Tag Archives: Paris

Notre Dame Vacation Rental, Paris

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Via Haven In Paris, there’s much to love about this amazing vacation rental in Paris:

With Notre Dame cathedral around the corner and the winding cobblestone streets of the Left Bank as your playground, this lovely light-filled 1 bedroom luxury flat is the perfect vacation rental for your idyllic Parisian holiday.

Located in a typical Haussmanian building one block from the Seine and just across the river from Notre Dame Cathedral, this apartment is equipped with all the amenities of a boutique luxury hotel in the heart of one of Paris’ oldest districts. Tastefully decorated in light tones and with fantastic northern and southern exposure, this flat enjoys plentiful sunlight all day – to be soaked up from the spacious living room or from the flat’s tiny private balcony right off the living room.

The master bedroom, with its plush queen-size bed and high-quality linens, overlooks a quiet side street – affording you peace and quiet when you want to retreat from Paris’ hustle and bustle. Additional guests are welcome on the living room’s comfortable double sofabed. The sleek and modern kitchen, complete with brand new high end appliances has everything you need to prepare delicious home-cooked feasts with the day’s outdoor market finds. After a long day of Parisian sightseeing, relax on the sofa to English-language channels on the flat-screen TV – or opt for one of the DVDs available for your entertainment. The just-renovated bathroom features a rain shower and full bathtub, and a heated towel rack for your comfort.

Whether you’re planning the next day’s excursions on the Mac laptop provided for your use or swapping stories around the dinner table, we’re sure you’ll find this Paris luxury vacation rental a home-base you won’t want to leave… if only to go pick up some croissants for breakfast.


“Paris Versus New York” A Tally Of Two Cities

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We generally give up picture books as we age but perhaps that’s a shame. Sometimes a series of witty pictures can brighten and inform our world more than a whole stack of prose. Sometimes we just need to look. Vahram Muratyan, a freelance art director and graphic designer began making prints comparing the city he lived in, Paris, and the city he often visited, New York, and putting them on his blog, Paris Vs. NYC in 2010. The blog was a sort of travel journal which turned into a series of 105 illustrations that tell the story of each city with comparisons like bagel versus baguette, Bordeaux versus Cosmopolitan and Amelie versus Carrie.

The style is colorful and simple and the pairings inspire more than a chuckle or two. The book is a playful look not just at the two cities but about the things that define cultures. What we eat, who we admire, where we shop, these things and more define cultural identity in ways that we don’t often consider. New Yorkers and Parisians will smile knowingly.

The book, published by Penguin is on sale January 31 for $20. Should you want a larger version of one of the illustrations, Society 6 is also selling prints of some of the favorite illustrations online.

parisvnewyork parisvnyc1 parisvsnyc2 parisnyc3 Paris Versus New York


Maison & Objet’s designers of the year announced

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Maison & Objet has revealed its Designers of the Year — which includes brothers Humberto and Fernando Campana, originally from the Brazilian city of Brotas; French designer Hubert le Gall; and Tokujin Yoshioka from Japan.

Humberto and Fernando Campana first came into the design world with an exhibition of iron chairs in San Paulo in 1989 and have since been awarded the Special Prize at the Brazilian House Museum in 2011 and were named Designer of the Year 2008 at Design Miami.

Hubert le Gall originally trained as a visual artist and is known for working with a diverse range of materials, including bronze and glass, to produce what has been described as “sculptural furniture.” This year he has been appointed lead designer at Maison & Objet’s ‘scenes d’interieur’ section of the exhibition.

Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka (work featured above) has examples of his work permanently displayed at prestigious museums around the world including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. His work has been described as “transcending the boundaries of product design, architecture and exhibition installation” and he has been honored with numerous accolades including 2007 ‘Designer of the Year’ at Design Miami, Elle Deco International Design Awards – Designer of the Year in 2009 and Artist of the Year at the Tokyo Design Art and Environmental Awards 2010.

A selection of work from each of these will be on display throughout the duration of Maison & Objet, one of the most influential interior design shows, which runs January 20-24 at the Villepinte exhibition center in Paris, France.


‘Louis Vuitton – Marc Jacobs’ at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Paris

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The famous Museé des Arts Decoratifs in Paris will unveil the ‘Louis Vuitton – Marc Jacobs’ exhibition, set to run from March 9-16, 2012. Spread over two floors and dedicated to the life and work of both Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs, the show will feature some of the finest pieces in the Louis Vuitton archive, from one of the first trunks made in 1869 by Monsieur Louis Vuitton himself while there will be a solid focus on the work of Jacobs. The creative consultant to the show is Katie Grand with Sam Gainsbury and Joseph Bennett designing the exhibition.

