Friday, January 19, 2024

Packaging Paris

 

They were giving away this beautiful bag yesterday. I wish I’d taken one 

At Packaging Paris at Porte de Versailles. Yes, we had light snowflakes ❄️ gone by noon.

I love going to Paris trade shows, but this was my 1st time at the luxury packaging show. It was insightful.

You wanted to go shopping. All those bags 🛍️
But seeing empty boxes 
Of luxury brands you thought you coveted in your dreams like Valentino or Loro Piano
Puts it all in a different perspective. How easily we are seduced into wanting things. 
The white camellia and satin ribbon 🎀 on a Chanel shopping bag are part of the lure, as much as the bag or shoe within. 
Like the bright feathers 🪶 a fisherman puts on his line, we are reeled in. 
The perfume bottles section was intriguing 
Prototypes like sculptured works of art
Carved glass perfume bottle tops.
I will never stop collecting perfume cards to put in your Paris Letters
Extravagant perfume cards lurk in airport duty-free shops, when bored customers are at their most impulsive.
Perfume touche cards. T
hose white paper strips salesgirls wave at you. A way to sample perfume without smelling like a tropical hothouse.
Bottle designers taking a different approach, showing their rough sketches
And then giant blowups of the final designs. 
The US with a population of 300,000,000, sells 50,000,000 bottles of perfume annually. France, with a population of 60,000,000, sells 60,000,000 bottles of perfume annually. No wonder 
Flaconnage is big business.
Speaking of beautiful bottles

And Champagne 🍾 bottle tops

Speaking of Champagne, there were no snacks. Only dishes of hard candies & a Champagne 🥂 bar busy with people making deals. 

 It’s a big fascinating show with food for thought, if nothing to eat, unlike foodie shows I go to. A look behind the curtain at how magic is created to make us buy.

This weekend, at Porte de Versailles, the International Lingerie Salon is on.

And Europain where there will be excessive snacking ☺️
Plus the fabulous Maison & Objet is on at Villepinte if I can get out there. *To find out what’s on at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles - check their WEBSITE.
My train home stopped at Sévres-Babylon. I got out for a bite. It was interesting walking through Bon Marché & seeing similar luxury products. I felt less enticed.
Illustrated chocolate map of Paris
Illustrated Chocolate Map of Paris.
I’m Carol Gillott, an artist living in Paris. Every month I send out beautifully illustrated letters that capture the true Parisian experience. 
Sign up to receive these whimsical treasures in the mail.
Thanks for reading PB ❤️
☕️ If you’d like to support my work, you can buy me a KO-FI here  ☕️  ❤️ Thank you so much!
☕️
or
 buy me a KO-FI ☕️ 

Women are still trying on Borsalino-style hats ‘on sale’ at 20% off 249€ at Bon Marché. No deals yet.


38 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:56 AM

    Winter has descended upon us here in Upstate New York and reading Paris Breakfasts brings a definite ray of sunshine. Thank you D.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My husband was a professor in marketing so I know a bit on this subject. This was a fascinating post. I would collect those Champaign bottle tops & display them in such a manner🍾. There have been times I have wanted to buy a book because of its cover! You should have taken one of the lovely shopping bags!❤️🗼🛍️

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:59 AM

      How interesting Daina! They were not giving away any sample shopping bags. Oh you mean the first photo. As press I didn’t feel entitled to freebies though I probably could have gotten one of those.
      I flashed my card so I could take pictures as it was. Companies, rightly, do not want their ideas copied.

      Delete
  3. any news of louise chauchard.... great watercolors & castles pictures! looking 4 icecream of quality not sugary & overpriced like pierre herme https://alba-glaces.fr/
    chocolate https://www.barre-marseillaise.com/ + https://www.chocolats-de-luxe.de/solkiki-raspberry-anise-ecuadorian-schokolade

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:55 AM

      No news of Louise, Stephan
      She was teaching MATH at Science Po last I heard.
      Berthillon has the best ice cream.
      I don’t like Hermé’s macaron-flavors at all.
      He’s also doing over-priced dixie cups for Hagen D’az

      Delete
  4. You h ave the most fun! I do love good packaging and will often save bags that speak to me. And boxes. I know it is probably shallow but if given a choice of a beautiful package and one that is kind of meh, I will spring for the best packaging!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:51 AM

      Nothing shallow about it Jeanie.
      Clearly a great deal of artistry and thought goes into these designs. They are worth keeping.

