one of my favourite photos…
Posted in paris, paris: made by hand, pia's photos May 7th, 2009 by piablog

…i took this photo from a friend’s apartment while in paris shooting the book. The apartment had the most amazing views over the city, and at night it was just “wow”. When I was there it was rather chilly but I stood out on the balcony for ages, taking long exposures to try to capture the ‘brilliance’. I just adore the eiffel tower when it sparkles at night… you can be walking along the street somewhere near it and then bam! the whole thing sparkles and it is so captivating, it makes my heart sing.

The lovely Victoria over at sfgirlbybay reminded me of this photo from my paris photo collection in her post yesterday – did you happen to catch it? It was filled with treasures from my blog – soundscapes of Paris, old photos, and wonderful memories of times I was writing the book. She also included four top secret boutiques from the book – so if you want a sneak peek of what you will find inside Paris: Made By Hand, head over to read her post.

Thank you Victoria!!

On Tuesday beautiful Grace from Design*Sponge posted a fabulous interview about me and the book, including some exclusive pics and lots of juicy details about what it was like to write Paris: Made By Hand. Please check it out here if you haven’t already. Thank you so much Grace!

And yesterday dear Holly from Decor8 posted a very intimate interview about me and my styling work – she asked me heaps of personal questions about my work, and I gave her very candid and open answers. So if you’ve ever wanted to know how to get into the styling world, or what my work involves, this interview is for you! It also includes some exclusive pics of me styling the front cover of the book. Check it out here. Thank you Holly!!

And a big thank you to every one of you who has extended the invitation to blog about my very first book. I still have email requests to fulfill and I thank you for your patience.

Some quick questions to be answered:

1. I’ve been informed that the book will probably not arrive into Europe or Australia for another couple of weeks, so please be patient – I hope to have a list of stores that will sell the book in all sorts of different cities soon. I have updated a list of bookstores on the book’s webpage here, and will continue to update it as I hear about more bookstores.

2. If you have a store in Australia and would like to stock the book, please contact Random House Australia via email here.

3. If you feel so inclined to write a review about the book on Amazon I would be absolutely thrilled. Thank you!

4. I have a question of my own: wouldn’t that photo be great blown up? i might try it!

Paris: Made By Hand, by Pia Jane Bijkerk…
Posted in books, paris, pia's photos April 30th, 2009 by piablog

Words cannot describe how I feel to be able to finally share this with you my dear readers. It has been a moment I have been waiting for for so long. And without warning, the news of its impending arrival was sprung upon me today in the most beautiful of ways – I received an email from the owner of a gorgeous boutique in California letting me know that she just received a stack of my books that she had on order and loved it so much that she had to email me to let me know. Thank you dear Michele, your email made my day.

So, without further ado, I want you all to know that my very first book is available in all good bookstores around the world right …now.

Wow. I can’t believe I can finally write that.

I promise I will show and tell more about the book very soon (you know I have so much to show + tell!!!) but for now, please click here to read all about it, and to purchase your copy.

xx

oh dear. i’m not sure i can sleep now.

another beautiful post by (blog)house guest riley salyards…
Posted in (blog)house news, paris April 25th, 2009 by piablog

read riley’s full post here.

so so so so so excited…
Posted in books, paris, personal, pia's photos March 14th, 2009 by piablog

…advance copies of my paris book just arrived by courier!!

I have been a nervous-wreck for the past week, ever since my publisher told me they were on their way – the realization that I would see the book in the flesh for the first time was almost unbearable – over a years worth of work in one compact little package. I admit I was fretting, not knowing if I would be happy with the final outcome.

But guess what? I LOVE IT. I’m so happy!

And I just had to tell you that.

Have a wonderful weekend my dear readers!

xx

PS yay!!!

PPS here is a little snippet of the front cover!

snowball fight in paris, anyone?
Posted in paris February 4th, 2009 by piablog

This postcard is over a hundred years old. It’s from postaltrice’s very aweseome vintage postcard collection. I would have liked to have been in Paris last weekend when it was snowing, it would have been so much fun to walk the snowy streets with camera in hand…


…image source here, here and here.