Make me meow! New hand carved rubber stamp set

I am glad to announce that I have made another stamp set of the collection "make me droll", called "make me meow", which could enable you to turn everyone you'd like into a cute cat! You can find this stamp set on my etsy, I hope you like it!

Initially, I made this stamps set to play with Gemma, who loves cats very much (maybe this is her way to mock Fifi!) She also like to go to "le Café des chats", a place in which, more than the usual things that you can do in a coffee, you could also spend some time in company of a lot of cats... it is situated in16 rue Le Compte, 75003 Paris, more information on their website.

Rilakkuma in Paris

Wednesday the 9th March, Rilakkuma and his friends Karilakkuma e Kiiroitori came visiting Paris directly from Japan. Gemma and I, who we are amongst his greater fans, met him at BonTon, one of our favourite shops in Paris.

There were a lot of Kawaii surprises, of which Gemma promptly benefited, such as the Rilakkuma's nail-gaze (created in collaboration with nailmatic-kids), balloons, temporary tattoos and colouring draws. At BonTon, there was also a new collection of cloths, bags and accessories inspired to amazing world of this little lazy and glutton bear.

For souvenir of this cute day, I carved a rubber stamp on Rilakkuma and his friends, with a little Parisian touch. Au revoir les amis!

Special Xmas giveaway

Finally Gemma has seen Paris in all its Xmas bright-fullness! During this period, this town is even more beautiful!!! My little one was really enthusiast, she pointed with much joy all the lights and decorations of the town. Also for me it was really thrilling to be back in my atelier under Paris' roofs.

In these days, I discovered a new address that opened in the meanwhile in Paris, which I'd like to share with you: the "Petite épicerie". Here you can find all you need to create cute handmade accessories. They also organise some courses for children and adults. A real "coup de coeur"! If you are in Paris, it worth to pop and see it (address: 74, rue de la Verrerie, 75004)... Since now journeys are end, my etsy is re-opening again with all the old stamps and other handmade stuffs: please take a look to all my stuff on my etsy!!

To celebrate this event, I organised a special Xmas give-away!! The prize is this hand carved rubber stamp set - made with the shape of cute Xmas balls - with which you could decorate your Xmas photos in order to made your sovenirs even more sweet! To participate is easy: write a comment on this post writing your favourite cake or, in alternative, a typical dish that is eaten in your region during this period. Then, I will assign an ascending number to each comment (1,2,3, and so forth) and randomizer will find out the lucky winner! You have until the Xmas day (25th December 2014) at 15h00 (Paris time) to enter your comment. Good luck!!!

 

Stamping around in Paris

I have often written that Paris is a kind of inspiring muse for me: not only its landmark, its monuments, its panoramas... but also its air in the streets, the smells of bread coming out from boulangeries, its melancholic grey skies, its bruising atmosphere in the cafés... 

 

 

These are some of the pictures that I have taken during my walks with my indefatigable dog, Fifi! Thanks to her, I am discovering again this amazing town, even in its hidden corners that very often disclose to me new and unexpected artistic and poetic inspirations!

 

 

And I have dedicated some hand carved rubber stamps to my muse!! I have made 8 stamps inspired to this town, which represent L'Arc de Triomphe, Le Sacre Coeur, Le Panthéon, Le Moulin Rouge, La Tour Eiffel, Notre Dame, Les Pyramides du Louvre and a Tree (this one useful to represent the parks!). You find them on my etsy, with which I have also made some paper stickers. I hope you like them!!!

Treasures of Paris #9. La cité des sciences et de l'industrie

For this issue of my posts dedicated to special places to pop in and see in Paris, my choice is rather different to other times: I'd like to introduce you the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, located in the Parc de Villette, Paris.

As seen that summer is now arrived also here, and that a hot sun took the place of the former rainy and cold weather, I have a long walk with Fifi along the "Canal Saint-Martin" during this week-end. Following its bank, I arrived to the Bassin de la Villette, a huge expanse of water at the northern burden of Paris. This place was the heart of Parisian industrialization in the past: the canal, with its amazing system of sluices, was route of commodities (coal, grains, wood, metals, etc.) from the north to the productive sites in the town. After a long decline, this place was progressively dismissed: Yet at the end of 1970s it was saved from the ruin and transformed in one main cultural and touristic sites of Paris. And it is also one of most pleasant walk to do here in Paris, even with your dog indeed!

