My treasures from Paris....

A candle from A.P.C., black Japanese masking tapes from MERCI (to replicate something I saw at the Album Di Famiglia stand at Maison & Objet), a blue t-shirt from Zadig et Voltaire, beautiful grey linen pillow cases from MERCI to add the final touch to my bedroom (here and here), my ticket to Vanessa Paradis concert (Elodie thinks she is pregnant....more breast than ever, swollen ankles, her hand on her belly when she was singing...personally I saw peanuts but I'm not a reference since I was convinced for 9 months that I was expecting a boy and Mila turned up so will see in a few months if Elodie is right), an adorable grey jacket to go with one of these for my friend who just had a baby, my Buyer pass from Maison & Objet, paper bags from Merci to use a decorative storage bags, a gorgeous pair of shoes for Mila - gift from Elodie - and a notebook with numbers written by Francis Picabia picked up at the Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.

Mes tresors de Paris....

Une bougie de chez A.P.C., des rouleaux des scotch japonais de chez MERCI (pour refaire un truc que j'ai vu sur le stand d'Album Di Famiglia a Maison & Objet), un t-shirt bleu de chez Zadig et Voltaire, de belles taies d'oreillers en lin gris de chez MERCI pour ajouter les touches finales a ma chambre (ici et la), mon ticket du concert de Vanessa Paradis (Elodie pense qu'elle est enceinte....plus de seins que d'habitude, les chevilles enflees, la main sur son ventre quand elle chantait...personnellement j'ai rien vu mais bon je ne suis pas une reference vu que pendant 9 mois j'etais persuadee d'etre enceinte d'un petit garcon et Mila est arrivee donc on verra dans quelques mois si Elodie a raison), une adorable petite veste grise pour aller avec un de ces babygros pour ma cops qui vient juste d'avoir un bebe, mon pass d'acheteuse au salon Maison & Objet, des sacs en papier de chez MERCI a utiliser comme sacs de rangement deco, une jolie paire de chaussures pour Mila - cadeau d'Elodie - et un petit cahier avec des chiffres ecrits par Francis Picabia achete au Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.

So....last weekend I was in Paris.....first I had a meeting with them (YES!) and it went super well. I can't work out if I was over the moon because they told me how much they love BODIE and FOU (again), how cool and boho B&F was (I started melting) and how good Elodie & I were at spotting good designs (I was done!)...but coming from one of our favourites French interior magazines, this was not taken lightly!
So, following this successful meeting, we started a mini version of BODIE and FOU Le Blog on Marie-Claire Maison in French AND Marie-Claire Maison and BODIE and FOU are going to work together at the end of the year to do something similar to what they did with Little Fashion Gallery last year...I can't tell you more right now but this is going to be super cool...

Luckily, they also had a few pieces left from the MERCI collection for Liberty so one quick call to Elodie in Barcelona and I bought her the same bustier I got for my B'day last month and then I took a few more photos of the things I missed during my last visit...last their fabulous library/coffee (below) and their cafe in the basement.

Look at these artist windows ('verrieres' in French)..aren't they to die for?? I would love to have something like this fitted to the back of our kitchen....Our garden (don't get excited, it's v. boring at the moment, I'm waiting for my new-Zealander mother-in-law to work her magic!) would look like a little corner of France in London...bliss.

Anyway, given the costs, it is unlikely to happen but I just thought it looked superb. For the Frenchies reading this, at the back of the photo, it is Mademoiselle Agnes who presents fashion on Canal + and contributes to Vogue France....Not my most groundbreaking photo but I was photographing the windows and I did not see the point to go closer and intrude on her privacy while she was having breakfast with a friend.

This posting is beyond late as it should have been posted when I returned from Paris last January, my apologies...we've got so many things in the pipeline that the blog seems always to be on the back burner...poor blog but here is my take on Merci, the fabulous concept store I visited during my last trip to the French capitale.
With Merci, Marie-France Cohen wanted to give something back (she and her husband Bernard Cohen are the Founders of Bonpoint). The ongoing success of Bonpoint had allowed her to be comfortable financially and she didn't feel she needed more money for the sake of it.
What she wanted was to create an inspiring place to gather together all the things she likes about interior design, fashion, vintage, art, to work with a wealth of young creative people who keep her on her toes, and have all the benefits generated from the sales passed on to a charity helping mothers in Madagascar to look after their children (Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world where a child dies every five minute) and Merci is her vision.
Far from looking like a tired charity shop, Merci is 1500 m2 of pure happiness, inspiration and beauty....
The kind of shop that awakes your senses and imagination, the kind of shop you will love spend hours and the kind of shop I would love to have one day...

Was I seduced? Err..yeah! God I was in heaven....

If it was not for having dragged my friend Manu around all my favourite shops (Loft design By, Zadig & Voltaire, Comptoir des Cotonniers and American Vintage) the whole afternoon and managed to buy something each time (I was in serious need of retail therapy...), we would have spent the afternoon at the Merci Cafe among old books, watching life goes by and simply look how everything, the most simplest object, was enhanced and beautifully styled.
Even Manu who is not about obsessed with design and homewares like me, thought it was an amazing place.

Of course, the whole building is nicely done with concrete floors, wooden floors, a bit of industrial furniture mixed with a few modern pieces and one-off vintage pieces. Some have been slightly restored but you love them even more for their bits that fall apart and add incredible charm and warmth to the place. The kids corner is super cute with hangers in the shape of angel wings but of course, I loved the whole homeware and furniture section and I have found the sofa of my dreams...The Ghost sofa by Paola Navone...
This is the 2nd time, I fall in love with a Paola Navone sofa so I'm going to have to look into her designs more closely. I also loved the table at the front of the sofa, which is from Paola Navone, but really did not like the stainless-steel feet and the price (it costs as much as the sofa) but with a little bit of help and inspiration from our friends at Apartment Therapy, it may just well be my DIY project for this Summer

And I was thrilled with my purchases...I found a gorgeous black metal salad bowl designed by Nelson Supulveda...a range I would love to stock on B&F (let me know what you think of the whole range...it's quite simple but has an amazing organic feel to it) and a plant pot that is a fabric bucket covered with plaster but which I'm now using a laundry basket...

The perfect, perfect shopping experience...one that lifts your spirits and leave you incredibly happy.
And you're in luck, Merci has a pop-up shop right here, right now in London at Liberty until 1st April