One of the ateliers I visited and photographed in Paris last year but was not able to feature in Paris: Made By Hand was that of artist Hélène Manche. The only reason I was not able to feature her atelier was because it was private, not open to the public. BUT, I was very pleased to find out her pieces are sold in The Collection – a boutique that sells various handmade work of European artists -which is featured in the book.

A little while ago, I asked Hélène if it would be okay if I shared some of my photos of the little corners of her private studio with you, my dear readers. I was very happy she said oui!

So would you like to come with me for a very private tour around Hélène’s Paris studio?

(Click here to read more…)

Yesterday I finally finished a project that I have been working on solidly for 3 weeks. It was such a relief to see the finished results last night. My little shoulders feel a touch lighter now. Unfortunately you won’t be able to see the results for another 6 months! Oh, waiting sucks doesn’t it.

Today I am going to show you one of the ateliers that I was not able to include in Paris: Made By Hand because it is not open to the public. I figure, it may not be open to the public, but that doesn’t stop me from sharing the artist’s beautiful work and workspace with you! The above pic is a little sneak peek. Any guesses? (Josephine you are not allowed to guess as you always guess right!).

More soon…

xx

PS apologies for the repetition in my use of words lately, I admit I have been rushing my posts of late and haven’t dedicated as much time as I usually do to editing. Reading back I’ve noticed alot of wonderful wonderfuls and absolutely absolutelys. I’ll absolutely be more mindful of such wonderful wonderfuls from now on.

I was actually preparing an etsy favourites post, but while I was writing it I realised I wanted (very, very badly) everything in the list, and since they are all one of a kind pieces, I’m not going to post it until I find out if I can purchase the items myself. How selfish is that? That’s pretty selfish. But you know, first in, first served. 🙂

I also wanted to share my polaroid story with you this week. I will. But in the meantime, I thought I’d share with you another polaroid I took here in the houseboat some weeks back.

Oh, I love my cozy boat bed.

I am absolutely loving dear amy’s “made with love” diy column on design*sponge. A few weeks ago Amy launched her column with a fabulous home project of framing fern leaves…

…and today, Amy’s post is about how to make a flower press from two old planks of wood. Ingenious…

I will absolutely be archiving these fab ideas for a free rainy day. Click here to have a peek at Amy’s other “made with love” posts so far. Thanks for the inspiration Amy and Grace! Oh, and I also read on Amy’s blog that she works with Sarah as Saipua – that place is filled with talented individuals.

That is the last poster I printed out of the 7 that are currently featured in the window of WHSmith bookstore in Paris. My giant cardboard eiffel tower will come out of the window very soon – can you believe it’s been a month already since it was erected? It feels like yesterday. So if you are in Paris, and you haven’t yet seen it please do pop down to the store, pick up a copy of my book, and then go and have a sweet treat at Angelina’s. And then a wander through the Tuileries… and then go on a wander to some of the boutiques/ateliers from the book that are in the 1st arr – there’s La Drougerie (where I took the photo above), Alexia Hollinger (beautiful handbags), Astier de Villatte (for some of Nathalie Lete’s gorgeous ceramics, featured on the cover of the book) and Ultramod (for vintage ribbons and silks). Enjoy!

xx

PS I’m thinking it’s about time to show you into one of the ateliers that I photographed but that did not make it into the book, what do you think? I have one in mind…