Paris Parfait

Igor Josif and a shared design obsession

It started with this feature on photographer Stella Harasek's lovely home that both Igor Josif and I saw - unbeknownst to each other - on a couple of Scandanavian design blogs. When I saw Igor's post, I sent him a message that I was mad about the City Sunday magazine rack and had ordered two from Finland for my home office. Igor responded, "You mean it's possible to buy something like that?" And ten minutes later, he'd ordered one too.

Here are the magazine racks at first blush. No doubt the contents will evolve on a regular basis. And follow Igor's Happy Interior blog for his version of the City Sunday magazine racks. If you fancy your own magazine racks, they're available at Finnish Design Shop.

In my magazine racks: (top) French enamel sign; French francs price tag from a Paris shop; David Burke's Writers in Paris; a photograph of a Paris milliner's salon in 1944 by Lee Miller; the book Thinking in Type and a small poster for Linotype: the Film, for which I am happy to be a backer. (Bottom): Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, one of my all-time favourite books; a photograph of Afghan children given to me by Marianne Elliot; a Christies auction catalogue featuring mementoes of adventurers and explorers, including T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia); the latest issue of News Photographer magazine; Mary Oliver's poetry book Evidence; an art piece by my friend Christine Mason Miller and a notebook.

Where Women Create

French glass negatives from 1910 and 1914 framed against the window in my home office. Light filters through, illuminating the images. One of the photos shows a French family in formal dress inside a Native American tepee - in France!

 

Today my favorite item in my typography-mad office - the alphabet chest - is featured in Where Women Create. I've been a fan since getting a signed copy of Where Women Create in Savannah, Ga. in 2005. It's still one of my go-to books for inspiration. So it's an honor to have my office featured on their website.

This weekend we're off to England to see family. Hope you have a wonderful weekend, filled with delights. And to all the moms out there - including my own amazing mother, Cherie - Happy Mother's Day!

Re-opening my etsy shop Paris Parfait

Et voila! I have re-opened my etsy shop Paris Parfait to sell some of my way-too-many French treasures collected during ten years in Paris.

These photographs show some of the items currently for sale (19th-century Jugendstil Art Nouveau claret pitcher above and French enamel cafetiere below, in the highly-sought-after stripes and floral pattern). I'm happy to report that I sold a wooden angel to a woman in Japan, while still loading photographs for the shop!

Vintage French perfume bottles. See more antiques and collectibles on offer here. Please check back often for new listings!

Ten.

Antique prayer necklace from Yemen.

 

Forgive me for indulging in a little sentimentality. Today marks ten years of marriage: much love, hope, prayers and dreams come true. David and I celebrate our good fortune on a regular basis: we know we are blessed and take nothing for granted. On this special anniversary, we raise our glasses in a toast to the next ten years and beyond...

Little gems

Boats viewed from a small bridge in Edam, Noord-Holland.

The small bridge...

...with a tall arch.

Another bridge over the same canal.

Bicycles everywhere....

Edam cheese and bottles of wine. All that's missing is the bread!

Living over the shop.

Rustic charm.

A permanent letter box.

A photograph of Volendam's origins as a fishing village on the side of one of the houses in the picture.

A plaque indicating the house was built in 1935 and the family's work involved horses and sheep.

Reflections in a shop window in Volendam. The girl in the striped shirt reminds me of my fearless friend Gillian.

This week I am re-opening my etsy shop to sell many French antique and vintage treasures from my personal collection. Check back soon for the launch and link.

An afternoon in Delft

Reflections in one of the historic city of Delft's canals. I shot these pictures strolling around the city centre, while our guests visited an exhibition at Vermeer Centrum.

An Italian Fornasetti plate is artfully framed in a private home's window.

Trees reflected in a canal.

Delft blue ceramic messages embedded in the sidewalk.

An original apotheek (apothecary) sign from 1759 opposite the tower of Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in the city's famed market square.

Antique and vintage Delft porcelain in a store vitrine.

Art Nouveau architecture at a Leonidas chocolate shop.

Chinese herbs.

A stack of wooden crates in a bar window.

A patiently-waiting father staring out the window in a children's store.

A mercantile selling molds, fabric, yarn and sewing notions.

A mannequin wearing 1970s thrift-store fashion and vintage scarves tied to a chair.

For more glimpses of Delft, go here, here and here.

Hello, May!

Miniature windmills at Kinderdijk, Zuid-Holland.

Fresh fruit and vegetables in Delft.

An arrangement of antique glassware on a windowsill in Edam.

 

It's the merry month of May - hooray! - and I'll be back shortly with more photos and posts.

Meanwhile, if you live in one of the cities in Maryam's book tour  - now underway in the US - don't miss a chance to meet her! Maryam is as charming and clever in real life as one might expect from reading her lovely blog My Marrakesh. Feast your eyes on her stylish book Marrakesh by Design, availble from various booksellers.

