my friend Diane is going to Paris for the first time this spring, so it made me think of some of the great places she'd want to visit.  below are a few of my favorite shops out of the tourist mainstream.

Sugar Plum Cake Shop:  forget croissants;  you have to try a piece of Laurel's carrot cake when you vist.  Laurel hails from Charleston and the recipe has been passed down from her grandmother, so it is perfect for a homesick traveler who has had their fill of patisseries.   They are also causing a buzz with their amazing cakes.  Pictured below from left:  Laurel, usually you'll see her at the front in the coffee bar, Taylor, baker extrodinaire from Vancouver BC, and Krista, head decorator.  

Sugarplum at 68 rue du Cardinal Lemoine

Dessert, floor toppping AND work of art!  Their cakes have been featured in Vogue and Brides. Not bad for the short time they've been open.

Another  great restaurant is Grazie, located in a raw industrial space near the center of the Marais. It's rough, but somehow retains it's Parisian feeling. Check out the lighting fixtures which are currently featured at Trainspotters. The pizza is wonderful too.

Glory is in the details and depth of finishes....

Chatomat is a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that recently opened to rave reviews in Menilmontant - a funky mixed neighborhood in East Paris.  it's becoming known for both it's food and interiors which are quite simple; exposed brick, industrial, and light finishes.  Check out the cod fritters....

Coutume is a new coffee roastery in Paris that offers an exclusive selection of pure origin coffees. The designers found a typical raw Parisian space after demolition, and played up the laboratory feel with square white tiles, grid lighting, stainless steel, plastic curtains and lab glassware. Designed by CUT Architecture

Sources: Sugarplum Cake Shop, Voguesparis, Paris by Mouth

IQ Environments had a hit at the New York Design fair with their Odyssey lamp; made from recycled beer bottles and inspired by fire hydrants. 

Great chandelier by Willowlamp, formed by two designers in Cape Town.  The partners Adam Holt and Sian Eliot were experimenting with ball chain to create chain curtains.  one thing led to another et voila....their lighting is industrial yet elegant.  

These crisp pendants are from Vincente Garcia.  Their  irregular and randomly intersecting plans achieve a clean but organic feel.

The appropriately named Turtle Lamp is by  Cleveland Arts.  

View from below,  of this hand-crafted glass  chandelier by Fix Studio. 

If you need some light in your warehouse, you could do worse than this "waterfall" chandelier by Cleveland Arts.

Sources:  IQ Environments; Fix Studio;, Vincent Garcia; Willowlamp; Cleveland Arts

Les Trois Garcons design with unfettered exuberance.  Their restaurant in London (below) was formerly an old pub, but the renovation is a lavish example of tongue in cheek design;  from the suspended handbags to the bejeweled taxidermy and overscaled bling.  it is a must to check out if you are in town.

Les Trois also renovated the Chateau de la Goujeonnerie (shown in renovated glory below) which was built in 1872 and sat derelict for a many years.  it has been beautifully but wittily restored and is available for that special wedding or party - just make sure to invite us.)

Loungelovers, in the meat-packing district, is another project by Les Trois and located on one of East London's bleakest stretches of road.  It's glam interior is totally at odds with the dreary neighborhood so be prepared when you enter. . Stogie smoking monkeys, dogs in tiaras and a giant hippo are mixed in with human anatomy charts.  The furniture is eclectic as well contrasting banquettes, sofas and ornate chairs against simple wood and glass tables.  Lighting is over the top as would be expected. We suggest multiple visits and cocktails to take it all in. Food is Japanese and it's considered one of the best cocktail bars in East London.

Cheetah enjoying a fine cohiba

another interior shot at Loungelover

...a regal resident at Les Trois

Sources:  Les Trois Garcons, The World of Interiors

Max is not really mad but he does have a crazy good selection of antiques and architectural salvage in Normandy, specifically Isneauville near Rouen France. Max has a large space fill if with object he finds in the courtryside. His prices often reflect his distance from the crowds of Paris.

His shop is worth visiting for its beautiful post and beam constriction.

Here are some of his current crop that we like.

cast iron grilles from doors

this is a wedding armoire from the 19th century with very detailed carving

an 18th century pew

a carved wood cupboard

and for that vinyard you are furnishing...

Max's is putting more of his collection in the catalog so stay tuned.

