to visit Paris during Maison et Objet and Paris Déco Off has paid off!

Of course, we couldn't anticipate that the trip which usually takes 22 hours from Australia ended up taking 36 hours!  Delays aside,  there is nothing like arriving in Paris, doesn't matter what time of year it is.

Below are a few snippets from the past four days

Beautiful combination of Orchids and budding twigs in the lobby of our hotel.

Sorry - just had to share this delicious 'Brioche' with 'Abricot' preserve which I've only had once in the interests of needing to fit into my clothes for the next 8 days!

Hundreds of roses Hotel Costes florist.

I never grow tired of strolling through the Palais Royale.

The stark beauty of one of the avenues at Palais Royale

Palais Royale

The very charming Gallerie Vivienne.  Those mosaic floors are exquisite, as are the shop fronts.

On Sunday we made the trip out to Maison et Objet and below are random shots of what caught my eye.  This most important trade fair, held twice a year, sets the International Design Agenda.  Literally thousands of people, most of whom drag 'wheely' bags behind them arrive at the venue, about 20 kilometres North of Paris, each day. There are 7 enormous halls and other than being foot-fit to tackle the distances,  the over-heated venue was challenging!

Hand-blown glass vases in soft organic shapes and colours.

Beautiful candles - in every colour imaginable, all displayed in these metal cast boxes, the wicks of the candles still attached to each other.   

Lots of gorgeous basketware

The faux flower/plant industry is vast!!

Lots of glassware and ceramic ware in these unusual shapes and colours.

I did love the colour and style of these pieces.

These flowers were fresh - it's hard to tell from the photo - the glass vase was enormous!

Bordallo Pinheiro had a huge display.  They manufacture so much more than their cabbage ware for which they have become so famous.

Fresh again (thank goodness!)

I also spent time at Ancien et Moderne, the Pop-up shop at 16 rue Guénégaud, and met the talented women involved in conceptualising and creating this beautiful space.  Read more about the Pop-up  here. Meeting Stacey Bewkes, a long time blogging friend and author of renowned Quintessence Blog, was a special highlight.

Here is Jill Barnes-Dacey giving a demonstration of her beautiful decoupage work onto glass.

Another of Jill Barnes-Dacey's works.  

We so enjoyed strolling around the Left Bank where 106 Brands were receiving people into their showrooms, showing new collections.

Pierre Frey's colourful tumble of cushions

Jim Thompson's exotic window

Rue de Furstenberg

My first experience of lunching at Ralph Lauren, yesterday,  on Rue Saint Germain, did not disappoint.

We sat inside and although there are heaters in the courtyard,  they only serve drinks out there during the Winter months.

I am a huge fan of the table cloth, a trend which seems to be disappearing sadly.  The napery at Ralph's was beautiful and each table was adorned with these beautiful red roses.

The leather banquette, against the timber panelling creates a wonderfully cosy, luxurious atmosphere.

The day ended with a visit to Dior Home in Rue de Montaigne and sharing a cup of tea with the lovely Doris Brynner and Stacey Bewkes.  The store is looking as lovely as ever and below are a couple of iPhone shots.

Exquisite hand made porcelain by the maestro Vladimir Kanevsky

A very large, exquisite vase - imagine it displaying  a couple of huge green leaves ...

Beautiful Lilly of the Valley design

The Ghinko design - a personal favourite

It was as beautiful as always and delightful to chat to the charming people who work there.

This trip has been accompanied by jet lag for some reason, and as I write this, there is a continual need to check whether it's time for breakfast yet!  Today we plan to visit Musée d'Orsay and Musée de l'Orangerie.

Until next time - Au revoir!!

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