The art of display

Artful displays at Sophie Pretelat's antiques shop in the Loire Valley, France.

Sophie - who lives in a magnificent chateau filled with fantastic and rare collections - has a real talent for arranging seemingly disparate objects into intriguing tableaus. I am lucky to have purchased some treasures from Sophie's antique shop, as well as her stands at brocantes at Bastille and Saint-Sulpice.

One of the eye candy books waiting in my "must read soon" pile is Creative Display by Geraldine James. The book is packed with ideas to mix it up a bit, with items both precious and sentimental.

Another book in my mailbox this week is blogger Nichole Robertson's Paris in Color. It is filled with whimsical themed photographs that will make you long to wander the city's streets at leisure, soaking up every beautiful detail.

John Baxter's The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris is also awaiting my attention. More about this book later; I'm hoping to catch up with all these delightful echoes of Paris soon.

An unlikely makeover

When I noticed the house on the Dutch realtor's website, a dirty white brick wall screamed out at me. My initial reaction was to find out if the wall could come down. When I saw the house in person, that idea was reinforced; the wall was horrid and dated. But we bought the house and there were so many cosmetic improvements needed, (thankfully, the house is structurally sound) the building work involved in knocking down the wall seemed like a tedious process, not to mention an unnecessary expense. And after moving twice in one year, we really didn't want to spend weeks living amidst construction chaos.

So rather than knock down the wall or try to mask it with art, I decided to make it a feature. I chose a teal blue inspired by the Rijksmuseum (much to the dismay of the painter, who clearly thought I was mad). The teal matches the William Morris Strawberry Thief fabric in the Arts & Crafts chair. I hung the circa 1830 French gilt mercury glass mirror and pushed the Napoleon III glass-fronted bookcase (bought from the grandson of a professor, who had it in his office at the Sorbonne) against the wall. Then I put the 1930s table in front of the mirror and topped it with glass scientific specimen globes to reflect more light. The arrangement of antique globes containing various curiosities are a winking nod to Miss Havisham's table in the latest BBC production of Great Expectations. A Napoleon III "bamboo" stool and a matching stand (holding an antique Buddha head) complete the grouping.

The rest of the room is a mixture of modern design and influences from the Middle East and Andalucia, Spain. It's an eclectic combination, which seems to work.

In case you didn't notice, the perfectionist in me is compelled to point out a pair of eyeglasses on the table that should not have been in the photograph. But in my bid to quell these annoying perfectionist tendencies, I am posting this photo, rather than take a more "perfect" one.

The ceiling is painted a pale blush pink, which helps "warm" the space in the winter. The pendant lights (of which there are six) are from Italy. The wool rug is handmade by the Bani Hamida Women's Weaving Project in Jordan. I'm looking for a different rug for this spot; ultimately the Bani Hamida rug will move either to my office or the guest room.

Stay tuned for more house "makeover" photos... Bon weekend!

One wall

Work-in-progress, my home office.

The bookcase contains language and photography books, an antique book press and my iPod. Vintage American typewriters from the 1940s and 1920s rest on an alphabet chest handmade by Luke Ellis of Kent & London. On the wall is an original Henri Cartier-Bresson photo of boats in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris (my old neighbourhood); a Mucha Art Nouveau alphabet drawing from 1901 and an oil on wood painting of nightfall over Santa Fe by Greg Moon of Taos, New Mexico. The 1950s Tolix stool is French and the Louis Poulsen suspension light is from Denmark. The colour-block tiles belonged to the house's previous owners; am still searching for a rug. The door leads to a balcony overlooking the garden and canal.

Vignettes

Vignettes from my home office space, the Netherlands.

As always, click photos to enlarge.

Waiting...

Restoration underway at Reales Alcazares de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain.

 

Hello, dear friends and gentle readers! Despite my lengthy absence from the blogosphere, I haven't forgotten about you. While our house isn't nearly as grand as the Alcazar Palace in Sevilla, it has its own simple charm (and some antique tiles from Sevilla are part of our decor). For weeks I've been preoccupied with improvements and repairs. Waiting for tradesmen and builders to work their magic has been a slow and frustrating process, with delay heaped upon delay and a couple of incidents involving less-than-stellar workmanship. 

After our professional painter carelessly splattered paint on our home office floors (which two hours of scrubbing wouldn't remove, requiring rugs to mask the damage), we've decided to paint the guest room, the top floor and the stairwells ourselves. Also, we're tasked with touching-up several spots the painter failed to notice. Louis Poulsen lights from Denmark arrived two weeks ago, but the too-busy electrician has cancelled three appointments; hopefully the job will be accomplished next week!