Recently a friend of mine, who designs interirors for a large retail clothing store, asked if we could find vintage manequins or busts.  what we found shows a pretty amazing evolution of form.

this is an old wood and fabric mannequin, dating from the 19th century.  Belgium

A beautifully carved foot with a wooden ball joint for an ankle. 

this stately mannequin is from Belgium and dates from the 1920's

this great old bust dates from 1880. Belgium

this model comes from the mid 1800's back before women had breasts. 

a charming boy mannequin head from the 30's.  United States

a rare Fery-Boudrot (Paris) mannequin of a 12 year old boy dating from the 1940's. For sale in the UK

two more Fery-Boudrot mannequins dating from the 40's.  France

looks for the Fery-Bourdrot logo

This is one of a pair of horse costumes from long ago. not sure what it has to do with the human form but it was too cute to pass up. Belgium

Sources:  Passe' Compose', Elemental UK; Ruby Lane; Nordouest 

What better use for a derelict old mining town than to move in and make something cool with all of the junk lying around? That is just what Les Pas Perdus did with a worn out coal mining village in Southern France.  Les Pas is a group of artisans and artists that moved in and with the help of locals turned the little houses and gardens into playful art installations.  

100,000 palettes were made available for the artists. 

bright paint add's cheer to the abandoned rowhouses

"Fountain of Coal" created from old coal scoops and yellow wheelbarrows (not shown)

a catapult or ineffective windmill?

privacy screen - miner style

funky canopy

the main characters of Les Pas Perdus

Sources:  Art Design Kitch; Lille Sortir, The World of Interiors

This week we did some research for a client and found some new sources for European Industrial objects. Here are some racks from a shoe factory in Belgium. What great display shelving they'd make. Put them where you can see the backs because they're interesting too.

detail and patina of the old shoe racks. Belgium

Fantastic old rusted metal lamps from Belgium (set of 9)

old French 2 door lockers (rare riveted style) Netherlands

Fantastic reclaimed French tiles. This source has a large selections so these are only samples. Netherlands

vintage leather clawfoot bench. Belgium

old industrial lamp and detail below. France

Vintage metal rolling shutter cabinet. I'm not sure if this is a Strafor but it looks similar.  Belgium

grand chest of drawers - great for display. France

This is rare piece where you have provenance for how it was used. Unfortunately industrial objects sometimes loose that history. This old copper bathtub was used in a factory to color feathers as you can see in the period photo. Belguim

bathtub in situ (1910)

check out the patina on this old clock. Belgium

Sources:  Brice Berrard; Wood Stock; Les Puces de Lille; Benko

Today we came across some nice stools and I just had to point them out.

They are stable and pretty comfortable if you have to move around while working and they were the original ergonomic piece—they had one of the first adjustable seats.

My dad used to have a Singer stool for his piano. We always thought of it as a more or less throw away piece. No longer!

Another Singer in another classic style

There is one more style we like, these are at Elemental UK. Pat calls this the 'art deco' style.

The family get togethers over the holidays bring out the play in us all so we thought it would be good to bring out the play worn objects.

What boy of the 50's hasn't dreamed of having a tractor?

Or maybe a big bird to play with is your style.

In the day of Wii and XBox the riding toys seem so evocative of a quieter time.

This week's blog showcases three furniture designers that push the boundaries of design in a new and organic way. 

Meg O'Halloran hails from San Francisco.  She runs a collaborative design studio and not all of her designs come from the computer .  This is evident in her  "Loop" stool, where the back supports virtually sprouts from the seat. There are many color options but we love it in green.

sprouting detail at the back......

These unique stools by Florian Schmid, from Germany, are made out of "concrete canvas" , cloth and stitching; pushing the boundaries of concrete in a totally new way.  His concrete stool is waterproof, fireproof, UV resistant AND durable. 

once the shape is set, the stool is "watered" and sets up within 24 hours

sitting on concrete never felt so good.....

Timothy John is a furniture designer from New Zealand that believes in making things by hand. Timothy says that he "begins his process simply with materials that interest him. He manipulates products by hand; testing functional and structural boundaries while mixing textures."  The "Genius" chair (below) is made using woven industrial felt over a metal framework.

The Deviant clock is currently being exhibited at the Su Nero art and design show in Italy.

Visiting Marc and Daisy Maison's showroom on a visit to Paris is a must.  Bordering on the hard to believe; Marc and Daisy salvage whole chateaus destined for the wrecking ball and reconstruct them in their huge showroom at the Porte de Clignancourt market in Paris (they also have a showroom on the Seine.)

Walking into their shop is walking into an elegant time machine.  In addition to spectacular period pieces and architectural salvage, full room installations have been restored and re-created from chateaus, hotels, and unique buildings  (I had to work  hard to keep my mouth from dropping open..)

The photos below show the rehabilitation and salvage of a winter garden from Bordeaux moved to downtown Dublin

before (in Bordeaux)

in progress (in Dublin)

complete:

Below is a current offering:  a full herbalist's shop salvaged from Colmar France in the Alsace region (dated 1842.) currently at the showroom in Porte de Clignacourt.  The small drawers contained medicinal herbs. Each has the name of the herb written both in inlaid marquetry and on a small white plates.

Detail of curved drawers

Herb drawers showing marquetry and labels

Curved facia band detail

Column base detail

Wall finish and drawer details

Plan ahead for a visit to Marc Maison since their showroom at Porte de Clignacourt (housing the large interior installations) is is by appointment only. Their other showroom (on the Seine) is called Galerie Marc Maison at: 7, Quai Voltaire 75007 Paris and open 2 - 7 Tuesdays through Saturdays.  