The Parc the la Villette hosts a lot of attractions such as La Cité de la musique, the Conservatoire, Le Theatre Zenith, cinemas, and, of course, La Cité des Sciences et de l'industrie. It is a unique scenario, rather futuristic, with modern structures in glass and steel, the Geode, submarines and other attractions. At the same time, it is a good attempt of preservation of ancient buildings: indeed the old market hall was entierelly renewed and became in a part an auditorium and in another a cinema. But, this space in actually my favorite because dogs are admitted and Fifi played all the afternoon with her ball and with a lot of babies, her great love.

And the Geode and all these modernities gave me the inspiration to produce a vintage futuristic stamps set, inspired to stars and galactic rockets of 1960s: I hope you like it, check it out on my etsy!

Treasures of Paris #8. Schmid Alsatian delicatessen

For this issue of my special treasures that you can find walking around in Paris, I'd like to challenge conventional wisdoms about Parisian culinary habits. If you are in Paris and, in spite of all macarons and viennoiseries that you can find at each street corners, an unusual wish of salted carbohydrates floods over you, one of absolutely best choices can be to try an authentic Alsatian Breztel. And my favorite place where to eat them is obviously Schmid, an original Alsatian delicatessen that twirl this delicious and cute snack here in Paris since 1904.

Alsatian culture in strongly linked to Paris. Almost all traditional "brasseries", such as Lipp in Saint-Germain de Près, or Bofinger nearby Bastille, or Flo beyond porte Saint Denis, were founded at the end of XIX century by Alsatians that moved to Paris after the German annexation of this region. Yet, differently to these other quite luxury and expensive places, Schmid offers good deals for delicious dishes to take away from the best Alsatian tradition: choucroutes, cheeses, kouglofs, and, above all, Breztels! Sometimes, they are also able to let me forget my beloved italian pizza al taglio....

And, more to be delicious, Bretzels are also very cute! For that I hand carved a special Alsatian rubber stamp with which I have afterward decorated a handmade skirt... If you'd like to customize your stuff with this delicious stamp, you can find it on my etsy... I hope you like it!!!

Otherwise, if you desire to try delisous bretzels, you can find Schmid in Paris, 76 bd. de Strasbourg, 75010, Mon to Sat 9h-20h, website: http://www.schmidtraiteur.com/, tel. 0033 (0)1 46 07 89 74, e-mail : schmid2@wanadoo.fr

Treasures of Paris #7. Le Bonbon au Palais

"La vie est bien plus belle avec des bonbons..." (life is even more beautiful with some candies); this is the message that welcomes people when crossing the threshold of Le Bonbon au Palais, a unique candy shop that I'm glad to feature here for my series of posts about places to be definitively visited in Paris. This shop is really a sweet pearl for its cuteness! Not only for the unbelievable varieties of delicious candies that you can find only there: this shop is really amazing for its ambience, with furnishings able to recall a vintage classroom with black dashboard, wooden desk and faded maps on walls... to spend some time in this shop is like a colorful journey back to a dreamy period of our childhood!

The person who made possible this project is George, a brilliant guy who succeeded in realizing his own biggest dream since his childhood: to open the most beautiful candy shop of the world, proposing the best selection of sweets that you can find! And, looking at what he was able to put together, I can affirm with ease that he achieved his goal: in this shop you can find bonbons from all corners of France, a selection of more than 200 varieties of regional candies hand made by the best French "confiseurs"...

... each of them has its own story and its own particular taste: it is a pleasure to listen George accounting while describing their flavors with the typical enthusiasm of who has a real passion for his own job. Indeed he has chosen each of the candies present in the shop, serving as a real hunter of sugary treasuries. Amongst the huge varieties of sweeties, here you can also find the real "guimauve". For profanes this could be described as a kind of marshmallow; yet its soft taste evokes a dreamy sensation of flowers and meringues.

You can find Le Bonbon au Palais in Paris, 19 rue Monge, 75005, Mon, 14h-19h, and from Tue to Sat, 10h30-13h and 14h-19h. Tel: 0033 (0) 1.78.56.15.72, Website: www.bonbonsaupalais.fr, email bonbonsaupalais@aol.com