But life is not all home-improvement drudgery. David and I are enjoying the birds (including a grey heron!), ducks and swans that frequent "our" canal and the lovely flowers and trees blooming in our garden. Hard to believe we're in a city, yet surrounded by nature. The winter snowstorm caused extensive damage to two palm trees from Northern China, so amateur-like, I've been trying to salvage what's left.  I've read at least five books (and promptly recycled them, in a bid for more space; less clutter). Slowly, but surely the house is starting to feel like a home.

Meanwhile, we're long overdue for a trip to London to see family and American friends arrive for a visit later this month. I'm hoping to get back to a regular blogging schedule, starting next week. Watch this space for photographs of our new abode.

Wishing you and yours a very happy, healthy Easter weekend!

A frequent visitor glides by our garden.

Ode to New Orleans: Happy Mardi Gras!

Today is Fat Tuesday! In honor of Mardi Gras, here are photos taken last year in the great city of New Orleans. Click photos to enlarge.

(Pictured above and below) Costumes for sale or rent are displayed in a New Orleans shop window.

A dress fit for a princess.

Mardi gras masks.

Gold and silver fleur de lys in many variations.

Alligator heads at the farmers' market.

"Alligator" jerky.

Ice-cold thirst-quenchers.

Palms for sale.

A Tarot card reader and passers-by admiring art pinned on a fence.

Street performers.

Mardi gras beads bedeck this balcony.

Saints country.

Christmas all year round.

Wrought-iron grillwork and greenery.

Reading on a balcony.

Green shutters.

Beads and flags.

A balcony weighed down with greenery.

Green is a popular choice for shutters in the French Quarter.

White pumps (thankfully, after Labor Day) dangling from a balcony.

Wrap-around balconies.

Les fleurs.

 

Grillwork, plants and flags.

Grillwork and green shutters.

Turquoise shutters enhanced by plants.

A sprig of green in a metal envelope.

Ode to Dixieland jazz.

Street life.

Horse-drawn carriage ride.

Pink bicycle to match the blossoms.

A private courtyard.

Reflections in a vitrine featuring a crystal chandelier.

French antiques shot through glass.

Reflections in the window of another antiques shop.

A child's wonder in a French quarter lighting store.

Wedding celebrations.

No visit to New Orleans is complete without a stop at Arnaud's.

A legendary restaurant.

Another popular local eatery.

Decorative lights on a lovely side street...

...and on the raucous Bourbon Street, which sadly has deteriorated into a loud, drunken tourist trap.

The New Orleans skyline.

The waterfront.

The Creole Queen.

The Steamer Natchez in the Port of New Orleans.

Happy Fat Tuesday! Happy Mardi Gras!

Fading beauty

 

Entranceway enhanced with hand-painted symbols meant to ward off evil and encourage prosperity and peace, Bhaktapur, Nepal.

And similarly-decorated portals in Bungamati, Nepal.

"The only lasting beauty is the beauty of the heart." - Rumi

 

A year to cherish

Antiques in a New Orleans hotel lobby. And a haiku for 2012:

 

Write the next chapter:

choose your own destination;   

treasure the journey.

Christmas tidings

Our fireplace mantel with 19th-century French Madonna crowns, a framed 18th-century page from the Koran (yes, religions can peacefully co-exist) from Sevilla, Spain; 18th-century French books topped with Delft porcelain miniature shoes and a vintage Santa ornament; a hand-carved wooden lamplighter from the Netherlands; an 18th-century wooden angel from an Italian church (wearing a rush crown woven with irridiscent beads from London); Christmas parcels from my daughter in the US and a glass cylinder containing an arrangement of amaryllis, berries, a silvery fern and "snow," a gift from a Dutch friend, who is a talented florist and interior designer. The mercury glass and gilt mirror is French, circa 1830. Click photos to view detail.

Antique porcelain figures at an exhibition of Christmas decorations currently underway inside the city's 15th-century gate tower.

The Virgin Mary.

Baby Jesus in a straw-filled manger. "For unto us, a child is born..."

Joseph.

Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus (and a wood-framed leaded window at the top of the historic town gate).

A handmade nativity scene. This picture is slightly out of focus (taking pictures was frowned upon at the exhibition), but you can see the amazing detail of each cloth figure and the surrounding scene, including a hand-woven tent.

Vintage ornaments on a wire tree.

Gingerbread in a shop window.

Outside our window, bells are ringing, while carpenters build a manger in the 15th-century church courtyard. And a house-drawn carriage is ferrying last-minute shoppers through the cobblestone streets.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas, filled with tidings of comfort and joy!

Pinning Pinterest: Copyright protection for photographers

 

In 2009, I took the above photograph in my Paris apartment, using my Sony A900. I posted the photograph on my blog Paris Parfait. But the image you see on today's post didn't come from my photo files; instead I downloaded it from Pinterest.

How did it get there? Someone "pinned" it, giving another photographer credit. That photographer is Lara Rossignol, who happens to be a brilliant photographer and author of the lovely blog Piewacket. Lara owns a pink Royal typewriter exactly like this one. But she didn't take the photo; I did (and Lara has no direct role in this comedy of errors). Yet on Pinterest, the photo source is listed as "From Google.com" and the credit given to "Lara Rossignol."

