February 29, 2016

Leboncoin: a French phenomenon

Over the years I have heard my French friends talk about "leboncoin" again and again. A free generalist classifieds website where you advertise your (usually) used goods online along with your phone number. You agree on the price and the caller will pop by to pick up the merchandise. Voilà.

The French sell everything from furniture to shoes, baby equipment to car accessories through this chanel. I never actually believed that anybody managed to get rid of their stuff this way. Well, I have been proven very wrong.

Desperately trying to rid myself of objects that just take up space in our apartment, I broke down and spent an hour taking pictures and writing up little sales pitches IN FRENCH to post online with leboncoin.fr. No subscription, few criteria, no payment... easy peasy once you've written the French sales pitch and taken an enticing shot of your product.

I started by selling a bike and a sledge. It was published at 17.47 and by 18.47 I had received 25 phone calls for the bike and 2 for the sledge. I was feeling quite chuffed with myself although it did cross my mind that I might have undercharged for the bike. However, the biggest revelation was that this leboncoin business actually works. WOW!

The next day both articles were picked up at my doorstep and the proceeds went straight to my kids since the bike was Expat girl's and the sledge had belonged to Expat boy. Result: they were chuffed as well. ;)

Intrigued to no end I went googling and this is what I discovered about leboncoin:

- it is France's #1 online player
- it has a 39,5 % reach in French internet population
- it boasts 6 billion page views per month
- it posts more than 18 million ads online
- it is in the top 5 websites in France
- it is the 2nd most searched word on google.fr


Now I am left wondering why no one is calling me for my lovely ski magnetic rack?


February 28, 2016

Relapsing into reverie

Back in Paris, sitting at my desk, I am prone to serious homesickness after a smashing week's skiing in Switzerland. It happens every year. It takes me a few days to return to the city rhythm leaving behind the stunning views, beautiful sunshine, crisp fresh air, peaceful silence and pleasant local welcoming pace of the Swiss mountains. We will be back next year...


A glorious day to start off our holiday


Swiss energy ski break on the top of the mountain 


You know you're in Switzerland when you come across one of these lamps


Returning to the bottom of the valley at the end of a fabulous day of skiing


This is how the village got its name... the red mountain


L'église du village


Typical chalet from the "Pays d'Enhaut"


What's left of our snowman


Time for a real Swiss treat: hot chocolate with whipped cream


Local window ornaments


How cool is this window display?


Seriously tempting... can you smell the cinnamon? 


 Oh no, the weather has taken a turn for the worst... time to go home!


February 26, 2016

Export Shopping

Every time we travel back from Switzerland, we go "Export shopping" to the Coop supermarket before we hit the road. Each family member is entitled to fill their basket with their favourite comfort foods. Ski break might mean a long drive to the alps but driving allows us to fill the car to the rim on our way back without worrying about overweight luggage. Trust me there was not much space left for us by the time we finished loading the car this morning...

 The kids' Export shopping


My Export shopping


February 21, 2016

Home again

Ski break has begun and I have packed my kids into a fully-lowded car and made my way from Paris to the Swiss alps a day early to avoid all the Parisian holiday traffic heading south to the mountains. I got stuck once in the 12 hours sluggish ride from the alps towards the capital with what seemed like Paris' entire population on a Saturday... NEVER, EVER again.

A swift seven hour drive and we arrive just in time before the stores close. We slip in to get our skis checked by the villages' two old boys that run the local sports shop, les messieurs Duperrez, that says it all, doesn't it? The Duperrez brothers have seen me turn up every winter like clockwork for the past 45 years. No wonder, this place feels like home. A little chat and a promise that our skis will be ready for us to hit the slopes the next morning.

That evening while sitting in the living room of the old wooden chalet, cuddling up infront of the fireplace, I listen to the church bells chime, just like they have been ever since I was a little girl. The snow is falling outside and my world is at peace.  I am home again!


Winterferiä i de Schwiiz... alle Jahre wieder!


Winter Wonderland still the same after all these years


Home, sweet home!


The local church where we've celebrated weddings and funerals.


Welcome to our cosy chalet!

February 14, 2016

Happy Valentine's Day

Every year the same story...


February 13, 2016

Deco Off... when decoration becomes fashion

Café Les Deux Magots, Café de Flore, Restaurant La Société, Armani store, Ralph Lauren emporium,  Eglise St. Germain de Près are all well known places in one of Paris' most popular neighbourhoods. My personal favourite would be La Rhumerie but then again I am biased towards the sunny Caribbean.

Well, after frequenting the area for decades I discovered - much to my surprise - that there is a whole backstage to Quartier Saint Germain dedicated to home decoration and fabrics. So what if the brands might be luxurious and exorbitantly expensive, it allows for great window shopping and endless inspiration.

While I was hoping in and out of stores asking about wallpaper which is enjoying a revival in the world of Parisian decor my attention was caught by an event: Deco Off!

The 7th edition of the annual exhibition boasted a record 106 showrooms and galleries taking part. The annual five-day showcase saw designers, buyers, and international press descend to view the latest new releases in textiles, trimmings, lighting as well as paint, floor and wall coverings.

And boy did they descend... as did I with hubby in tow! Given the public's majority turned out to be Italian, he felt right at home. Not to mention when we bumped into some friends from Milano. Small world. The entire due felt like "Fashion Night Out" organised every year by Vogue throughout the fashion capitals but this time the colours, patterns and texture of the fabrics clearly surpassed the people's clothing.

