Marthe Armitage's Inspiring Wallpapers

I recently discovered a wonderful English wallpaper artist - Marthe Armitage, from reading this article about her in the Wall Street journal. Marthe has only recently gained acclaim for her beautiful botanical wallpapers that she still makes by hand in her riverside home & studio in England. And here's the kicker - Marthe is 86 years old! "Success has arrived for me late in life, and no one is more surprised than I am", she says. Talk about inspiration!

Her most vital inspiration? Nature. “My eyes are always open to it.” 

I'm in LOVE with her hand-printed wallpapers! You can see her entire collection on the website of historical wallpaper dealers, Hamilton Weston. And there's a cool video as well if you want to see what her design process looks like.

The mug in this picture caught my eye too. Absolutely beautiful.

Her collaboration with luxury perfumers, Jo Malone, a pattern called Summer Afternoon.

Image credits: Vogue, Elle Decor, New York Times, Daily Mail, IMAGE, The Telegraph, Hamilton West, Nick Balloon photography

Eclair Extravaganza (25 Beautiful Objects No. 22)

This week, No. 22 on our list of 25 Beautiful Objects, comes from France!

After spending a full day at the Louvre, basking in the presence of the greats, we stumbled upon this FANTASTIC eclair pop-up shop just outside the museum. L'Eclair de Genie. Look at this spread.

22. L'Eclair De Genie eclairs

The founder, Christophe Adam, wasn't kidding when he decided to call his posh pastry outing L'Eclair De Genie ("Eclair Genius")

Notice the special attention given to aesthetics. Each eclair is carefully crafted, with a rich, glossy glaze and toppings in metallic & pop colors. They look downright luxurious!  And that's exactly what Christophe is going for.

You'll find fancy macron shops across Paris, but a luxury eclair outing? There's only one :)

When I dug deeper (here and here), I found that Christophe started L'Eclair De Genie to introduce a new concept of a pastry shop - "flash engineering". The idea is to create a place where you'll find a collection of beautiful looking eclair, each appearing as a "flash of genius". Behind the scenes, Christophe & his team get to experiment, take creative risks and get quick feedback on if their ideas are working or not.

We had their No. 12 Pistachio Cream & No. 22 Passion Crispy Raspberry.  Hardcore deliciousness.

Christophe's experimental magic definitely comes through.  It's no wonder L'Eclair De Genie shops have opened up in Japan and Italy too.  I'm waiting for one to show up in the US! When? :)

France diaries - Part 2

Continuing from last week's post about my time in France, this week, I'm going to take you into the heart of the French countryside.

When we reached Lourmarin, a small French village in Provence, it felt like we were stepping into a natural wonderland! You could see every shade of green imaginable and just like that you'd stumble upon a patch of lavender. The cedar trees touched the sky. 

Our little apartment was right across the street from Cafe Gaby (that I had read about in Peter Mayle's book!). This was a surprise. We had only to look out our window to observe the goings-on at the world-famous cafe! It filled my heart with JOY!

I spent a few minutes every morning  standing by the window looking outside. I could see the village clock (that struck a bell at every hour), see the shops opening up below, and the happenings at Cafe Gaby. There were usually 3-4 regulars who sat at the cafe for hours, silently drinking coffee, smoking a pipe, observing people or playing with this little pup who was having the time of his life jumping around from one table to the next!

Over the next few days, I found myself noticing specific things about Provencal home & hospitality. How they made you feel welcome, the colors, the sense of homeliness and how they invited nature into their daily life.

Here's 2 aspects that I thought were standout and very unique to this little town,
1.  inviting storefronts
2.  simple & charming floral entryways to homes
 

inviting storefronts

Part of Lourmarin's appeal is that the entire village gives that leisurely, laid back vibe.

The shop owners will indulge you in conversation (we went right before peak season, so there were admittedly fewer customers).

My friend Nanou owns a beautiful romantic boutique, Rose de Bagatelle, that's close to the village center. She was at the shop with her baby grand-daughter. We later met her daughter too and it turns out, we were renting the apartment that belonged to an aunt!   

I loved the way her boutique & some of the other shops on that street, created this lovely inviting feel outside the store.

1.

Outside the Rose de Bagatelle, there was a beautiful birdcage with roses, hung alongside the apparel. It was eye-catching.

I asked Nanou where & how she'd found so many beautiful things to decorate her shop with. It turns out she had DIY-ed most of it!

There was a pastel lavender & blue canopy at the entrance of her shop, above the door. It was magnificent. (unfortunately, I don't have a picture of it!).  She had taken the canopy from an old crib that belonged to her daughter, repainted it and converted it into a unique entryway to her store. 

It's this natural creativity & flair that I find super appealing about the French.

2.

One of the boutiques had their wares laid out on benches, or hanging off small flower pots. Cute.

simple & charming floral entryways

Almost every home we walked past, had beautiful flower arrangements and potted plants at the entrance. The homes were painted in shades of ochre & the pots and flowers were a nice contrast and gave them a touch of charm. Plum and lime green planters, poppies growing alongside the window sill or a camellia swinging gracefully in a pot, were always just the right touch. 

There's LOTS more I could share with you here from my time in Provence, but I'm going to wind up for now. I'll share more in bits & pieces in future posts!

Have you traveled to a new country or city recently? And what's something you've loved about it? Tell me below.

Wallpaper Obsession (25 Beautiful Objects, No. 23)

I'm officially obsessed with this wallpaper. 

It's by Cole & Son and it's called Fontainebleau. I love the colors & delicate-ness of it! The exotic birds and those blues. It might be too dramatic for a large wall, but I think it looks lovely in a small space or done as a panel (like in the 2nd image).

There's a cool story behind how this pattern was designed. The designers from Cole & Son found a vintage French document pattern that was in fragments. They filled in the gaps with their imagination and created this beautiful bird & floral pattern, naming it after the lovely gardens outside the Palace of the Fontainebleau. There's a picture of the original fragment at the very bottom.

I think it's great how a piece from the past can inspire present design. You never know where you're going to get inspiration from!

No. 23 on our list of 25 Beautiful Objects

23. Cole & Son's Fontainebleau Wallpaper

                        Original document pattern

Crystals & canary yellow (25 Beautiful Objects, No. 24)

When we visited the Smithsonian in D.C. a few years ago, I liked the section that took you through First Lady fashions & finery.

There were a number of things in there that were pretty wow, including Mary Lincoln's beautiful bracelet-watch  and Jackie Kennedy's state dinner dress. But this canary yellow gown, worn by Pat Nixon on inauguration day, was for me, the star of the show. 

It's embroidered in gold & silver, and encrusted with Austrian crystals. Designed by Karen Stark for Harvey Berin (known for designing clothes for the very feminine woman). It's got just the right amount of sparkle to it, don't you think? 

And that's why it's #24 on our list of 25 Beautiful Objects 

24.  Pat Nixon's Inaugural Gown

Picture taken by yours truly :)

Whose personal style inspires you? Tell me about it.