This is just one example of erroneous photo credit on Pinterest.com. In a Pinterest search I found hundreds of my photos displayed under Paris Parfait and Tara Bradford. I don't have time to check every photograph; a quick run-through suggests most images have proper photo credit listed. But I noticed a few "pinners" list Google as the source and no direct attribution is provided. Obviously, Google is not a photographer and doesn't take photographs (other than for Google Maps).

Some people argue that having one's photos used on Pinterest is good publicity. Maybe, but only if proper photo accreditation is provided. I found several Pinterest examples where another photographer's work is listed under my name! For instance, photographs from the divine Fifi O'Neill's book Romantic Prairie Style - used in my blog piece, with permission - are wrongly listed on Pinterest as mine. Instead, they should be credited to Mark Lohman, who took all the photographs in Fifi's book.

To report a copyright violation, Pinterest requires filling out a separate form for every single image wrongly attributed or falsely credited. This seems like a lot of paperwork (and time) to safeguard images already protected by copyright law. It's no wonder many photographers are dismayed by having to track their images on Pinterest.

So all you lovely people who see online images that interest you, if you want to use them, make sure you give the photographer proper credit. I have a Creative Commons license, which means my photographs may be used in an attribution share-alike sense, only for non-commercial purposes. You are allowed to share the images in public forums - with attribution - but you can't put my photographs on posters or greeting cards or any other commercial ventures. If you would like to use them for a non-profit campaign flyer or in a theatre production program, etc., kindly email and ask permission.

If you want to "pin" my photographs on Pinterest, please provide proper photo credit! I would never use your work without giving you credit; please show the same respect for mine.

In two extreme cases, I applied for a Google takedown notice. After finding my photographs used without permission or without credit, I emailed the sites in question, politely asking that the photos be removed. The site owners ignored several requests, so I issued takedown notices. They were forced to delete my images.

Read more about copyright protection:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation: Teaching Copyright

The Digital Millenium Act

The No Electronic Theft Act (NET Act)

Creative Commons

Making beautiful books

Rossetti's Collected Works, Volumes I and II, 1870, from my private collection. The books were featured in The Cult of Beauty Aesthetic Movement 1860-1900 exhibition earlier this year at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. I purchased them from Liberty's 2011 Annual Arts & Crafts Selling Exhibition in London. I am mad about Arts & Crafts design and am lucky to own a few original pieces.

A page scanned from Stephen Calloway's book The Cult of Beauty, which accompanied the V&A exhibition. The poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti's books are blocked in gold on blue-green publishers' cloth (pictured upper left). Algernon Swinburne's 1873 Songs before Sunrise (upper right) was also designed by Rossetti. Love Is Enough was written and designed by William Morris in 1873 (bottom left). Architect Philip Webb designed Morris's book Volsunga Saga: The Story of the Volsungs and Niblungs, published in 1870 (bottom right).

These books were featured in Liberty's 2011 Arts & Crafts Selling Exhibition. The book at right - The Roots of the Mountains - was written by William Morris and is extremely rare.  It is a first limited edition of 250 copies, printed on Whatman paper and bound in original Merton Abbey block-printed linen “Honeysuckle” designed by William Morris. The book is inscribed ‘with love,’ possibly by Morris. It was printed at the Chiswick Press and published by Reeves & Turner, London, 1890. The book was also exhibited at the 1890 Arts & Crafts Exhibition.

Liberty's Arts & Crafts Yuletide Selling Exhibition is currently underway on the 4th floor through Saturday, December 24th.

The Guardian has a fascinating article about making beautiful books in an era of e-books. When traveling, I read books via Kindle. But in my home, an electronic device never will replace actual books.

I have an antique iron book press from Scotland. Every time I glance at it, I am reminded of the care and attention with which so many beautiful books once were made by hand. It's a part of history I'd like to help preserve.

Merry-go-round

Carousel horse, vitrine, French quarter, New Orleans.

 

Am finding life a bit dizzying at the moment - as though I'm spinning on a never-ending merry-go-round - thanks to a whirl of Dutch house-buying bureaucracy. Hoping the wild ride stops soon and cool heads prevail.

Meanwhile, am honoured to be included in Christine Mason Miller's Five Six Things column today. It was such fun to be part of her Global Inspirations series for Create Mixed Media. Read about Christine's virtual book tour for her latest creation Desire to Inspire here. You can pre-order a copy here.

Other inspirations:

Gaza's little surfer girl

Harrison Solow's The Birthday Present

Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 trilogy

Longing for Paris? See Eugene Atget's iconic photography in Paris: 1898-1924

How exercise benefits the brain

A trio of frosted and mercury glass candles on a windowsill.

'tis the season

Floral displays on a foggy day.

Snow-dusted plants.

