Badaude

Un Air de Printemps...

Down the road from Le Bon Marché, I spot two religieuses* licking the windows*...

*religieuses - nuns

*lecher les vitrines - to lick the windows or to window shop

Badaude's Paris Address Book - Diptyque

I used wear l’Ombre dan l’Eau, their exquisite rose-based perfume, until it involved me in a sleazy version of the 'Men cant help acting on Impulse' scenario, (which Maitresse, who also wears it, knows about) but this place remains really special.

 

If you’ve always associated scented candles with dissappointingly waxy scents a bit like the pot pourri you find in chintzy lavs, Diptyque will transform your experience. Since 1963, the shop has been creating complex, nature-based scents, which reveal layers of intensity as they burn.I was briefly obsessed with Baies (Diptyque scents do seem to provoke strong reactions).Beautifully packaged and designed, their three travel candle set is perpetually at the top of my list of gifts I’d most like to receive.

 

Their most famous candle is perhaps Figuier which will fill your room with the perfume of fig leaves, and which also exists as a unisex scentI'd like to meet a man who wears it (so long as it's not the Impulse ad guy)...

 

Candles and scent from around 50€

34 Boulevard Saint Germain, 75005 Paris
0143267744

http://www.diptyqueparis.com/

 

* For the record, my others are Tabac Blond, Annick Goutal's men's scents: Duel and Vetiver, and a perfume called Badaude which somebody made for me...

How long does it take to get breakfast round here? Part 2

 

TAGS: STAIRCASE, ESPRIT D'ESCALIER, COFFEE, BREAKFAST, 'ET AVEC CA' 

Badaude's Paris Address Book - Hôtel des Académies et des Arts

I’ve stayed in lots of boutique hotels in Paris. I like them. Small, mid-priced hotels that want to escape the dull conformity of many places in their price range by creating a special experience based on style, quality and attention to detail. 

L’Hotel des Academies et des Arts is hidden down the peaceful rue de la Grande Chaumière just round the corner from the legendary Bistrots,  Dome and Select.

The hotel has only twenty rooms, but the management decided to create four different options during the renovation of the hotel in 2006. In a modern take on the history of the area, each storey has a ‘Ruhlmann’ (sensual suede and leather in tobacco colours); a Comedienne (in tribute to the actresses of the nearby rue de la Gaiete, with fabulous oversized headboards in quilted red velvet, in the shape of a curtained stage); the Parisienne, (a ‘feminine’ room with lots of hanging space and panels of pané velvet); and a Man Ray, decorated in black and white like the work of the famous Montparnassian photographer. You can choose from a view onto the quite street at front of the hotel (from the Ruhlman and Comedienne rooms) or total calm with a view of the courtyard at the back (from each Parisienne and Man Ray). As you go further up the hotel, the ceilings become higher and the view, better. But the lowest Man Ray and Parisienne have miniature terraces where you can enjoy breakfast in the summer. I stayed in the top-floor Ruhlmann with wonderful views over the Paris rooftops I’d go for the view of the picturesque rue at the front of the hotel, every time.

The hotel’s devotion to good design continues throughout the public rooms. The décor, like that of the rooms, is a combination of sensual and modern. The breakfast room is divided into three separate spaces (cosy to right in the 'on-the-street' vitrine) so that guests staying for several nights can find out which atmosphere suits them best. There’s an honesty bar, French and US newspapers and a library of art books, and a computer for internet access in the lobby (there’s also free WIFI in the bedrooms).

Downstairs, there’s a guest bathroom and a treatment room where you can book a massage or a facial. 

All the staff speak perfect English and are some of the most friendly and relaxed I’ve encountered in Paris. Their restaurant recommendations are to be trusted – you won’t find them guiding you to a big tourist trap but they will recommend a tiny traditional restaurant favoured by the locals. They also have and arrangement with Bistro Wadja across the street and can have traditional French dishes delivered direct to your room at non room-service prices. 

 

There may be something pretty cheesy about the idea of a Parisian 'art' hotel, but the Acadamies has managed to avoid every pitfall. Witty features include the glass wall in the lift which reveals a stack of ‘white bodies’ painted by the street artist, Jerome Messanger, as you go up or down (‘Children like to spend all day in there’ the manager tells me). If you prefer to take the stairs, you’ll see a ladder of tiny acrobatic statues created by the sculptor, Sophie de Watrigant, running down the stairwell from roof to basement and casting shadows on the walls. 

 

 

L’Hotel des Academies isnt’ grand but it is perfectly formed. It’s really a model for the idea of the Parisian boutique hotel.

Hôtel des Académies et des Arts
15 rue de la Grande Chaumière
75006 PARIS

Tél. : 01 43 26 66 44

How long does it take to get breakfast round here? Part 1

 

*Croissant d'escalier - from Esprit d'escalier - staircase wit or thinking of the right thing to say too late... 

TAGS: BOULEVARD MONTPARNASSE, HEMINGWAY, COFFEE, BOULANGERIE, SPRING, STAIRCASE

Badaude's Paris Address Book - Pierre Hermé

It's Easter so it has to be chocolate. Pierre Hermé is possibly the king of Paris chocolate.His Japanese laquer box of a patisserie in the heart of Saint Germain just off the place Saint Sulpice is as sophisticated as cake-shops get, even in cake-addicted Paris. Pierre Hermé is so serious about his work that, like the couture houses, he produces his cakes in seasonal collections. Buy a patisserie and it will be placed like a designer hat in a transparent box. Flavours are sophisticated, multilayered and muti-textured: his chocolate mousse, cased in a brittle shell of fragile bitter chocolate, is laced with sea salt and contains a hidden crunch. The only thing that could possibly improve PH would be somewhere you can sit down and eat your pastry (because you’ll want to, right away). Thankfully, the Café de la Mairie round the corner on Place Saint Sulpice will turn a blind eye to your surreptitious cake-scoffing if you order a tea or coffee in their upstairs room.

