Maison et Objet Trade Show

For those of you who have attended the show....you know. You know how amazing it is for us design addicts. For those of you who do not know....you need to know. Find a way, anyway to get there. It is worth the haul. I will recount my experiences at the show for you. I flew to Paris to attend the show with my mother/partner for our antique/home store in Santa Barbara called Circa. I had already shipped a 40 foot container from Paris to Santa Barbara filled with antiques that I had hand picked. That experience alone prepared me for the shipping/customs/fees etc etc that I would experience again getting another container home from the Maison show. So, I am excited as heck for this show. I can barely sleep the night before AND I had jet lagg. So, early in the morning we wake up, grab a latte and head for the train to take us to the show. I have been on the metro trust me and I know the crowded stinky sweaty strangers that are pressed up against you for the duration of the ride. I know this will occur BUT I was in for a real shock on the "hell train" to the Maison show. I have never ever been on a train so crowded with people in my life and it kept getting more crowded at each stop. There was more body odor from every country on the map than any girl can physically stand. I had to bury my nose in my scarf to survive. Then on top of that there was perfume from every country on the map as well. There was more...babies, pickpocketers, gypsies, teenagers etc all on this one train. I tried to manage it for a while chanting my calming mantra in my head over and over. Then the dizziness came, then the full fledge panic attack. I had to get off that train at the next stop. I didn't care if the stop was in the ghetto. I was getting off. So I did. And as my luck would have it, it was the ghetto. Did you know Paris has ugly parts? I did not know that either...until now. So,apparently ugly parts of Paris don't have taxis. Another lesson learned. After my panic attack subsided I made the decision to either be killed on the streets on the outskirts of Paris or smell sweat, BO and perfume and be literally felt up by passengers on the train. I picked the train. I had to get to the show for gods sake. So, here comes the next train and I am just waitin' to see the hell I have to endure and guess what? The train only had one very nice gentleman on it who was going to the show as well. My luck was turning around. Next stop: Design Mecca.
To sum it up beause it would take hours to describe the show, it is the greatest collection of new design offerings on the planet. Not everything is great. You have to have serious style and taste to weed through the crap just like any show but when you do find a source it is thrilling.
Now lets talk about the booths. These are not the typical booths that you see at any trade show. These people lay hardwood floors down! and tile! It is jaw dropping. One booth looked like an 18th century Parisian salon. I would show pictures but the "show police" were everywhere threatening to revoke passes if you took pictures. I have included my top 3 booths in this posting.

This is from a showroom named terra di siena. They make the most gorgeous reproductions of Italian furniture. I love this commode. The official name of it is Commode Veneta en bois naturel sculpté. It would look amazing in a beach house. It is raw sanded pine with bronze pulls. Love it. Check their website for more: www.terradisiena.fr

This is a lamp from an amazing store/showroom called Mis en Demeure. I will dedicate an entire posting to this company tomorrow but for now this is just one example of their pieces. In my opinon their reproduction lamps and accessories are some of the best. I sold out of these lamps within one week. The only problem with this company is that the shipping charges will kill ya. The pieces are well priced but by the time you pay the billion dollar shipping from Europe they are too expensive for customers. This company has a retail store and a wholesale line. Website for this is misendemeure.fr More on this tomorrow.

Third pick for the show is this company called Martine Goron. she is a Parisian artist who makes the most fabumous teapots. They are exquisite. I had the opportunity to design ours for our shop. I got to pick the color, the shape, the embellishments etc. The little teacups are so darling. The colors are so vivid. Again, expensive, but worth it. She does not have a website but they can be found at the show wholesale or at Dean and DeLuca or Neimans retail.