From the museum: This exhibition tells the stories of two men, Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs (artistic director of LV), and will highlight their contributions to the fashion world. How did they succeed in taking the pulse of their respective periods to innovate and take an entire industry forward? How did these two personalities, each with their own language, appropriate cultural phenomena and codes to write the history of contemporary fashion? An analysis rather than a retrospective, this parallel Vuitton-Jacobs comparison will provide new insight into the fashion system during its pivotal periods, beginning with its industrialisation and ending with its globalisation, focussing also on its artistic professions and crafts, technological advances, stylistic creations and artistic collaborations. It will also be homecoming for Louis Vuitton, who set up shop only a stone’s throw from the Louvre, the home of his first great patron, Empress Eugénie. Over a century separates Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs, but both come together in the excellence of their creativity.


Milan and Paris Preview of Men’s fashion week

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Powered by Guardian.co.ukThis article titled “Men’s fashion week preview: a look ahead to Milan and Paris” was written by Simon Chilvers, for guardian.co.uk on Friday 13th January 2012 11.24 UTC

Those of you who are still dreaming of Christmas, wake up and smell the cologne – a new fashion season is almost upon us. Yes, the shows are about to start again and they will spring into life with all the new menswear. Once you get past the fact that it seems a bit impolite for men to go first, it’s really a rather exciting way to embrace your inner fashion god/goddess during the gloom of January. Here are some anticipated highlights of the autumn/winter 2012/13 Milan and Paris shows. Drum roll please …

Burberry’s tweetwalk

You too can partake in the fun with British mega brand Burberry who, for the first time at menswear, will tweet each look live from Milan before it goes out on to the catwalk. This means that effectively the invited audience will be the last to see Christopher Bailey’s latest ever-so-clever remixes of the coat and related items. Follow them @Burberry.

Burberry is also live streaming the show online – visit guardian.co.uk/fashion at 4pm on Saturday to watch. Set that reminder now!

All eyes on Raf

There’s been no more Dior talk since the pre-Christmas flurry of rumours that Raf Simons might be abandoning Jil Sander to take the top job at the Parisian fashion house, replacing John Galliano. It will likely start up again this weekend, though, when Simons shows his new Sander collection for autumn. Last season his models sported wet-look dos and baggy shorts, and wore money purses and wallets around their necks. While the collection didn’t win universal rave reviews, the python T-shirts are already selling like hot cakes – even Christopher Kane has one. Simons will also show his eponymous label on Saturday 21 January in Paris.

Kim Jones, take two

Last season in Paris, Mr Jones produced a stonking debut at Louis Vuitton. It was so good it bagged him the best menswear prize at the British fashion awards. These Jones-designed spring/summer pieces will soon begin to arrive in stores. Sign me up for the Serengeti sandal, which is so marvellously designed you can pack it flat – and who doesn’t want a flat-pack sandal? Meanwhile Jones and his team are gearing up for his second collection, which is unveiled next Thursday in Paris. Check back then for all the catwalk pictures from the show …

Prada, Prada, Prada

How do you follow up a spring/summer collection of golfing, rhinestones, Americana and floral cocktail trousers, plus an ad campaign featuring Michael Pitt? Well, on Sunday evening Ms Prada will show you. The excitement is palpable.

The Brit Pack

The British man of the hour, Jonathan Saunders, will stage a presentation of his expanded menswear collection In Milan on Monday 16 January. His clothes for men are already doing brisk trade at Matches in London. The following week, the British Fashion Council hosts the Paris Showrooms event in support of British labels, including E.Tautz and Lou Dalton, who will preview the collections they will show on the catwalk in London this February.

Front row watch

The shows, the presentations, the launches are all very well, but what about the front row? What will the show guests be wearing? You’d be wise to place your bets now on the number of Prada rhinestones that will photographed in the coming days. Similarly, expect high volumes of Givenchy’s spring/summer birds of paradise printed goodies (left).

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

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Google’s new Paris headquarters

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Google’s has opening their new French headquarters. The new Google office is located on 8, rue de Londres, Paris — in a “new 10,000-square meter office in a refurbished 19th century Second Empire building near the St. Lazare Train Station,” according to the Google Blog.