      Delete
  5. Bonnie L7:56 AM

    Fabulous, Carol. I was curious about this show. No one does packaging like the French. That said, I’m conflicted about so much packaging. For instance, buying orangettes at chocolatier Arnaud Lahrer; they come in an indestructible orange box (like the Loro Piano), inside a sleeve, then put into a darling bag. Yikes! At the end of a stay in Paris you have SO many ‘darling’ bags you couldn’t possibly take them all home…so they all go to recycling. Sad, but they are beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:36 AM

      Good point Bonnie!
      Though I used to drag all my Paris ‘trash’ home before I moved her.
      I found some wonderful discarded Louis Vuitton bags in the trash outside their Champs-Elysées store. They make terrific waste paper baskets. Very sturdy.
      They had those darling little bags there. I didn’t show them.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous7:58 AM

    if you are ever in the vaucluse, you should go to valreas and visit the musee de cartonnage. fascinating historical box making machines and examples

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:49 AM

      I would love that museum ❤️
      I did a little packaging art and some wine labels.
      Loved it.

      Delete
  7. Dorrance8:01 AM

    Ha! I didn’t know collecting champagne caps was a thing until I stayed in Epernay and saw the special racks they sell for collecting them. Brilliant marketing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:48 AM

      They 🍾 are highly collectible! I’m sure there are books on them

      Delete
  8. Anonymous11:37 AM

    Do you need a special credential to attend these shows? Related cost? Your artwork and whimsy in reporting is so fun!
    Thank you for sharing a bit of France with us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:46 AM

      For the packaging show it seems anyone can go. You need to pre-register.
      Made In France/MIF is open to the public & free
      Salon d’agriculture charges but not too much. It’s for families.
      Maison & Objet used to be 60€ unless you are press.
      Salon du Chocolat charges & is open to the public
      Porte de Versailles is such an important convention center in Europe. Shows go on all the time, so check their website
      https://www.viparis.com/nos-lieux/paris-expo-porte-de-versailles/agenda

      Delete
  9. Packaging is everything in marketing IMMHO.Show me pretty and attention to detail.Unfortunately price point is usually there..Loved that bag..go back:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:47 AM

      ☺️ The show was just 2 days. Over, closed, fini

      Delete
  10. Anonymous11:56 AM

    OH THANK YOU DEAR CAROL FOR REMINDING US "THERE IS ONLY ONE!!" PARIS. And one, VERY ALIVE CAROL!! 👌❤🌷CARLA

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous11:59 AM

    Carol, You aways find the best things to do and events to attend in Paris. Rose

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous2:05 PM

    Perfume bottles are my downfall! Love to look at them and dream I am collecting all Chanel fragrances and accompanying lotions, soaps, and sprays! Hard to discard those special bags and bits that go along. Select a scent in the morning to face the day even if it is taking out the trash or vacuuming..important self care.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:28 PM

      I love perfume bottles too…little sculptures of fantasy
      Don’t love perfume as much. Many are too assertive & diva-esque. They take up all the oxygen

      Delete
    2. Spritzing my humble BR with Chanel 5 before showering makes me smile!

      Delete
  13. Sukicart3:14 PM

    The French are true experts at packaging- I have quite a collection of bags and find it impossible to throw away a beautiful box. I'm always confident I'll find a use for any size box.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:29 PM

      Saving boxes is an addiction I’m working on 💪

      Delete
  14. Anonymous3:24 PM

    Really enjoyed this post Carol. You always take such great photos and share fascinating shows like this Packaging Paris. -Suzanne P.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous3:28 PM

    You have the most amazing energy!! Your quest for information and artwork is like none other.
    I made homemade caramels for gifts at Christmas and put them in those gorgeous small bags I brought home. Everyone loved them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:43 PM

      That’s a terrific idea 👍

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:48 PM

      I wish I could send you my small, pretty pastry bags etc.

      Delete
  16. Henri Bendel packaging: boxes, bags, tissue, ribbon were a fav!
    As was the tea (pot) room!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:44 PM

      The stripes & ribbons ❤️

      Delete
  17. Anonymous8:42 PM

    I can’t believe we don’t sell more perfume. Wow. Those bottles are gorgeous. Lynne

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:47 PM

      France is perfume HQ for a very long time - a big dominant industry.

      Delete
  18. Judith Bruder9:41 AM

    Wonderful post among all wonderful posts. Somehow this one super evoked Paris for me. A real spritz of scented nostalgia! Here in Massachusetts, pure and virtuous, no one wears perfume any more for fear of “allergies ,” sensitivities, who knows what. But we are a scentless society, and diminished for it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:14 AM

      I stopped wearing, buying it when I was at the James Beard House. It interfered with aromas. A big No-No. I still love the magic❤️

      Delete
  19. Byredo!! The best scent-house ever! 😍

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:15 AM

      I have never even tried it! I will 👍

      Delete
  20. Everything is done with Great Panache in Paris...in France. A Feast for the heart and soul..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:15 AM

      And especially the eyes.

      Delete

Love hearing from you