The European Confederation of spinners, weavers and knitters provided 140 oversized lamps—adorned by each fabric house—to illuminate participating showrooms along the streets of the Rive Droite and Rive Gauche. As if the lamps were not enough, red carpets even provided the final few steps of direction.


Place de Fürstenberg, the epicentre of deco heaven


Rue de l'Abbaye in b&w


Rue de Seine


A bustling café tucked in between art galleries


Little Green, an inspiring English wallpaper store...
competition is tough!


February 12, 2016

Tickling my fancy today...

I might have been carried away by my wallpaper frenzy lately but this theme has entertained me to no end. Less so the rest of my family! I wonder why?!?


Too flowery maybe?


Too skinny?


Too grey?


Perfect!



February 9, 2016

If walls could speak...

Spring cleaning is not my thing... cleaning in general is not, I might add at this point. However, every year in January I get this urge to clean out cupboards and shelves to ease up some space, a very rare and pricey commodity in Paris.

This year my itch to declutter went a little further when I discovered the DECO OFF , a sort of open days held by Paris' leading interior decorators based in the Quartier Latin. Then and there I decided that wallpaper would make the cut this January. Two days later I let myself be inspired by Pierre Frey's fabric exhibit at the Museum of Decorative Arts. 

The exhibition paid tribute to one of the major references in the field of interior design. Founded in 1935, la Maison Pierre Frey creates, edits and manufactures fabrics and wallpapers in the purest French tradition allowing for eclectic styles and inspiration. Just up my street.

Pierre Frey was born in 1903 in Northern France. He started early, very early, when at 17 years old he made his first steps in home furnishing. Pierre Frey became more than just a designer: he collaborated with artists from around the world, transformed the concept of wall and upset the codes of the wallpaper.

The exhibition honours his career but also explains the methods and practices of artistic fabric and allows the audience to explore his most famous creations.

So, now all I need to do is to decide which of the white walls will remain white and what theme will tickle my fancy! Maybe I should start by asking my hubby what he thinks of my new project first?!?


My kind of funky wallpaper


The "ingredients" of wallpaper back when the company started out


Going native... in all kinds of different ways


Monsieur Pierre Frey, the founder, seems like a happy chap


Getting lost in the mazes of wallpaper


If abstract tickles your fancy... this is the answer!


Feeling wild


An eclectic mix


If ever you needed some inspiration


Look carefully at the shadow formations


An explosion of light thanks to a fun interactive motion game

February 3, 2016

Not just another trunk...

The LV logo is known for posh handbags and fancy accessoires. But behind all that bling is a beautiful story of passion and travel. Today it may be one of the biggest and most profitable luxury brands on the planet, but Louis Vuitton's origins are more humble, dating back to a young man who left home to make his living packing luggage for the great and the good in 19th-century Paris.

Louis Vuitton himself was born the son of a miller in 1821 in the Jura Mountains, not far from the Swiss border. The teenager was taken on as an apprentice by Monsieur Maréchal, a box maker and packer on the Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris.

In 1854, Vuitton married the 17-year-old Clémence-Emilie Parriaux and decided to open his own company on the Rue des Capucines, just around the corner from his old boss. He advertised his services on a small poster that read, "Securely packs the most fragile objects. Specialising in packing fashions." Goes to show... behind every great man stands a strong, intelligent woman! ;)

He became well known for his innovations, such as using canvas and glue for the casing rather than hide, which could impregnate the contents of the trunk with its smell. He also offered luggage in fashionable colours - in particular a pale shade he called Trianon grey.

But the big leap forward came in 1858 when he introduced the slat trunk, which was reinforced with beech slats and covered in Trianon grey canvas. This is arguably the first ever piece of modern luggage and is a design that is still used today. It was the dawn of the age of global travel and to keep up with booming demand, Vuitton moved his workshop to the village of Asnières on the banks of the Seine, three miles from central Paris, where the company's luggage is still made. The factory also became the Vuitton family home.

From here, the company went on to conquer the world. In 1889, the company presented a new canvas at the Exposition Universelle in Paris - where the Eiffel Tower was unveiled. This new design included a discreet registered trademark and was patented - a very early example of fashion branding: the pattern of alternating brown and beige squares known as Damier (French for chequerboard). It won a gold medal at the exposition and, since its reintroduction in 1996, has become synonymous with the label.

By the time the company reached its centenary in 1954, the Vuitton monogram was one of the most recognisable logos in the world. Salvador Dalí even took inspiration from it to create his own "Dalígram".

In 1997 LVMH decided to launch Louis Vuitton as a fashion label and as the saying goes ... the rest is history.


The extensive, nine-room retrospective covers 160 years, four modes of transport and hundreds of signature pieces by a handful of Vuitton descendants and designers, all of which portray the brand’s inventiveness and elegance.


A flower-filled beauty case, a gift to important customers of the time


Vuitton’s “Trunk of 1906,” with beechwood, brass corners, patent lock and monogram canvas exterior not only embodies the brand’s history and sensibility, but is also the prototype for modern luggage, making it the most appropriate piece to welcome visitors.


A fun image of Louis Vuitton in Bond Street


Imagine a travel trunk just for your shoes?!?


A colourful trunk ... just up my street.. maybe a little pink missing?


LV accompanied the explorers by sea...


... by land ...


... and by air!


Easy-jet allows you to check-in 20 kg max nowadays.
This trunk weighed 26 kilos when empty!


Travelling in style by train


A modern graffiti interpretation of the LV bags from 2000.


Proof of a well-travelled trunk


The DJ box, this record box designed by Helmut Lang in 1996 to celebrate the centennial of the monogrammed canvas.


A lovely portrait of the young M. Louis Vuitton
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