When French blogging becomes art - Gris Bleu

Check out this stunning blog!   Artistic, sensitive, French and ..... written by a Frenchman!

Gris Bleu is guaranteed to whisk you away to France, in a dream of grey blue softness.  Philippe lives in Paris and his spirit is inhabited by the daily images of life in the most beautiful quartiers of the capital.

He loves the light in Paris, he watches people, he adores brocantes and the quirky items he finds there. He creates beautifully imaginative artwork.

I have rarely seen such an original and yet quintessentially French blog.  I hope you enjoy these pictures.   Sit back and let the images transport you to a world of artistic sensibility, where the wonderful is revealed in our everyday surroundings.   Gris-Bleu is definitely on my reading list for a while to come!

French pre-Christmas

A French tradition that used to surprise me, is the ritual end-of-year buying of the calendar from ...... the postman, the dustman and the fire brigade!! 

We may have come a long way from the delicious Jaques Tati playing a postman in  the wonderful film Jour de Fete (an essential part of French culture if ever there were one), but there is still a certain affection for the postman who somehow seems to slip into the intimacy and the efficient running of our everyday lives.

So it is that as from mid November, we can expect a knock at the door, often in the evening, and open to find a familiar face, still in  uniform, brandishing a pile of not particularly attractive calendars for sale.

There is no fixed price, it is for the client to give as he or she sees fit, and that's where the subtlety comes in to play.....   While I have never heard of rubbish being strewn across the drive, letters being lost, or house fires neglected chez someone who had been miserly with their Christmas tips.....   there is always a niggling doubt.....a superstition .  As if giving generously may in some way protect us from unpleasant incidents.

The firemen say that the money they collect is handed over to families of firemen lost in service.  I don't think the postman or the dustman can offer the same explanation,  but still we give.

How about you?  Does this happen where you live, or how would you react if it did?

My giveaway winner

Today's been a busy day but I have found the time to draw  a winner from the bag!  Before I announce who it is, let me first thank everyone who joined in the giveaway, put up the button and left me such encouraging comments about the new shop.

THANK YOU !

You bloggers are the best!

So the winner is Jo from the warm and delightful blog

My Grama's Soul

 Jo, if you send me your address I'll package and post tomorrow!

 

Christelle's brocante

The  beautiful house  I posted about yesterday actually belongs to someone I know, and she lives quite near here !  Christelle is a great French girl who has a very successful French blog called Bord de Scène.   As you can see from the lovely pics I showed you yesterday, the gal really practices what she preaches!

Her on-line boutique has also become a real shop in the grounds of her house.  She is an avid collector and is to be seen at all the juiciest brocantes and yard sales.  The big difference with her shop is that she also likes to rework the objects that she buys, giving them an extra depth, revealing hidden character.

Not only does Christelle have real talent, she is also totally charming ..   Very French actually.  I first met her 'properly' early one morning this summer, at a brocante fair where we were both chasing treasures.  Since then we've bumped into one another regularly, generally between 6 and  7.am on a Sunday morning.

So yesterday I showed you her home, today I share with you a few shots from her shop and blog.   If you drop by to visit her, leave her a message, even if its not in French, she'll be delighted to know that she has new admirers so far from her little village in Normandy!

all photos thanks to Bord de Scene

How the French like to live

This house, that belongs to a friend of ours,  is a great illustration of how young design-conscious French families like to live today.  Elegant, relaxed, greys, neutrals, mix of new and old, comfortable.

Loving the grain sack cushions;  the gold letters on black background; the faux bird and cage; vintage toys and industrial chair; touches of red on grey.

This is not flashy, not even that pricey, more a collection of articles that are loved for what they are, warts and all!

Tomorrow I'll show you the store this girl has in her garden!

photos thanks to Journal de la Maison

Trish from Trouvais

I am so excited to be the subject of a post at the legendary blog Trouvais.  Trish's beautiful blog has long been a reference for me, so I was more than thrilled when she said she'd like to talk about my linens.  Her gift for finding beautiful illustrations, and associating themes and colours is quite unique.

Besides her love of beautiful textiles and antiques, she also has a sure eye when it comes to her exquisite garden, as you can see from her banner.  This pretty picture is taken in her own garden, and all through the spring and summer she spoils us with glimpses of her favourite roses, or her lavender and foxgloves in full bloom.

I contacted Trish a little while ago because I wanted to share an amazing discovery that I knew she'd enjoy.   I had been contacted by the friend of a friend of an amie of a copine .... who said she had some linens to show me.  Definitely the sort of call to get my pulse beating a shade faster.

I had no idea about what or who I was going to see, but following the instructions I turned up at a beautiful old house, deep in Normandy, (sorry I didn't take my camera!) and to my delight was invited inside by an elderly lady called Madame de B. , who had prepared a tray for tea.  We made polite conversation for a while, then she asked me to help her lift a big cardboard box.

When I opened the box I gasped.  Inside were what looked like the contents of a 19th century lingerie closet.  Lace and organdie, broderie anglaise, ribbon.   We emptied the contents on to the table and together started sorting through the individual items.  Madame de B.  explained that she came from a big family in Brittany, and that these clothes have been passed down the generations.  Today, sadly, she has no one in the family interested in keeping them.

As we sorted we talked about her memories of summer days, and cold winter nights,  in the family château.   I noticed the unusually fine needlework on several of the garments, and remarked that someone must have had good eyesight, she smiled and said that would have been the family seamstress.  A woman employed at the château, not as a maid or cook or child nurse, but just to sew.

Several of the baby's dresses are so beautifully made that you can only tell the right side from the wrong by the position of the buttons.  I promise that's true, I made the mistake several times while taking my photos!

I am happy to say that I left her house with the whole box,  so overcome by my new found treasure that I stopped the car on the way home, just to have another look!

So here for you to enjoy, especially if you sew yourself and can appreciate the time required to produce this sort of work, are some detailed photos of the handwork.  If you want to see more I'm in the process of listing the individual garments and textiles over at my shop.

Your opinion please - holiday invites

I just have too much stuff on at the moment, and I can't clear my mind to think objectively about a project that is fast becoming urgent.

One of the highlights of the Holiday season for us is our Christmas Brunch Party.  All day long, open house to all our friends, good food, wine, music great fun.  But, I have set a tradition of sending out fun invites and this year I'm having trouble getting my mind to focus, so I though you might be able to help me.

This was last year's invite

which started out on my drawing pad like this ...

Once I fix on a design I'll reproduce it by hand and paint it on cut out pieces of card , then write the invite in silver ink behind  - doesn't take as long as it sounds, and it's fun to do.

So this year, I'd like to do another 'bauble' but can't decide on a motif ...  do I go for Christmas trees?

or oblique faded stars?

or shall I remind them of the season in words, be it colourful or monochrome ...Help!  Any ideas welcome !!

Thank you for your help, if you want I'll show you the finished result

PS - the next day ...WOW!!  Thank you for all these wonderful comments, I'm loving each and everyone.  I've started a tallyboard so we'll see which design's ahead by the end of the weekend.