Source:  MarcMaison

The Euro has fallen of late, victim to Europe's own brand of debt crisis. But what might seem like a bad situation is actually quite beneficial to people who shop on FarFetchers. Many of our dealers are in Europe and when the Euro drops so do all the prices and even shipping becomes cheaper.

That is something like a 7% drop in only a few weeks. The currency exchange we use is also quite a bit cheaper than most banks, which keeps our costs as low as can be for US shoppers.

At the same time a large number of vintage Tubax chairs has come on the market at Le Grenier in North France. They are a quality dealer who are know for their superior restoration. So we are celebrating the windfall by offering them at our cost.  

Tubax is a well know European manufacturer who pioneered and specialize in the use of metal tube construction. They've worked with many well known designers over the years including Willy van der Meeren. 

Notice that there are no exposed bolts or rivets. No plugged or open ends. The tube closure is smooth and fits the chair form. Also notice the wooden part is formed to the body for comfort. These are certainly several cuts above the ordinary.

Arnaud at Le Grenier has stripped them and restored them to beautiful vintage condition. It is rare to have so many of these in one batch so if you need a few or many, drop us a line at info@farfetchers.com.They are only 150 € per chair and the exchange rate make that a bargain. We can't predict the euro's fluctuations so act quickly to take advantage. 

150 €

I thought it would be fun to go far afield today; to Thailand and contemporary furniture design. To Onyx builders of sinuous organic designs made from, well... weeds.

If you've ever been on the Chao Phraya (pronounced chow preeyah'), the river that runs through Bangkok and all the way inland to Chaing Mai, you may remember the water hyacinth that chokes the river in places. It certainly grows like the weed it is. The Thais have tried various things to curb its growth and it's a major nuisance as far away as Florida where is was introduced by well meaning visitors. 

Onyx realized that if it grows, there is probably a use for it. And if it grows fast, its probably economical to use. So they designed a whole line of furniture to use the hyacinth as well as other fast growing sustainable crops like bamboo and rattan.

But I didn't know any of that until the designs caught my eye. See if you like what they have dreamt up.

The Mobius, a new take on a love seat design. You can get one in rattan with water hyacinth or

rattan alone.

Or maybe something a little more practical

like the Oxbow sinuous sofa

Or a comfy lounge chair

All of these were designed by the Belgium born Gaëtan Van de Wyer. The basic idea of forming a frame of rattan and clothing it in water hyacinth allows Onyx to create flowing organic shapes that traditional construction would not allow. 

No matter what you think of thier designs, you have to think the technique and materials hold a lot of promise.

Onyx, laihui-plh

The center of the home for many centuries has been the hearth. It's the place most family gatherings took place and was expected to set the right scene. 

And here are the panels from the room it may have come from - we are imagining here so why not? This room is now at one of our favorite shops in the North of France, Nord-Ouest Antiquities.

Another nice cast iron piece with incredible detail work. Cast iron never looked so good. This is from a London home of the late 19th century. The 19th century the railroad was transforming London so I fancy this one in the home of a rail baron.

A large Regency Statuary style white marble arched surround in the Rococo manner, with scrolled Cabriole jambs. And what Regency  fireplace would be complete without Cabriole jambs? This one comes from about 1840 when the British Raj in India was in foment (but then it was always fomenting). 

This one comes from the incomparable collection of Marc Maison in the Paris Flea Market. No need for me to imagine its history, that sozzled smirk on the carved monk's head should send your imagination off on its own...

Sources:  Marc Maison; Westland London; Lassco; Nord Ouest Antiquities

We've been involved with repurposing objects for a long time. The designers of Jielde lamps, and Multipl chairs never imagined that they would grace the best interior designs of today. Still I'm sometimes surprised by objects that show up from European factories. What could have possessed their manufacturers to make them so gorgeous?

This one came to us from a dealer who took August off to visit sources in France. What a find.

We've all seen this design in wood. But how do you mill this crown molding and these details from steel?

Obviously it can be done but what great pride of workmanship it took to even think about it. And it produced something that would tempt you to mortgage the kids.

It is not cheap at $9950 but I can't help but think it would bring twice that in New York. It'll sell fast I bet.

Other times we're amazed by how nice a piece looks when a dealer uses bits to make something new. This table was made from a cast iron machine base and a sheet metal top. They look made for each other. Surround it with some nice Singer or Multipl chairs and you'd have a stunner of a dining set.

Complete with a bronze tag of authenticity and patented at that...

James Mackie & Sons was once one of the largest employers in Belfast. It specialized in textile factory machinery and the family gave the company to its employees in 1970 to be run as a workman's cooperative.

It sure is a lot of fun finding this stuff.