Zinc pots of festive berries and pine cones.

An abundance of red in stoneware pots.

A florist's vitrine, with trees made of frosted pine cones.

An interior design firm's display window.

Sinterklaas decorations in a show window.

The entrance hall to the store in the former post office. The building has its original 17th-century tiles and traditional Dutch architecture. It's now been broken up into a store, a house and an apartment, with a huge garden and courtyard.

This moss-covered Buddha reclines in the garden.

Shoppers seeking bargains.

An organ grinder to entertain the children.

A garland of flowers to brighten a bicycle.

A simple and elegant front door.

 

I'm still working on our Christmas decor. I have the fireplace mantel decorated, but much more to be done. Am off to see my favourite local florist for inspiration.

I hope you're taking photos of your holiday decor! It would be nice to see images representing Christmas celebrations around the world.

Of hearth and home

Fireplace mantel in our current 200-year-old maisonette. Click photo to view detail. French gilt and mercury glass mirror circa 1830 (found at Marches aux Puces at Clignacourt, with bits of the frame missing; restored in 2001). From left, 19th-century French beaded handbag; Raku pottery from Northern California; 18th-century Tibetan monk's worn turquoise-lined copper and enamel food bowl and woven carrying basket with leather strap; 18th-century French books; Pomegranate pottery from Whitney Smith, Oakland, CA; small Dutch pottery piece; framed butterfly; pottery bowl handmade by Riley Salyards, Amsterdam; early 20th-century French Art Nouveau iron candlestick; 19th-century French carved wooden easel holding hand-tinted postcard illustration of Reales Alcázares de Sevilla.

 

You may recall we've been searching for a house, as our current abode has been sold. On Wednesday, we met the owners and signed the papers to purchase the lovely house just north of Amsterdam that caught our fancy! The charming owners graciously are donating the rowboat, which they say "belongs with the house."  So barring any unforeseen catastrophe or bureaucratic muddle, we should be moving in late January.

There's no fireplace, but the house has ample room for our global treasures. At last I'll have a proper office, complete with balcony and canal view. We'll make one bedroom a dressing room, so we can find the clothes we need (without searching through suitcases, due to one tiny closet here). We'll also have a guest room with its own balcony, for family and friends!

On Thanksgiving day (!) we'll complete more paperwork to help make the dream a reality. Am hoping and praying all the seeds we've sown come to fruition. My daughter Jordana reminds me to "visualize, visualize."  Meanwhile, your good wishes will be much appreciated!

Classic beauty

"They don't make 'em like they used to..." Classic beauty, New Orleans. Click photo to enlarge.

 

The glitz, the glamour

and plush leather seats for you;

running board for us.

Candlelit elegance

Recently we dined at a 19th-century brownstone restaurant which was so beautiful, I skipped the first course to go home and get my camera. The main dining room is accented with bronze candelabra, gilt mercury-glass mirrors and bronze wall sconces dripping with crystals. As if that's not enough glamour, white roses tumble out of a silver champagne cooler and hand-appliqued gold leaf fleur-de-lis accent the pale gold plastered walls.

White roses fill a black glass urn on a fireplace mantle and a tall iron stand holds a whimsical arrangement of ivy and white flowers. An appliqued chandelier enhances a sliding door, echoing an antique crystal chandelier reflected in the glass.

An 19th-century crystal chandelier and framed tapestry are reflected in the mirror's mercury glass.

A 1940s French crystal chandelier highlights a private dining alcove. I have a pair of 1940s crystal wall sconces from Paris modeled on this same design. It is hoped I'll find space for them in our next abode.

The restaurant's ceilings are centered with a gold leaf-etched Art Nouveau design, next to a moulded wooden cherub. Not only is the interior an aesthetic delight, the food is superb.

Wishing you some candlelit magic of your own this weekend...

On my windowsill

A handmade pottery bowl with tiny aqua-centered mushroom caps sits on a windowsill. The bowl contains Dutch bulbs (autumn crocus is the American equivalent) that bloom without water. Click images to enlarge.

While some bulbs are flowering now, others will take a few weeks to bloom.

News and blooms

Hortensia blooms in muted colours.

 

On today's radar:

Putlizer Prize-winner Jhumpa Lahiri: Trading stories

Inside Libya's notorious Abu Salim prison. Two brave men I knew are believed to have been murdered in the prison massacre. They are mentioned in my 2006 poem Dead or disappeared.

Palestinians say they are victims of collective punishment, as the pro-Israeli US Congress withdraws aid to the West Bank and Gaza. The move follows the Palestinian's president's statehood request to the United Nations.

Labor unions plan to join Occupy Wall Street protests. And you can send pizza to protesters at Liberty Square!

If you're a fan of the late singer Ella Fitzgerald and the Paris-based Hermes, act fast to bid on Miss Fitzgerald's handbag at auction in New Orleans.

