Saturday, February 22, 2020

Textile Tours of Paris, Marie-Antoinette Paris letter

Get your scissors ✂️ out for the October accordion Marie-Antoinette Paris letter💌. Paperdoll time. Staying with French women of note theme, I discovered Herstoricalmonuments on Instagram. Ta Da.

True I wasn't keen on the statue of Edith Piaf in the 20th arr. Using poetic license I included her more colorful wax effigy from Musée Grevin.
What's your vote - oui or non?The Paris letters hit la poste 📮on Thursday🎉
On Friday I took Dubliner Rebecca Devaney's delightful Textile Tour of Paris (60€). We were in 'the Sentier', long established site of French haut couture ateliers.
First stop - haberdashery Ultramod mercerie, a shop I've wanted to explore for ages. The colors, the colors 🎨 Rebecca gave us the deets on their vintage satins and silks.
Film industry costumiers come here for the 'Real' thing. The supply is limited so what you see today may not be here tomorrow. Ultramode is a museum. 
Have you been in La Droguerie? Another pandora's box of exploding color, beads and buttons. The deal is you pick out a
 knitting designs.
Then go to the waiting bench. They run around finding the exact amount of yarn/thread for your design. No measuring required on your part. Their specialty is selling small quantities and a vast range of colors.  

Every purveyor in Paris has a vast range of exquisite colors like Japanese lace and ribbon company Mokuba nearby. They have a beautiful shop also in the NYC garment district I gazed into when I worked on 7th Avenue eons ago.
What a thrill to go inside and look with an expert guide. The harmonious colors placed side by side are are not left to chance.
Next stop, Au Ver À Soie, home of authentic silk thread in a multitude of colors. Since 1820, their factory in Blois is one of the few still in France to produce the finest grade silk thread from  Chinese silkworm cocoons. Open to the public the 1st Monday afternoon of the month.
And they will be at the Aiguille en Fete/ in March 12-15 and so will I, to report back. Lastly we went to Maison Sajou near Passage de Caire for tea and more browsing. Did you ever do cross-stitch embroidery as a kid? The sets here are a tad more advanced. They have collaborations with les Bayeux tapistries and Versailles. Their biggest shop is near the castle with many designs based on patterns M-A actually wore. Sajou's site is in English. They ship all over. I forgot to tell you about the statue of St. Catherine, the seemstress's saint ( see red circle). You'll just have to take Rebecca's tour. Do share with a friend. Get a taste of Paris letters 💌and watercolors in your own mailbox 📬Xxx❤️Carolg🐻Bear  

22 comments:

  1. one of my favorite places in Paris

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    1. I bet you would with all your hats LuLu
      And I didnt show ULTRAMOD HATS across the street...another treasure chest waiting to be discovered.

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  2. Thank you for this! I love all things textile related, and I'll make sure to put Rebecca's tour on my schedule next trip.

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  3. Love love love this........
    I am going to sign up for April 24 !!!!!!
    Very excited about this tour !!!!
    Thanks so much !!!!!!

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  4. Allie in NYC11:29 AM

    Love the attitude of your figures.
    And what a fun tour!

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  5. Beautiful & almost makes me want to return to knitting and needlework (but not quite). Love that there's a tour for that.

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  6. What a splendid tour! Thank you for sharing.

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  7. The textile pictures are incredible and beautiful.
    And, where is this area in Paris?
    At least I now know there are places to find an unusual button, lace, or thread!

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  8. Thanks for the great posts and sending on the links.

    I just LOVE your watercolours

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  9. Bonelle1:01 AM

    Love paper dolls, love your cut-out letters, fun! Paris merceries are just the best. I’m like a kid in a candy store as soon as I enter. I want it all. I’m particularly fond of the ribbons. That you for including the links...this is where I’ll be spending my evening!

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  10. Dorrance1:02 AM

    Nice! Post, Carol...love merceries ❤️❤️

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  11. Lars Larsen5:34 AM

    I would love to take Rebecca’s tour. How fascinating! On a tour you catch things, like the statue of St Catherine, you would otherwise miss. I would not have thought of a “textile tour”, thank you for bringing it to our attention!

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  12. Love this. My husband moved to Lille for work last month — and the first AirBnB apartment we rented for him was literally on top of La Droguerie there!! It was torture as my visits to him never coincided with their opening days!! Love that shop.

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  13. Sally V.9:23 AM

    Thanks, Carol. I have loved "notions" from my Woolworth days. A happy moment for me is when I find one in an old sewing box. But these you saw are, as they say, elevated.

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    1. Ahh...notions from Woolworths.
      Such joyful memories that evokes❤️

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  14. Wow! What a tour! I'm not even a seamstress (I don't hem, thank you) and I'd adore this! Love the cut out letter this month. Very cool!

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  15. Many thanks for this fabulous posting! I want to get back to Paris just
    for the Textile Tour!!!!! All those ribbons! And silks! Just swooning!
    Thanks!

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    1. It was very swoony Suzy
      I could have communed with the ribbons alone all day.
      I will go back. Inspiring. So much beauty.

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  16. Empress E.6:21 AM

    Over the weekend I’ve returned several times to join you on the Textile Tour. Such good memories for me, seeing all the gorgeous braids, beads, buttons, ribbons, threads and fabrics, reminding me of my mother. These days my daughter and I would have spent hours at La Drougerie, planning our next knitting projects. I still have, and use, a yarn winder just like the one clamped to the end of the shop’s table.
    You refresh my world. Thank you.

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    1. Yes I used to go to Notions stores with my mom when I was little. She made her own hats among other garments! Her design school background.
      http://parisbreakfasts.blogspot.com/2007/08/paul-poiret-and-my-mother.html

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  17. I remember I had a similar experience, so I know your mood well, good luck, By the way,I like custom pillows

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