Let’s go shopping in Paris and Milan!

Sometimes I think we are in the best business in the world. Although it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, even the most avid non-shopper would have enjoyed strolling through the streets of Paris and Milan after being locked in for almost 2 years. The tradition goes that during the fair the shops in both Milan and Paris try extra hard to please the crowds visiting the fairs. This time these crowds are not as massive as normal and this was actually nice. Both cities simultaneously hosted a design week so there was plenty to see.

Paris
With many places to see and many shops to visit, Paris always required at least 2 days of shopping next to the fair visit. Merci and Fleux in de Marais are at the to-do list. These themed design shops always show some of the best selections of what is hot in the commercial collections at that moment. You only never know what you can expect customer service wise, but this time they were actually kind of sociable in both stores. Merci showed a whole range of items which were crafted in France a part of the local is better trend. Some nicely made chairs and sofas with a woven seat were on display and their linen collection is always renowned. Fleux already covered 5 shops the moment we checked, with one shop dedicated to kids, a growing consumer group – actually it’s the parents who decide the kids rooms need to be designed and styled. A lot of vintage inspired bags and games were on display. The other shops displayed the candles of Hay in their iconic packaging and many other brands which are currently featured in the magazines. They also had a whole display of Cyanotype or Indigo shadow dying – an old technique which involves a chemical liquid, sun and a shape. Plenty of other shops and galleries were open and offered cool items, but more on this in the next blogs.

Milan
The Salone fair itself was nice but small so the city offered plenty of things to see and do while being there. A nice initiative was between Kassl Editions and Zara Home. A not very obvious partnership but with nice results. Kassl Editions is an Antwerp based design firm which is famed for its oversized padded bags (we showed them 2 seasons ago). This time they showed the concept of ‘Modular dressing for home’ with lots of modular seat and cabinet solutions, quite different of what Zara normally does. Kartell was this time a combination between super colorful accent furniture and a sand/ gold/ light blue beach mix furniture collection. Rounded edges and sculptural functionality were abundant in their flagship store. Missoni was another surprising visit with a beautiful collection of 1920’ies inspired garden furniture in colors ranging from demure naturals to bright bold and beautiful, just like what we are used to from this knitwear brand.

Too much to talk about for now and even more to show. Even though not all locations were happy to accommodate us while taking pictures, we have tons to show you. Check us also on our Insta!