The contrarians: 18th-century furnishings in a Chicago apartment.

This video filmed in Paris is achingly beautiful in its wistfulness.

All hands on deck

Vintage glove molds at the Foire Nationale aux Antiquites a la Brocante et aux Jambons, currently underway at Chatou, France.  

 

"If you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm."- Yiddish proverb

Projects, books and current events

La Giralda, Sevilla, Spain, July, 2010. Photos by Tara Bradford.

 

Have spent much of today preparing for an upcoming photo project in Andalucia, Spain. We also have guests in town this week, so between photo shoots and playing hostess, not much time to blog.

Here are some things that recently have caught my fancy:

Great storytelling via Tahir Shah's Sorcerer's Apprentice and Harrison Solow's The Postmaster's Song.

Does social media mean the writer penning a tome from an ivory tower no longer exists? Ask Paulo Coelho.

Entra magazine - architecture and design in a slick, professional format. Beautiful!

BBC Panorama's searing documentary about the uprising in Syria, where their "weapon is the camera."

Plus I've been reading updates on the timely and important work of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

What's on your radar at the moment? Do tell!

 

An ornate chapel inside La Giralda, with a central red velvet panel depicting La Giralda's tower.

 

Love Paris campaign: Fall brocantes in full swing

Les poupees at the bi-annual brocante and ham fair at Chatou, France.

The 83e Foire Nationale aux Antiquites a la Brocante et aux Jambons starts at 10 a.m. Friday at Ile de la Chatou. It is filled with antique treasures, unusual collectibles and some real bargains. Read more about it, as well as my other fave brocantes at Any Trip's Love Paris campaign here.

And get your skates on for Chatou! Tickets are available at the gate.

Eclectic style at a London home

The lovely Karine, co-founder of online boutique Bodie & Fou photographed at her West London home for Heart Home magazine. All photos by Tara Bradford.

Karine's stylish and functional kitchen draws influences from industrial furniture. The combination of painted cabinets and bleached wood gives la cuisine a modern edge. Click photos to view detail.

A wooden boulangerie cart stores dishes and favourite cookbooks. Skylights flood the kitchen and dining area with light.

The salon is bathed in soft light, filtered through Brume window stickers. Design books are stacked on a painted palette table that Karine made herself. The rabbit figurine is a lamp.

The fireplace mantle is centered with Jean Baptiste Modino's photograph of French actress Vanessa Paradis. A silver leather pouch and zinc metal initials for "Bodie & Fou" add interest to the mantlepiece.

An evolving assortment of sentimental and family photos are taped to the wall.

Bookshelves interspersed with art and a favourite Paulistano leather chair, available online via Bodie & Fou.

A cluster of alabaster crosses found at a shop in Hertsfordshire accent a vintage wooden mirror frame, a gift from Karine's sister - and her Bodie & Fou partner - Elodie. A plaster foot modeled after Karine's daughter Mila, a "Sweet" shop sign, wooden beads and photos complete the mantle dispay in the master bedroom.  

A vintage mercantile cabinet and wooden stool, with the Bodie & Fou website open on the computer screen.

An impromptu gallery featuring young Mila's artistic talents.

Vintage toys line the mantlepiece in Mila's bedroom.

For more information about Karine's stylish home, see pages 130-135 of the premiere issue of Heart Home magazine.

It's time...

Arts & Crafts oak mantle clock by Liberty & Co., circa 1900 at Liberty, London. The clock is inlaid with pewter depicting the rising sun.

 

Read about Arts & Crafts at Liberty in my article in Heart Home magazine, which launches today! See page 154 to read about the inimitable Patch Rogers and Liberty's annual Arts & Crafts selling exhibition. 

Arthur Lasenby Liberty launched Liberty of London in 1875. In 1924, a new store was built from oak and teak timber taken from two 19^th-century battle ships: the HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan. Liberty’s floors were constructed of deck timber from the same ships.

Arthur Liberty’s voyages of discovery took him to Japan, North Africa and beyond. He returned to London with ceramics, prints, wallpaper, silks and fabric that would greatly influence furniture, fabrics and decorative objects produced and sold by Liberty.

Liberty encouraged John Ruskin and William Morris – widely credited for starting the Arts & Crafts movement - in their design and development of well-made furniture, fabric, wallpaper and decorative objects for the home.  From the 1880s onwards, the Arts & Crafts movement sought to celebrate talents of individual craftsmen using quality materials, while reforming manufacturing techniques.

Arts & Crafts is mostly British-based furniture, with Liberty its first port of call. But the Arts & Crafts movement also proved popular in the United States and in the Netherlands. Around 1900, Liberty had an acclaimed Arts & Crafts concession in a Dutch department store. Arts & Crafts also gained admirers in France and Belgium.

Visit Liberty’s Annual Arts & Crafts Selling Exhibition on the 4^th floor at Great Marlborough Street, London W1B 5AH. London Underground stations nearby are Oxford Circus, Central, Bakerloo and Victoria lines and Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly and Bakerloo lines).