Deconstructed Egg 43 Euros

2, rue Bonaparte Paris 75006 Paris 01 43 54 47 77 (Also at 185 rue de Vaugirard 75015 Paris 01 47 83 89 96)

Badaude in living colour

Narrative Magazine asked me to colour up some of my sketches and write a little about my experiences in Paris. The results are here: Badaude as you've never seen it before...

The New Black

Johanna Dauphin is undoubtedly designer of the season. After working 
for Tod’s and Fendi, where she was product manager for accessories, 
her eponymous label launched in 2006 has enjoyed a rocket-fuelled rise 
to the pages of Vogue, Elle and WWD.

Her elegant rock-n-roll clothes and jewellery in leather, brass and 
black, black, black, are perfectly in tune with this season’s look. My 
favourite from her collection is the Tights Part 3, black leggings 
with patches of softest lambskin leather appliqued to the front. I've never really thought about leather trousers before but, reader, I bought them. I’m going to relax them with an oversized and overwashed sweatshirt or a 
longline blazer. I also love the multifunctional appeal of her chain 
and leather necklace/belt, Love in Chains. With such innovative 
pieces, it’s no wonder there’s currently a worldwide scrum to get hold 
of her designs.

I was lucky enough to talk to her a few weeks ago at one of her neighborhood cafes in the Marais, where she lives and works. The designer's as gorgeous as you would imagine a half-French, half-Swedish fashion chick to be, dressed in filmy layers of dusty black including the part3 legging and - could that really be? - what looks like it might be a leather t-shirt with a black twist corsage somewhere under there. She's clutching a fabulously heavy shoulderbag, a sample of one of her latest designs: soft as butter leather, loaded with her signature chains and an inky, curly sheepskin flapover satchel front. Not so much a bag as a luxe pet. My first question's a no-brainer.

-So, Johanna, tell me about the chains and the leather…
-For me it's symbolize a contrast; which is present in all my work, the
strength and the softness, the power and the vulnerability, the natural and
the devotion, the faith and the deconstructive, love and pain....only the
imagination creates the limits

-You have French and Swedish ancestry. How do these two nationalities 
affect your work?
-The Swedish side strives to be clear, organised and natural; it's the strong, she's vulnerable, she's like the chains and the leather. She's here to change the world. Through her faith and devotion she will leave some small traces that will grow and grow and one day thanks to her the world will become better.

-Black, black, black: I love it. The World is in love with it right 
now. Could you ever see yourself designing brightly-coloured clothes?
-Yes of course, I have periods like all others...even if my black period is
here to stay. I believe not only colours but the design in general is very
representative for who you are and what you feel in that moment. Sometimes
you can feel that a collection is so personal and intimate that it is like a personal diary is given out as a public property. Scary and fascinating... 

-Your collection is very personal. Do you ever wear the work of other designers? What are your favourites pieces to wear from your own 
collection?
-Yes of course I wear other designer collections sometimes when my mood is
not to wear my own collection. I appreciate Christophe Decarnin's
collections for Balmain and as well the design of Thomas Wylde.
From my new FW09 collection I have a favourite piece; it's a new pair of
leather leggings called "cat people".   

-Thank you, Johanna! Where can I find J Dauphin?

NYC- Bergdorf Goodman
LA-REVOLV CLOTHING
STLM- NK DETAILS
PARIS- GAS
TOKYO- BEAMS
COPENHAGEN- PARISTEXAS
AMSTERDAM- SPRMKT

 

(click on the image to view larger)

Badaude's Paris Address Book - Two Marais Bars for Spring!

A break from the babies. Now it's Spring (well, kinda) we can look forward to those Paris terraces for the rest of the Summer. Take in traffic/clope* fumes and interest from passing dogs here:

 

Au Petit Fer à Cheval

Old school wine-bar with a horse-shoe shaped zinc or metal counter and a vibrant vibe is plum in the middle of the bustling Marais. It’s patronised by a mixed crowd of vistors and the coolest of the Marais cool who spill out onto the pavement on warm Summer nights. It’s worth knowing you can get a plate of charcuterie here (if you can find room to eat it at the crowded bar) until 11pm, far later than service in most Paris restaurants.

30 Rue Vieille-du-Temple, Paris, 75004

phone: 01 42.72.47.47

Nearest Station: metro: Saint Paul

 

 

and here:

La Belle Hortense

Across the road form the Au Petit Fer à Cheval. If you just can’t squeeze into the Cheval’s tiny bar, this bookshop/winebar, named after the novel by Jacques Roubaud, is a cozy space has a relaxed vibe and a fantastic selection of French and international books for sale (including many in English) which you can peruse as you booze. They promote different wines each month, host readings, parties and even produce their own magazine.  Don't miss the famous book-stocked toilets. And, as they also host exhibitions, their art shelf takes some beating.

La Belle Hortense, 31 rue Vieille du Temple , 75003

Métro : Hôtel de Ville ou Saint-Paul.

Tel : 01 48 04 71 60

Open daily 5 pm to 2 am.

http://www.cafeine.com/

 

Thursday babies

Today's pick from my show at the Oxford Literary Festival...

If you're interested in buying one direct from me, see Monday's post for details.