Best Junk Drawer Ever

I just saw this on Design Sponge, and I am in love. Designed by a woman (Dorothee Becker, a multi-tasking extraordinaire, I'm sure), its little cubbies make storing and finding crap so easy. I might have to get prettier junk before I drop a pretty penny on the Uten.Silo.

(photo from D*S ever-inspiring sneak peeks)

fixer-upper

Merchandising in Paris is different than in the US. There are some major exceptions, of course, but for the most part shopping has a really different feel than home. I saw this cute display when I was walking around the Marais. It wasn't technically a French brand (ok, English, it was at Paul Smith), but whatever.

I think it's a good idea, and the perfect solution for our three-and-a-half-legged table. Which somehow supports the heaviest mirror in history.

Film stills

I saw Yvonne Rainer's work for the first time at the Tate Modern. I've been researching Ms. Rainer a bit, and I discovered that her address is just down the street from where I used to work. Weird (I don't know if that is true or not, but it could be really strange if I had gotten my deli sandwich at the same place she does).

These stills are from Trio Film, 1968 and feature a naked man and woman passing a giant ball around an ultra modern apartment. I don't remember there being any audio, but that might be because I was focused on the sound of the film projector. The film is super dreamy and kind of funny too.

The good kind of chain mail

Have you ever fallen prey to a chain letter? like when you were in elementary school and you had to tirelessly copy seven letters by hand? I am still a little superstitious when I don't forward emails on...

But that's not what I wanted to say. I wanted to say that Arielle de Pinto's jewelery is quite fantastic. Last year I interviewed another great Canadian jewelry designer (here), Wendy Nichol (who deserves another post of her own), and she said that Arielle's work was something that she totally admired. And I knew if Wendy liked it, then I would certainly like it too (it's hard not to like what Wendy likes). I was super excited when I found that Creatures of Comfort carries Arielle's jewelry.

It would be really cool if I forwarded this message to seven friends and got a necklace in the mail. Maybe I should start chain letters again...

(pictures from Creatures of Comfort, and ooh I just found this at Paper Doll. The first picture is from there)

At night

There are so many identities for this town. Among them, Paris: "La Ville-Lumière". I get this when I'm riding my bike at night. The first is a ghosty Pantheon, fitting because there are dead people inside (I think), a mini-Eiffel in a store front window, and lights along the bank of the Seine from a Bateau Mouche (so-called because they have a million lights that look like the eyes of a fly. At least according to my French instructor).

Women

With summer ending, we have taken every opportunity to pretend like it's still here. A little while ago, we went to Ile Saint-Louis, took some sun, enjoyed cans of Seize, and saw beginnings of this mammoth installation in process.

"Women" is the latest project by Parisian street artist JR, and wraps around the walls and bridge of île Saint-Louis. There's some really cool pictures (much better than these cloudy day snaps), a great video, and the history of the project on JR's website. You can see it in person until November 3.

Chapeau!

My friend Fanny is a very talented lady. I used to go to her studio and wish it were mine. It was filled with books, a comfy couch, huge paintings, and sometimes cats. Recently she's been painting fashion illustrations, and the newest installment is called Blonde on Blonde.

When you congratulate someone in France you say, "Chapeau!" Which I really love because we just don't say "Hat's off!" in America, and if we do, it's because we're ninety years old.

You can see more of Fanny's work here.  You know you love cats and blondes (ok, monkeys too) wearing hats.