An original clock from the Aesthetic Movement at Liberty, London.

Slow Saturday

Favourite things on a slow-down Saturday: hydrangeas and books. A 19th-century English ironstone pitcher holds a bouquet of hortensia (as they're known in Europe). Among the books on my 1930s library table:

Eyewitness: Hungarian Photography in the 20th-Century

The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough

My Heart Wanders by Pia Jane Bijkerk

Le Japon Artistique: Japanese Floral Pattern Designs in the Art Nouveau Era

Aitor Lara's Maestranza

Tim Walker's Pictures

While David is watching rugby games (in the run-up to the Rugby World Cup September in New Zealand), I'm sorting out things around the house, in between long stretches of reading. Time to slow down, before fall kicks into high gear... What's on your weekend agenda?

Play pretties

Dolls and furniture at the Foire Nationale aux Antiquites a la Brocante et aux Jambons, Chatou, France.

 

Today would have been my late grandmother Lucille's birthday. As children, when my brothers and I spent the weekend with our grandparents, Grandmother would bring a wooden table from a carport closet and set it up in the driveway. She also provided us with old enamel and aluminum dishes and utensils for making mud pies and hosting tea parties for dolls. Grandmother referred to our toys as "play pretties." She called little beads of caked dirt on our necks - after a day of playing outdoors in heat and humidity -  "dinah beads."  She made sure we scrubbed ourselves clean in the bath.

I've written previously that she was a talented seamstress and made a wardrobe of beautiful clothes for my Barbies. She also made a dress like one I admired on the cover of Seventeen magazine and later, a dress copied from the pages of Vogue.

She and her friends had occasional "quilting bees" and Grandmother's attention to detail resulted in beautiful and unique quilts. She sewed most of her own clothes, until her eyesight worsened, making sewing difficult. She always took pride in her appearance, visiting the hairdresser once a week. On Sundays, she donned her finest clothes for church.

Grandmother had carpentry skills, making lamps out of unlikely objects and side tables out of stacked wooden cable spools. She filled these tables with her collection of little porcelain figurines. A perfectionist, her home was immaculately kept. She was a good cook, making the best caramel pie ever (no one in our family has been able to duplicate it, using her recipe). Every year at Christmas, I make a "refrigerator roll" dessert using Grandmother's recipe.

Grandmother also had a green thumb: her house was surrounded by gorgeous hydrangeas and rose bushes. And she and Granddaddy planted a huge garden full of vegetables. 

Our grandparents loved me and my brothers (and later my baby sister) unconditionally - but not uncritically. I wonder what Grandmother would make of me living abroad. I know she was proud of me and supportive when I went off to journalism school and later to New York to pursue my dreams. Still she worried that I wouldn't find a good man to take care of me - not understanding I could take care of myself. I think she'd be happy I've accomplished many things on my own, plus I married a good man.

I'm sorry Grandmother didn't live to know my daughter Jordana, who has inherited her amazing abilities with a needle and thread and a sewing machine.* They met briefly, when Jordana was a baby. By this time, Grandmother had suffered a series of debilitating diabetes-related strokes, but she managed to say, "My, doesn't she have such pretty eyelashes!" Just thinking about that episode brings tears to my eyes.

Throughout the years, I've often felt Grandmother's presence, as though she's watching over me. In her memory, I'm off to buy a huge bouquet of hydrangeas (or hortensia, as it is known here).

*Jordana is a young designer for an American fashion house.

Antoni Gaudi: Ahead of the curve in Barcelona

Wherever you look in Antoni Gaudi's architecture, you'll find curves. Tiny Juliet balconies resembling eye masks and egg-shaped window encasements at Casa Batlo in Barcelona are typical of his style.

Carved - and curved - oak frames enhance stained glass windows looking out onto Passeig de Gracia.

Curved stairs leading to the roof at Casa Batlo.

Similar curves are found in this stairwell at la Sagrada de Familia, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

A curved oak staircase at Casa Batlo.

An Art Nouveau pewter tea set and mirrored and marble-topped oak dresser at La Pedrera, Barcelona.

Even this vertical design at la Sagrada de Familia features pillowy curves. It is similar to the wall of stained glass windows (below).

Note the curved exterior design and rooftop of this residence, next door to Casa Batlo. Its exterior bears influences like La Pedrera (a miniature model below).

Of course, la Sagrada de Familia  - after more than a century, still under construction - is interwoven with sinuous lines and curves. Its exterior also features curving lines.

See more Barcelona beauty here, here, here and here.

La Fête Nationale: Vive la France!

Scanned image of handwritten 18th-century sheet music and a tattered 19th-century linen flag for national holidays.

Happy Bastille Day to our French friends and neighbours!  

For all you Francophiles, someone sent me this list of 50 books about France. 

