Paris: Made By Hand has had many wonderful reviews and mentions in the press all around the world since it’s release last month and I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had a chance to show + tell here in the (blog)house and say thank you. So, I am going to try to include a few in coming weeks and I’m starting with Vogue Living who featured the book on their travel page in this month’s issue. I receive a copy of it last week and was thrilled to read the story on Lyn Gardener’s Daylesford hideaway, and there is also a great spread on Caroline Quartermaine’s London apartment and atelier. I also got a kick out of reading editor David Clark’s letter whose last words are “It’s time to celebrate the artisan”.

Ain’t. that. right.

Thanks Vogue Living!

xx

PS I can’t wait to tell you about the booksigning on Saturday! It was a great success and I’m still a little giddy from all the attention. My full report soon!

Today this beautiful email appeared in my inbox, with this fab image…

It is from reader Anya who wrote:

“Dear Pia,

I am writing to you from Russia and would like to thank you for your wonderful book! … The book is lovely and I can’t stop looking at it although I finished reading it several days ago. I open it every day before going to bed and your pictures make me think about beautiful and kind things. I am dreaming to take it with me and use some of your tips when I am in Paris next time.”

Thank you so much Anya!! It was such a treat to read your email – a beautiful way to end the working week.

Have a wonderful weekend mes amis. I will be at the spui as you know, from 1-6pm tomorrow.

Wish me luck for my first ever booksigning!!

xx

Yesterday I was walking along the street and I saw this beautiful dried, flat stem. It may have been run over, and it looks like its been walked over a few times too. I don’t know what it is about it, but I think it is so poetic.

It now lives on in my notebook.

Yesterday I was working up a sweat in The American Book Center window – hanging, cutting, taping, threading, and banging my head against the hot lights every now and then too.

I created this window display in celebration of the Urban Culture event coming up this Saturday, where you will find me signing copies of Paris: Made By Hand, right here in Amsterdam! I must say, it was a bit of fun to be doing up a shop window again – something I have not done since having my own shop in sydney some 10 years ago now.

For this window, I wanted to really incorporate the ‘made by hand’ feel, so I printed out photos from my book on plain, recycled paper, then I cut them up into individually letters which spell the words “made by hand’, “d.i.y.”, and “customize”. I then stitched them together with white thread and left all the threads hanging loose. I also made some hanging pinwheel thingos (do you like my lingo?) in all different sizes from Ferm Living wallpaper which I bought some time ago at Danielle’s online boutique Le Souk. I really like the paper and have been wanting to use it for something special but hadn’t decided what. Until now!

I also printed out some of my favourite photographs and stitched around the edges. And I chose heaps of fab books from within the store that are all about making things by hand, customizing, and doing it yourself. It was so much fun perusing the store’s shelves and selecting books for the window. I was so excited to see Faythe’s book Handmade Nation in store too!

I hope you like my window display and if you live in Amsterdam or near by then I hope this post will entice you to come and have a look and better still, come and visit me while I am there from 1-6pm. One of the marvelous girls in the store made these great handmade signs too…

…”be there on the spui square”, how clever! I hope to see you there!

xx

… the other day on my facebook fan page I wrote that I spent the afternoon sewing at riley’s place… but what was I making? Above you can see some clues. I will reveal all in the next post! But for now, have you any guesses?