Eric Schmidt of Google and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France acted like old friends. Karl Lagerfeld, the head designer at Chanel, introduced a new fashion brand, available online only. The Ting Tings gave a private concert at the Louvre for a gathering of the global digerati. Mr. Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google…opened the U.S. Internet giant’s new headquarters for southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Google’s move, from nondescript quarters into a palatial building that once served as the headquarters for a French railroad… – read more at NYTimes


Exclusive Interview with Laure Kczekotowska

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When I met Laure Kczekotowska, a fashion couture designer at a party in Paris, we chatted for 30 minutes. Her long blonde hair and flawless skin made me question her when she said she has been designing for 15 years. After all, she must have started at the age of 5 since she didn’t look a day older 30. Although, apparently, she did start embroidery at that young age while helping her grandmother. Perhaps it was her secret youth fountain, or her amazing couture line that drew me to ask her if she would like to be interviewed. In essence, she is not only a designer but also an artist of many mediums who strives to create a whole universe of her brand. This, of course includes a glamorous “couture” to wear line, furniture and sculptures. I am sure I have intrigued you, so please read on.

Q: What made you want to go into fashion design?
A: Simply put, it came naturally to me. At first I studied architecture and it didn’t take long for me to fall in love with fashion. The creative process of couture is what felt very instinctive to me.

Q: What would you say is the biggest challenge of designing couture?
A: Time. Creating something so detailed takes a lot of dedication and consumes a lot of your time. You need to have self discipline and determination.

Q: What inspires you most?
A: People and places. I love to observe the way people live, feel, dream.. Cultures and different backgrounds also inspire my work since every place is unique and has so much to offer.

Q: What are you currently working on?
A: I am creating my next collection that will be presented at private events during Fashion Week in Paris, New York and Los Angeles next spring. I also have many art projects that I constantly developing.

Q: What would you say to an aspiring designer seeking advice?
A: I would say if you want glitz and glamour don’t do it. If you are doing it because you love it, you will succeed. Designers are there to be behind the curtain, not become stars. We are here to make other people feel like stars.

Q: If you wouldn’t be a designer, what would you have chosen for a career?
A: I probably would have continued my career as an architect or pursued medicine.

Q: Who is your client?
A: My clients could be anyone. I like for my designs to be applicable to every woman who feels fabulous, elegant, glamorous but also has a dark side, in a good way. She is strong, knows what she wants and goes for it. While wearing a fantastic dress, of course.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
A: I hope to build not just a brand but a way of life. What I am creating is a whole universe of fashion, art and interior design. If you love LK Paris you will be able to surround your life with it completely.

Check out LK PARIS website here.


Postcard from Paris V.21 – Bretagne, France

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As much as I love Paris, sometimes a gal just needs to get away from the city. Especially a gal who is used to living in Los Angeles where her car could take her to the mountains for a hike in under 10 minutes, or have a lovely day at the beach that is only a 5 minute walk away.

When a planned trip during the long weekend to Germany fell through, another great opportunity knocked on the door. A trip for two days in Britanny, a beautiful peninsula in the north west of France. I didn’t hesitate for a minute and called on the only seat still left in the car.

The first day we woke late due to our even later arrival the night before. With no obligations or preplanned excursions we took our time with our brunch and headed out to explore. Our first spot (which turned out to be the only one for that day) was the beach. Ahhh, the beach. While others wore their rain boots I hurried and took off my shoes to feel the sand on my bare feet. I ran into the water that was surprisingly warm and spend the next two hours collecting shells and taking pictures. We decided then that we must return tomorrow morning for a lovely jog along the coast. And the next day we did just that.

Even though rain is pretty common in this area of France, the gods smiled upon us and gave us nothing but sunshine for two days. Day two was dedicated to discovering the small towns of Bretagne, and of course lets not forget the salt shopping! (They are known there for their salt “mining”).

I had to return earlier than others due to work, so I hopped on the train for my three hour ride back to Paris. As I watched lights flicker in pitch darkness through my window, I made a promise to myself to explore other parts of France as much as I can.


Baguette Vending Machine, Paris

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French baker Jean-Louis Hecht has rolled out a 24-hour automated baguette dispenser, promising warm bread for hungry night owls, shift workers or anyone else who doesn’t have time to pick one up during their bakery’s opening hours. Hecht, a baker from Hombourg-Haut in north-east France has opened one in his home town and another in Paris, both next to his bakeries. What was the inspiration for the baguette vending machine? Hecht told Marketplace: “I know all my customers. Some of them, when they’d forgotten to come before closing time, used to ring my bell because I lived above the bakery and I’d come down have a bit of a chat and sell them a baguette. But when I went back up my wife used to complain that the dinner was cold, “You’re never there! Nag, nag, nag.” So one day I said “Don’t worry, I’m going to build a machine.”