Scroll down the page for another post today.

Bonne fête! Happy Independence Day!

French exposition card from 1881.

 

Wishing my fellow Americans a safe and happy July 4th celebration!

Amidst the celebrations, let's take a few moments to reflect on our heritage and history and the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson (which is appropriate, considering current events):

"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country."

"Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor."

"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent."

"Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first and then corruption, its necessary consequence."

"All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect and to violate would be oppression.'

Eclectic style

The genius Dutch florist's creation of the day, in a Waterford crystal vase.

 

"Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

On the 1930s library table, covered with French linen: 18th-century hand-written sheet music; my friend Pia's beautiful new book, "My Heart Wanders," as well as books featuring the work of photographers Tim Walker, Steve McCurry and Reza. In the background, an English Arts & Crafts chair is covered in original William Morris Strawberry Thief fabric and a 19th-century Chinese Buddha head rests on a Napoleon III stand.

Vintage car love

Last weekend a parade of vintage cars drew lots of admirers. This gorgeous roadster once participated in the Paris-Dakkar Rally.

Check back soon for more photos of cars participating in the local "Old Timers" event.

Scroll down the page for another post today.

Queen's Day celebrations

Flying the flags on Queen's Day on an historic church's bell tower. The Dutch flag has an orange strip added for Queen's Day celebrations. Note the early hour; we were out at 5 a.m. to stake our spot to participate in the local jumble sale. It was windy and cold, but fun!

We made about 50 euros and met some lovely people. David was sitting on an original French Tolix stool, when a Dutch guy asked to buy it. David told him it wasn't for sale, as he wouldn't have a place to sit. About ten minutes later, the guy returned with another stool, which he offered to David for free - if he'd sell our stool. Obviously he recognised the Tolix as an original and hoped David wouldn't know its value. Luckily, David suspected it was worth a few euros and declined the offer.

This image was taken while leaning from a second-story window.

People walking around the sidewalk sale, where household items, clothing and toys were going for rock-bottom prices.

Needless to say, orange was the colour of the day.

In case you forgot, orange t-shirts were on sale for half price.

Lots of people had their hair temporarily dyed orange, not dissimilar to this stuffed animal.

Even the bronze horse wore a jaunty orange crown.

An orange - and pink - bicycle, parked in front of a toy shop.

Fruit trees at a local florist's atelier.

Gerberas galore.

Potted plants.

A ceremony at Town Hall bestowing Queen's Honours on some deserving local citizens.

The town's mayor.

A band cheekily performed "YMCA," followed by "In the Navy," as orange balloons danced in the wind. After the awards, the band played the Dutch national anthem, as locals sang along.

Entertainment was also provided by three groups of girls, who performed dance routines to American hip-hop! Some photos are here and more will follow in another post.

The Queen's Day festivities culminated with fireworks above the canals.

Since we may not be living in the same place by next Queen's Day, we decided to skip the more lively festivities in Amsterdam and participate in local events.

A royal wedding

Put aside the media hype and hoopla and speculation and it all comes down to a boy, a girl and love. Wishing Prince William and Kate Middleton much joy in their life together.

19th-century French Madonna crowns from my private collection.

Mixing it up

After browsing decorating books at lunchtime (Emily Chalmers and writer Ali Hanan's Modern Vintage Style and design blogger Holly Becker and writer Joanna Copestick's Decorate; both books feature Debi Treloar's great photography), I was inspired to show some of my own collectibles found at brocantes, flea markets and antique fairs in France, England and Spain.

Pictured is vintage Provencal pottery for sale at a brocante at Chatou, France.

Pieces of Provencal glazed stoneware pottery that I've collected, on top of a vintage French mercantile cabinet at the top of the stairs in our entryway.The smaller Provencal jugs - originally used in every French kitchen to store duck fat - are quite pricey, as they become more difficult to find. The rust-coloured pottery at left is from Bourgogne. The cabinet containing DVDs and CDs faces a door with glass panels leading onto a balcony. The door beyond the cabinet leads to a small bathroom.

Pieces of early 20th-century French luggage, made of woven wicker and trimmed with leather are stacked on top of an old linen cupboard on the second-floor landing. Three vintage wooden hatstands - and a 1940s felt hat - are wedged between the luggage and an architectural beam. I started my quest for luggage after receiving the ladies' overnight bag (top) as a gift from my friend Gabrielle.

This modern 30-drawer chest was handmade by talented craftsman Luke Ellis of Kent & London in Whistable, England. It stores my cameras and photography gear (must get some suitable labels, so I remember what's where). The antique baskets on top are Chinese and the modern lamp is signed by a French artist.

Side view of the chest and lamp tucked under an eave. The small chest at left is vintage French. The wall is more than 200-years-old and slants at an odd angle, making decorating a challenge. The oil painting is by Santa Fe artist Carole Whitmore.

More interior shots to follow.