Thursday, September 23, 2010

Hunting and Gathering





















This past trip to Paris I was on the hunt for inspirational materials to work into my projects. Everywhere I looked I found graphics, colors, and materials that excited me. The hard part was finding the time to shop with only 5 days, and a million beautiful sites and things to do. Alas, I think I gathered enough to keep myself busy for a while.


In the Marais I returned to one of my favorite shops, Entrée des Fournisseurs, a beautiful shop tucked in a courtyard off rue des Francs Bourgeois. Stepping into the store I was greeted with a vista of ribbon spools, bolts of fabric and buttons filed neatly on cardboard. My favorite finds this time were embroidered sew-in labels: one that reads "Crocheté main" for my upcoming crochet projects and another that reads "Fait par Maman" for my mom.





At Ultramod I rummaged through vintage ribbons and made out with a collection of blue & gray striped ribbons to feed my maritime obsession. They're almost too precious to use. I could have spent hours at La Droguerie in the 2e arrondissement sifting through jars full of beads, buttons and feathers. There I found bias tape made of Liberty fabrics(!!).


The Marché aux Puces turned out to be another great source of inspiration-- furniture, prints, clothing, brocante. I happened upon a booth selling bundles of vintage piping. I couldn't decide over red or blue, so in the end I just bought both.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Make a Wish

Julie is drawn to things that are small, pink, polka-dotted... and Made in America.

Here you go, Julie. Happy Birthday!