Monday, April 06, 2009

L'Ecritoire

L'Ecritoire 75004 Paris,original art, 5" x 7"
Two years ago I passed papeterie L'Ecritoire in the Marais, 61 rue St. Martin, but it was closed. This trip I let them know I was coming. They even remembered my PB photo of 2 years ago. Like many Paris boulangeries and restos, they have a menu in the street. Inside this tiny shoebox shop it's chocked full of treasures. Many cards mostly from small unique producers. La plume de ma tante is here. And l'encre de ma tante to dip your pen into.
An Eiffel Tower clock ticks away while you write lettres. Cahiers/notebooks are used by French children to write down their thoughts, stories, memoires in blue ink. Then their instructor comes along and writes in red ink in the margin: bien, tres bien, pas si bien.
L'Eritoire creates their own unique unusually-shaped envelopes. Special writing paper fits inside. Sealing wax to add your own coat of arms to your envelope.Many goodies in red - pens, inks, envelopes, letters at L'Ecritoire...
And a few meters away on the other side of the street Les Délices de Saint Martin, 24, Rue St Martin.
BONJOUR L'ECRITOIRE!

26 comments:

  1. I love the little unusually shaped envelopes! How sweet! I will definitely go look for them.

    Kisses from Paris! (BTW loving your blog!)

    xoxo

    www.chicsetera.com

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  2. I used to use sealing wax all the time when I was younger--I was infatuated with it. It's such fun to use. What a great little shop. I'd want to spend hours in there. Lovely paintings, CArol!

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  3. We used to have a little shop like this. It was my go-to for interesting birthday gifts for friends. It closed a while ago. Do you think my husband would believe me if I said I had to visit Paris for birthday presents? If I said it was for his mother? Merci for a lovely coffee break moment.

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  4. my oh my...i would have spent a small fortune in that shop :)
    are those pistachios on that pastry?
    interesting colors.
    a very happy monday to you.

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  5. Carol, do you know anywhere that sells those envelope's as l would love them in the triangle and the round ones. I thought they would be nice with a thank you card when anyone bought a painting. The triangle one reminds me of the Eiffel tower
    Jill

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  6. Thank you for this beautiful essay from such a lovely treasure chest of a store!

    I had the same cahiers in school. I loved to keep them neat to the end, without the red teacher's! We got a grade each for penmanship and neatness. I am grateful to this day for the handwriting skills they taught me back then. :)

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  7. Would that I had had that kind of schooling And cahiers to guard..
    Instead I drew in the margins of everything in sight.
    Until I go my paws on a little sketchbook, only recently...ahem

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  8. Merci for all your recommendations...
    I am LOVING living on rue Bonaparte!!!!
    The shopping, the restaurants and the ambiance are merveillieux!
    I started a refresher course for French and it is awesome - Atelier 9.
    I'm thrilled to have another few weeks here, so if you come back, I'll buy you a macaron :)
    Welcome back home,
    Janie

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  9. Beautiful!
    Finally, back to painting facades, eh?

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  10. Dear PB,
    You gave me so much joy everyday. You even brought me springtime in Paris and the Tour Eiffel! Thank you for your energy and delight. I can't wait until you return. In the meantime, how about a New York Breakfast? Merci beaucoup! Au revoir and bon chance!

    With deep gratitude,
    Judy

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  11. Lumival4:35 PM

    I want that Eiffel tower clock!
    See, now I HAVE to get back to Paris!

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  12. Carol T.4:35 PM

    Have you also noticed how lovely french handwriting is? They learn that early in school...unfortunately when we moved from Paris to London, my son's British school discouraged/forbid!! cursive and my son lost that gorgeous loopy script. Now he's like all his anglo friends---they use block letters or their Macs...

    Did you ever wander into the spice store in the 2nd or 4th, Izrael? An ali baba of scents and colours...

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  13. I LOVE YOUR PARIS BREAKFASTS!!!
    So charming!

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  14. Carolyn5:21 PM

    Dear Carol,
    I've been sipping coffee with you for some time now.
    You've got me captivated and I love your sense of detail.
    many thanks for your fun and inspiring blog.

    Carolyn

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  15. Great photos and the food always looks so good :)

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  16. Anonymous8:11 PM

    wow, ton blog me donne l'envie de faire le voyage à Paris. It's really nice to see all these beautiful pictures. Love it so much!

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  17. I' sure I've said it before, but NOW I'm really jealous! Paper and red ink are my life! ONe can never have too much paper and never too much red ink. I must admit, however, When it comes to snail mail, I observe it more in my imagination than in reality..

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  18. The more I see your facades, the more I love them! I will put a set of them at home.....later!!!! Well, no, no, no, I'll ask you to paint a special set of facades just for me!!!!!!!!!

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  19. Doreen4:19 AM

    Hej Carol,
    glad to read you had a very good time again in Paris! Still your postings always make my day – it’s inspiration, fun and so brilliantly French, you know!?
    Merci beaucoup et bonne journée pour toi, Carol!
    Greetings from sunny Hamburg,
    Doreen

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  20. Great post. Sure loving these new paintings.

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  21. L'Eritoire was one of my favorite little shops when I was there! so nice to see your lovely photos & watercolor of the shop :)

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  22. wish i had seen this paper shop, it looks amazing!

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  23. Oh! The ink!

    It must say something that my mouth actually watered at the photo of all the inks.

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  24. I spent almost a whole afternoon in a papeterie near Charlotte's apartment. I am addicted?

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  25. Loved your photos! Just came back from a trip to Paris and we had to go to L'Ecritoire after seeing your pictures. What an adorable place! Those envelopes were really cute, though now I'm doubting they are mailable in the US.

    Unfortunately for my husband, our whole week in Paris seemed to be focused on visiting paper stores (there were maybe 5 others?). I think I am obsessed, too. Happily, though, paper stores in Paris seem to offer a lot more for calligraphy than do stores here in the US. I love paper, and my husband loves calligraphy. It's a good match in Paris.

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