kwangho lee

Kwangho Lee's new collection at the very cool Johnson Trading Gallery in New York. His knitted wire lamps (one wire), and knitted water hose chairs made me get in the gallery, very playful and unique.

I discovered his earlier work on his website, love all of the below

all images from the Johnson Trading Gallery and Kwangho Lee's website

be-poles paper goods

be-poles is the graphic agency in Paris who worked with MERCI on their brilliant visual identity. Check out my blog about MERCI and see their blog for more photos. They have a great approach they call ecographik about graphics and environment. They've designed a few great items for them as well - and you can find more on their website.

above, my MERCI paper bag (4 euros in the store) I use as a paper basket in my office in NY. I told you I'd be talking about MERCI a lot!!

wasara paper tableware

I discovered WASARA at MERCI (see post on my favorite store in Paris here).
These are one time use paper tableware made out of a mix of reed pulp, bamboo, and bagasse (sugarcane waste) which is usually discarded in the sugar making process.
It's super-eco friendly, and the soft feel and Japanese aesthetic are irresistible. the website's images to explain the concept are great

check it out here

a few products I love

all images above from the wasara website

jana and js polaroid stencils

This "stencil-ist" young couple is starting to spread their polaroid inspired art all over Paris. LOVE the idea. Check out their website: janaundjs.com

all images from janaundjs.com

jef aerosol

More and more good street art in my neighborhood in Paris: my favorite? Jef Areosol!

check out the organization Lezarts de la bievre

merci, merci!

I just discovered my new favorite store in Paris, created early June by the former owners of French kids top brand Bonpoint, Marie-France & Bernard Cohen, this store is 200% pure pleasure. You can literaly spend the whole afternoon there.
You'll find there a Christian Tortu flower shop, a perfume lab by Annick Goutal, fashion (YSL, APC, Isabel Marrant, Stella Mc Cartney, Marni, Paul & Joe) for women, men and kids, a "mercerie" (fabrics, zippers, buttons), amazing bedings, super great furniture vintage/roots to ultramodern, and great great home decor + accessories, an ice cream cart, a cafeteria with home baked goods, and a library/cafe where you can sit and sip something - you can also leave with the second hand books as they're all for sale. All of this in an amazing space.
The best part is that part of the profit margin goes to charities in Madagascar.

From the outside + the perfume lab

the 2nd floor - mostly home decor and the kid's section
+ the cool changing rooms from the 1st floor (fashion)

The rez-de-jardin (downstairs) with the cafeteria,
the small home accessories and lighting.
My favorite item on that floor? Probably the black and white
woven electric cords they sell by the yard...
My sister got me 2 yards for my birthday,
I can't wait to find the use for it.

The cafe/library

The books are sorted by subjects, you can just read
or buy them for 5, 10 or 20 euros depending on the color
of the sticker on its back.


I'll probably blog separately about specific finds from there. A real gold mine!!
MERCI - 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais - 75011 Paris