Rude to go to a trade show in Paris & not check out Paris itself don't you think, so here's a quick round up of the best bits! 

I've wanted to go to the Catacombs ever since the McQueen collection that was inspired by them & I wasn't disappointed. As you walk through the sub-terrainian tunnel network you start forgetting they are actually skulls & bones that are making up the patterned walls rather than just stones, spooky stuff but fascinating & well worth the hour of queuing to get in. Well worth popping into Ladurèe (Rue Bonaparte, Saint Germain branch) for breakfast (highly recommend the french toast) or afternoon tea, not only because it's the most famous Patisserie in Paris but to see the beautiful, hand painted wall murals creating a truly exotic & luxurious setting for tea. Just around the corner is the Lacroix shop showcasing the new interior collection which looked fab, loving the trellis print shown below on the screen. 
I was lucky enough that there were a couple of great exhibition on while I was there, Sonia Delaunay at the Paris Museum of Modern Art which is coming to Tate Modern in April too. Love her use of colour & the fact she covered everything in print, truly multi-disciplinary & way ahead of her time. A real treat was 'Luminères: carte blanche à Christian Lacroix' at Musèe Cognacq-Jay on until 18th April '15 & throughly recommend. Lacroix has expertly curated the private art collection & exhibited it amongst his beautiful wallpapers, rugs & couture pieces to fantastic effect to appeal to a more contemporary audience. The arrangement of pictures, the use of a bold stripe or dominant colour, all enhanced each piece & made you look again. It's all about the mix!
Shop-wise, always worth a trip to Merci concept store in the Marais where I saw these great test-tube vases & round the corner from my fave Parisian cafe 'Cafè Charlot' (art deco love) & the food market I spotted this rudey print of peeps with their hands down each others pants that made me chuckle. Great interior shop called Fleux is well worth a visit all stocked up on Ferm Living products & some great little restaurants around St Paul metro (perfect stop for shopping in the Marais). 
Couldn't leave Paris without taking in a flea market, so no lie-in for me on Sunday morning as I was up & out to Porte de Vanves to enjoy a few hours strolling amongst beautiful vintage french paintings, paperwork, antique textiles, ceramics & furniture. Got some little beauties that will be making an appearance in the new collection. Thoroughly inspired & cultured up, j'adore Paris!

Just back from my first visit to the mother of interior trade shows 'Maison & Objet' in Paris & what a great trip!

Really interesting to get an idea of what each hall is all about & where I'd be best placed when I come to exhibit one day.
'Hall 1' was all about concept & exploration, really inspiring stuff, great new products that thinking outside the box. Below are a few of my faves (from left to right along the rows) Beija Flor amazing vinyl printed mating of victorian flooring tiles as mats, rugs & runners. Great idea & something that personally appealed having lusted after the real reclaimed encaustic tiles for my kitchen & at £7/tile having to admit defeat...not anymore yay! I'm sure UK stockists will be coming soon as it's such a great product but in the meantime Paris interior store Fleux have already snapped it up & are selling online. BoboBoom were doing some great needlepoint covered furniture with some kitsch nudey ladies & Etincelles Maroc Nomazur did these great wicker beach bags with different phrases embroidered in neon. De Museum Winkel were doing an amazing collection of taxidermy, love the tagged birds & I was pretty taken with these bulldog salt & pepper shakers & monochrome patterned drawers available from Chehoma. Also fell in love with the crocheted giant apples & record players at Anne-Claire Petit, great for kids & adults rooms!

'Hall 6' was a mix of bedding & kids brands mainly with a few fashion accessory & home brands scattered about, loved the tromp l'oeil digitally printed bedding at SNURK & printed scarves at Astrid Sarkissian.
'Hall 7' is the uber luxury hall, some huge stands from serious luxe suppliers & some established names like Timorous Beasties, Missoni Home, Rory Dobner, IBride & really please to see the beautiful, painterly artistic prints from Boeme too. Stand-out items shown below include these porcelain figurine vases by Volokhova Porcelain & some beautiful feather lighting (I want SOOOOO much) from Mat&Jewski

'Hall 8' was where it was at for me, the emerging contemporary designer section, bit like the crowd at Tent London. I loved Silken Favours stand & her new collection of shaped cushions ('Dave the dog' & the pineapple shown below are my faves, but loving the butterfly too!) really stood out as different & new. The whimsical, poetic wallsticker collection from Mel et Kio Studio & these great jam-jar pendant lights (they added the plastic toy models which are class) from french interior store Pop Corn. Stand design awards go to Seletti & Fatboy for their trompe l'oeil terrace, so clever.

I first heard about Jane McIntyre Design when she ordered some of my lampshades through my collaboration partners Copper & Silk. Her shop in Winchester looks beautiful & full of some of my fave designer's like ibride & Boeme, a real Aladin's cave of interior goodies. I'd love to check it out next time I'm in that neck of the woods, in the meantime have a look at her online shop below. 

This book has been on my wish list since seeing it in a Sydney bookshop during my travels in 2012 & this Christmas I finally got my hands on my own copy courtesy of my brother. I never intended to use it as the recipe book it's actually intended for, but just to admire the beautiful collage montage & editing that make this book such a joy..but the recipes look great so think it might find it's way to the kitchen too! By New Zealand based Artist Frances Hansen, an idea spurned from what was originally a wedding present for her sister but very gladly made it's way into this beautiful book. Thoroughly recommend it, click on the image below if you fancy treating yourself...you know you want to!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all! Here's something that will brighten anyone's New Year,"Swallows & Damsons" the most beautiful flower shop & it's here on my doorstep in Sheffield! I've driven past it a few times knowing it looked right up my street & finally went on Christmas Eve to get some festive flowers for the house & just loved the unusual combinations of thistles, orchids, amaryllis, pussy willow & my fave eucalyptus, just stunning. Founded by Fine Art trained Anna Potter, this amazing little flower shop is a treasure trove of vintage & floral artistry as you can see by some of the photos below. Sheffield's 'antiques quarter' on & around Abbeydale Road just keeps getting better & I recommend anyone to visit (especially if you're getting married, just imagine!) Check out their Facebook & instagram pages for more floral loveliness. 

This week saw the launch of Shop Tent's POP-UP at Unit 32 'Box Park' Shoreditch, London. Living Etc helped curate their picks from the host of talented designers all of who can be found selling their wares on 'Shop Tent'. It's a great opportunity to see the products up close especially if you missed out on coming to the actual show in September. Look what was spotted (no pun intended) taking pride of place in the window! #CharacterPolka. The pop-up runs until 28th Feb '15 so plenty of time to go check it out if you're in the area.

An early Christmas pressie to all my #nudgefromthenorm lovers out there, 15% off to help you with your Christmas shopping for your nearest & dearest (that includes yourselves!) Happy Shopping!