Fair at St. Sulpice

a quiet street leading to St. Sulpice Church

When a good friend came by to visit, one of the things on her "must-see/must-do" list was to visit a brocante. I suppose its because I'd been talking up a storm about all the great ones I've visited in the course of finding materials to work with.  But we realized that we had packed so many activities during the weekend that we didn't manage to visit one!

Luckily, we were saved by the Antique Fair at St. Sulpice in the 6th arrondissement.  I love the area of the 6th. Maybe its the architecture, or the little cafes and boutiques, but there's something so Parisian in this area. This particular stretch around the St. Sulpice became quite popular after Da Vinci Code and even now, there are a number of people who go in the church because of that book.

The big square in front of the Church often serves as a place for antique fairs or even a Christmas market but I find that the goods on sale are often the pricier kind.  There are some gorgeous things to be found but there is an accompanying price tag.  Still and all, it makes for a fun afternoon.

Just look at this particular stand. I loved the little tables and candlesticks

Just behind these stands, you can see a portion of the big fountain, the waters of which provide a melodious background to all the antique wheeling and dealing..

 I wasn't sure we were going to find anything but my friend lucked out and snagged two gorgeous vintage necklaces! Aren't they pretty?

Here's a closeup shot of the necklace...

All in all a great afternoon!

Shop Update

Hello friends, hope you all had a magnificent weekend. In this corner of the world, its hitting the high 30s and the sky so blue it hurts the eye! I sit by my worktable and watch all the folks going by dressed in cool summer clothes and it just makes me want to join in whatever fun activities they seem to have planned.

Nonetheless I've been good and I've got a bunch of lovely lovely things to add to the Etsy shop. Here's a sneak peek at some  of them.

Gorgeous crystal and Murano necklace

Two color French glass bead necklace

 I love demi-parures and I've just two new sets..

a pretty green glass and pearl bracelet 

and its matching necklace

Aqua colored glass bead with flecks of aventurine bracelet

 and its matching necklace

 All of them will soon available in the shop

More on the Journee du Fait Main

Map of the different craft fairs in the city

As you know, I'm hard at work for the upcoming first ever Journee du Fait Main in France.   These are very exciting times for all of us who believe in the tradition of hand making beautiful things. I thought I'd share a bit more information about the upcoming events.

 As befitting the capital city, there will be craft fairs in the following areas: 

Espace Kiron 75011

Rue des vinaigriers, 75010

3ème Porte Bleue,  75010

Lieu 37, 75010

Boutique de laine P. Huguet, 75003

Boutique Les Vignoles, 75003

RRose Sélavy, 75009

The complete program can be found in 

http://www.ruedesvinaigriers.com/article-journees-du-fait-main-c-est-la-fete-rue-des-vinaigriers-et-ailleurs-76047158.html

Now the website is in french but here is a bit of information on the other participants  in Espace Kiron, where I will be :

De Petites Merveilles -handmade jewelry from vintage beads 

2beornot- fabric bags and jewelry

Cathart-  paintings and decorative objects

Creadeco110 - decorative objects and jewelry

Fais pas ci fais pas ça ! -fabric bags and jewelry

Frimouz- fabric bags and jewelry

Juju atelier - paintings, jewelry and decorative objects

 Laudee -silver jewelry

 Leonie petits oiseaux - bags, fashion accessories, decorative objects

Les bricoles de mai - leather jewelry and decorative objects

Liloudeco-  crocheted jewelry and other fashion accessories 

Lord ena - fabric fashion accessories . 

Magousacoud - fashion accessories, jewelry in fabric 

Margau - paintings, jewelry and fashion accessories

Maureen linckenhely - jewelry 

Miniloop -jewelry

Missardine - jewelry 

Mlle fifi -fashion accessories in fabric 

Monde original -polymer jewelry

Myrtille75 - polymer jewelry

Nadej creations - polymer jewelry and paintings on wood 

Noshi - origami jewelry

Or-et-faire-part- cards and invitations

 Polyssonne- polymer jewelry

Résurgences - decorative objects

Roseberry  clothes and jewelry

Takalfaire -clothes and fashion accessories 

Tarator - jewelry

Verope - jewelry

What a mess -jewelry

Matuvucréation -jewelry 

Clemcrea - jewelry

Suricat- jewelry 

AV- fashion accessories   

Its a great line up isn't it?

Journee du Fait Main

I'm very happy to announce that on the 9th and 10th of July, we are going to be celebrating the first ever Journee du Fait Main in France. This festival aims to celebrate all that is handmade.  Jewelry, Fashion and Accessories, Paintings, Papier-Mache and Poterie will be among those at the forefront of the celebrations.  What is great about the festival is that it will be held in different cities all over France. Over 100 events are planned for this weekend with over 500 artists and designers participating in the craft fairs all over the country.

In Paris, a number of craft fairs will be hosted in 7 different parts of the city. I'm proud to announce that De Petites Merveilles will be part of the festivities.  I'm very happy to be part of this historic moment and I hope you will join me at L'Espace Kiron on the 9th and 10th of July.  Here are the details:

Espace Kiron

10 rue de la Vacquerie

75011, Paris

Metro: Voltaire ou Philippe Auguste

Now, I'm off to work on all the lovelies I'm going to bring to the fair!

Delightful white

I love color!  Nothing cheers me up faster than wearing a shot of bright fuschia pink or canary yellow. I have to admit though that there's something so fresh about wearing white during the summer.  It looks so clean and crisp. It just looks so put together and who doesn't want to look like that right?

I did a bit of virtual shopping and just look at these gorgeous pieces. I wouldn't mind adding these to my summer wardrobe!

From Asos...

photos courtesy of Asos.com

 This pretty flowered one from Topshop has that touch of color that I love!

photo courtesy of Topshop.com

See what I mean about white looking crisp and put together ?  This dress from Chloe just rocks!

photo courtesy of Net-a-porter.com

 And finally, I adore these cork sandals! They go with everything!

What about you, have you found some pretty summer additions to your wardrobe? Do share!

In full bloom

 Who can't fail to be inspired by these beautiful rose blooms?

Even the non fans will agree that they're particular pretty..

And today I found out that this particular one can last indefinitely thanks to glycerine. Strange but cool at the same time huh?

Here's wishing everyone a lovely and colorful weekend!

These old things

The oldest beads I have in my treasury (that's what I like to call my stock) date back from the end of the 19th century.  When I bought them I literally came home with a smile from ear to ear. They're so beautiful and I felt like I had a piece of history in my hands.

Well during a recent trip, we stumbled upon a small antique shop selling beads and the lady had these amazing 16th century beads (see above photo)! They weren't in pristine condition but given their great age, I guess that's to be expected. I was half afraid to hold them but she very kindly let me and I can tell you they had a hefty sort of weight.  I wanted to bring back one as a keepsake and let's face it, when am I going to find another one like it in the near future, but I didn't have any cash on me then. When I came back later, she had closed for the weekend!  Oh well, at least I got to take a picture of them. Better luck next time!

Great News!

Hello friends, hope you are all having a wonderful weekend! I haven't had much time to blog this week because I've been busy with a major project. Clue? Check out my sidebar and you'll notice something new. See it yet?

Yup...I've opened my very own Etsy Shop! Needless to say, its been a lot of work and I'm sure its only the beginning. As its only the beginning, there aren't so many items on line but I promise that'll change in the coming days.  So without further ado, I invite you all to check out Des Petites Merveilles