Musée Gustave Moreau and the Mystery Staircase

Do you recall my recent post about giving photo credits on blogs? Well, something interesting happened which led me to find the origin of the image I was fiercely searching to credit.

My friend Renee saw the photo of the spiral staircase on my blog and excitedly gave me a call. That gorgeous staircase stood out in her memory. She recalled her favorite museum in Paris, the Musée Gustave Moreau, and that staircase in the museum was one she would never forget.

So thanks to Renee, I did a little searching and voila! She was right!

Gustav Moreau was a prolific 19th Century French symbolist painter, sometimes considered to be one of the precursors of surrealist painting. As a professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts one of his notable students was Matisse, and long before his death in 1892 he had already decided that a museum of his own work should be created.

He extended and converted the house that had belonged to his parents, creating giant workshops and display rooms. Even with the immense size of the rooms, there was not enough space to show all the accumulated works; Moreau left 4,800 drawings and 450 watercolors, many of which are in storage.

Huge room with filled to the brim with Moreau's work...

The monumental staircase leads you up to yet another floor above...

private living areas...

"Gustave Moreau collected his very dear souvenirs, relating to his parents and to Alexandrine Dureux, his "best and only friend..." Nothing has changed in a century."

Musée Gustave Moreau
14 rue de La Rochefoucauld
F-75009, Paris, France

photography: Hotel Paris Rive Gauche

Oh, and by the way...the photographer credited for the spiral staircase image is...

beBO on Flickr! Thanks beBo for the inspiring photo!

The "Little Box" I Grew Up In...

photography; Thomas Hawk

Ahh... Daly City. The small suburb about 10 miles south of San Francisco. When I was 4, my parents bought our first house in the Westlake district of Daly City.

Malvina Reynolds' song "Little Boxes" was based on a drive she took through Daly City in 1962, and became a hit for folk singer Pete Seeger in 1964:

"Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same,
There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same."

photography; Adrian Hayes

Now these houses above are big two-story "boxes."

Here is the "little box" that I was raised in. I just took a drive by --the first time in decades. It's now mint green...

I actually think Westlake homes, designed by developer Henry Doelger, are "Mid-Century Modern cool." The only bad thing about growing up in Daly City was the climate. Foggy summers...just like San Francisco.

Leah Giberson

You may be asking, what prompted me to do this post? Her name is Leah Giberson. I met her last week at the Pinterest meet-up held in the shop, Rare Device in San Francisco. They had a gallery of Leah's work. I nearly flipped when I saw her renderings of Westlake homes!

Leah Giberson

Leah's work is inspired by "photographs of seemingly ordinary and mundane scenes, which she then paints directly upon them to reveal the visually poignant moments that exist all around us, but are usually overlooked."

Leah Giberson

This "Westlake Green" painting (above) began with a photograph she found on Flickr taken by Adrian Hayes in a series of photos he shot of Westlake homes. (I had the pleasure of meeting him too.) Notice the brilliant detail...the house looks real.

The is the original photograph by Adrian Hayes

Leah Giberson

Not only does Leah have series on homes, she works with varieties of subject matter including her airstream series (above.)

So... now my latest "must have" is a "Westlake" painting by Leah. Possibly commission her to paint the "ticky tacky" house I grew up in. Now wouldn't that be cute?

To view or purchase Leah's fabulous work, you can visit her website, blog, flickr series and etsy shop. Also included are her upcoming gallery exhibits. {Oh, and Leah sells prints of her paintings as well!}

And for more history on Westlake, visit this website!

Vincent Olinet: A World of Fantasy

Petit Gateau, 2003

Happy Monday everyone! I hope those of you in the US are enjoying the long holiday weekend.

I thought I'd start the week off with my latest obsession -- whimsical mixed media sculptures by Vincent Olinet. You may have seen my recent post featuring his floating canopy bed installation.

Je suis le gateaux de tous les francais, 2007

("I am the all-French's cake"-- made of wood, plaster, foam, sugar, resin)

Vincent Olinet lives and works in Brussels. His work has a strong sense of humor, such as increasing the size of an object to enormous.

His series of monumental cakes made of both synthetic and real confectionery, were whimsical yet told a story. A symbol of decadence, abundance and decay.

La vitrine - Exhibition view, Galerie Laurent Godin, Paris, 2007

Je vous aime tous, 2006
("I love you all"--made of wood, metal, foam, carpet, fresh flowers)

Sans titre (untitled) - 2007-2008 39 pieces in wood and metal - various dimensions

If you want to see more of Vincent Olinet's work, visit his website here, or the Laurent Godin Gallery here.

photo credits: Vincent Olinet, Laurent Godin Gallery

The Mystery of the Floating Bed

Much thanks to Roséline at This is Glamorous for identifying the talent behind the beautiful floating canopy bed image that I posted this past weekend. I had stumbled upon the image on the web, but was mystified as to who the photographer was. I searched and searched with no avail. No photo credit was given to this talented artist {that's a topic I'll cover later}. In any event, Roséline was a great help with my endless search.

The artist is Vincent Olinet. French, but of course. The work is titled, "Pas encore mon histoire," and is an installation piece from the Lauren Godin Gallery in Paris.

I've located a French design blog that details this unique installation and have done my best to translate it into English. Follow along and enjoy the lovely photos and story behind them!

"Pas encore mon histoire," 2007

Floating bed, installation by Vincent Olinet
Presented by Galerie Laurent Godin, Paris
2009 in the Tuileries

A bed canopy floats elegantly over the basin. As it sails delicately, the cushions call for a romantic girl. A fairytale that appeals to little girls who love stories about beautiful Princesses in danger to be rescued by a Prince Charming.

Upon closer inspection the seemingly pristine bed reveals its yellowed blue and white veils. There are slight tears in the muslin and gold swags from heavy rain. The wonderful yields to the blows of reality and the nightmare is not far. The bed is a crumbling fairytale. The Princess is missing and Prince Charming is not coming.

Vincent Olinet anchored his four-poster bed in the Exedra north of the Tuileries Gardens. Pushed by the wind, the ghost ship drifted a few inches into the basin. Ducks climbed onto the bypass or white sheets at the risk of soiling. The bed was flanked by statues inspired by classical Greek mythology: on one side, Venus Callipyge (Aphrodite), the other Apollo chasing Daphne.

The time for fairy tales are over. Visitors gazed at the facility with pleasure, attracted by the sweetness of the first installation.

photo credits: Vincent Olinet via archéologie du futur

Vintage Magazine ~ The New Flair?

The other day I was perusing one of those fabulous smoke shops with thousands of magazines, and Vintage Magazine stopped me in my tracks! Modeled after Fleur Cowles' legendary Flair magazine (1950-51), the newly issued Vintage Magazine uses various types of paper, textures, die-cuts & fold-outs, and is filled with art, music, fashion, food & travel covered by selected writers. It's truly amazing!

The premiere issue has an open spine bound with ribbon, rather than glued or stapled, paying homage to the craft of magazine assembly.

The dirty truth behind New York City's 19th century sugar refineries by food historian Joy Santlofer

Vintage Magazine is one of the most inspiring magazines I've seen. I'm just giddy over it. With all of the e-zines popping up, it's so nice to hold a piece of art in your hands.

An homage to the lost art of the album cover by Giddins, told on pages cut to resemble album jackets for the 45 rpm single

Randi Gollin on the rise (and rise) of the Ferragamo wedge, illustrated with a glossy photo tucked behind a die-cut window

Vintage Magazine was founded by Ivy Baer Sherman, a first-time magazine publisher with a background in publishing, graphic design, and photography.

The magazine is published bi-annually. Its rather hefty price of $20 is definitely worth it! It's exquisite in person. You can visit Vintage Magazine's website here.

photo credit: Vintage Magazine

The Magical World of Lisa Golightly

Designer. Artist. Creator. Mom. Friend. If you don't know Lisa, let me introduce her to you.

Lisa Vincent aka Lisa Golightly is one of the most talented gals I know. We met about 11 years ago, both selling on eBay. Lisa used to paint these amazing signs that stirred up massive bidding wars on eBay. I am more than sure that Lisa gets the credit for starting the "sign movement" that swept the nation! I swear that the reproductions you see in stores like Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs were the influence of Lisa.

Lisa's early work (above) from the eBay days...

I really don't know where to begin since Lisa has her hands in so many things. Whenever we talk, she is in the middle of some new, exciting creation.

Like these whimsical lady prints...

Or vintage ashtrays that Lisa adds her own design... (My spoiled little Vito uses a large one as a water bowl)

What inspires Lisa? Memories from her childhood travels. The ocean. The past. Dreamy glamorous things like fashion, old hotels, movies and music. "If I can't go somewhere or wear something, I will attempt painting it! I love living in my imagination and want to take others there with me." - Lisa

Lisa created this amazing cinema sign from scratch. Can you imagine? It was even featured in a room on Extreme Home Makeover.


She also sells at the Alameda Antiques Faire. Look at this photo she altered, alerting you of her booth number. Creative, huh?

Lisa creates lovely vintage-inspired jewelry...I actually received this necklace as a gift from a dear friend!


Lisa has a blog that is enchanting, and online shop that has many of her one-of-a-kind creations, including some vintage finds...

How about these vintage style portraits that Lisa painted? How does she do that?

So, I'm scratching the surface here. I'm thrilled to call Lisa a friend, and always look forward to chatting with her about what whimsical creation she's working on. And, she's very sweet as well!

You can find Lisa on her blog here, and her shop here. Lisa also sells some of her wares on The Paris Apartment's website here.

photos from Lisa Golightly

So Fancy!

I am thrilled to share the beautiful creations of Noel Solomon, the daughter of my dear friend Janet of FrenchBlue & Co. Noel is a talented artist (based in Southern California) and has recently launched her online business, Fanciful Designs, selling her unique, one-of-a-kind French-inspired pieces.

Noel’s number books consist of old book pages combined with a unique matte cover and modern number, completely handmade using recycled materials and art.

One of Noel’s passions is working with paper. “Finding exact freedom in this material through sculpting allows me to create with an unrestrained imagination. A transparent lightness, so delicate in appearance, combined with a fanciful inner-laced imagination, turns into a piece of art.”

These whimsical shoes (sculpted from paper) are the most beautiful creations!

Such talent! Some of Noel’s latest creations are books, handmade shoes, dress forms and fine accessories, all sculpted from paper. You can see some of her amazing pieces here on her Etsy shop, and please be sure and visit her new blog, Fanciful.

Decorative dress forms made of paper…Noel gets a lot of her inspiration from her travels—France being at the top of the list!

Photos courtesy of Fanciful Designs