I Prefer Paris

Parisian of the Month: Ajiri Aki

I am happy to have Ajiri Aki who has had a diverse career in fashion and who also launched tabletop website last year as my Parisian of the Month. 

Where were your born and where did you grow up? 

I was born in Nigeria and grew up in Austin, Texas.

When and why did you move to Paris? 

I moved to Paris 7.5 years ago after marrying my Swiss German husband who was already living here. We dated for a year and half long distance before having a big Nigerian and Texan wedding. 

You lived in New York City, my hometown, for ten years working in the fashion industry. Please describe some of the jobs you had. 

I loved spending my Twenties in The City. I first went there as a fashion intern at W Magazine then got a job working as a men’s fashion editor at DNR, which was eventually folded into WWD.  (The fashion industry’s main newspaper.) I basically learned everything working on a weekly publication because I had to go out into the market to meet designers then come back and produce my own shoots and write my own copy. It was the best learning experience. I also got to style lots of celebrities like Boy George and Pharrell. Then I went on to work at Suede Magazine, a short-lived magazine from Time Inc. for women of color. I was the accessories editor, but also styled many celebrities like Lenny Kravitz, Misty Copeland, Kerry Washington, and Joy Bryant. It was one of the crazier fashion jobs that included going to Morrocco on a day’s notice to meet a crew I didn’t know with 5 suitcases of clothes.  

You worked at The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Museum of the City of New York. What was that like and what are your most significant memories? 

Calm and inspiring, which was the opposite of my magazine and styling days, and I was desperately in need of that. I loved every day at both museums trolling through magazine archives and seeing beautiful garments and pieces from the 17^th to early 20^th centuries. I also got the chance to get to know and work with the legendary Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton. At the MCNY I was the research assistant on a show about Black Style from the 1920s to the present, but kept proposing so many ideas and solutions that I was bumped up to Associate Curator. It was an absolute dream and I got to talk on the phone with LLCool J, meet Diddy, Dapper Dan, and so many famous photographers like Mark Seliger and Albert Watson. 

You’ve had such a versatile career, including co-authoring a book about the recently departed Karl Lagerfeld. Please tell us about the book and also your feelings when the great Karl passed away. 

Yes there have been so many things that interest me and I am not afraid to take a hard right in my career path and try things. (Of course I get scared but do it anyways.) Working on Where’s Karl? was insanely exhausting but so rewarding. Me and my co-author Stacey Caldwell made Pinterest boards of every single person you see in the book and lists of what they would be doing and who they were standing next to. Everything was so detailed and curated before we passed it on to our illustrator. Even for the cities we would send over loose line drawings and cultural references. So much work!! However it all paid off because the book became a New York Times best seller and Karl loved it!! He was buying up all the books in Paris until we sent him boxes. Then after we wrapped up a 5 city book tour in the States, he sent us on a 7 city European tour to all the Karl Lagerfeld stores. The president of Chanel even requested a custom scene. The whole experience was wonderful. 

Stacey and I were so sad when Karl passed away because he was so generous to us and supported our book. We were also clearly big fans.  

You started a new business last year, Madame de la Maison. Please tell us about your new venture and the services and merchandise you offer. 

Madame de la Maison is a linen and antique sales and rental business. I am in the business of bringing people together at the table with beautiful objects. I rent everything you need for the table such as linens, mix and match antique plates, silverware, crystal stemware, brass candelabras, etc…for weddings as well as private events. You can even rent for your next dinner party of 2!  In a few months I will also have a modern contemporary collection of brands we all know and love. I want people to be able to rent items they actually want to own in real life. So many rental companies just offer boring basics you can find at Ikea or Hema and wouldn’t want to buy. I want to be Rent the Runway for home and entertaining. For the online shop I have saved you the time of scouring the flea market or wasting time with online marketplaces with pages and pages of objects. It is a tightly curated collection of objects at price points you can still get excited about. 

On your website you say you scour France to find the best pieces. What are your favorite flea markets and brocantes in Paris and throughout France?

I love visiting the street flea markets in Paris, which change locations every weekend. However my real jam is getting in my car and driving around Provence or through the Loire looking for treasures. 

What are some of your favorite home and tabletop boutiques in Paris?

There sadly aren’t too many that get me excited or that I don’t feel kinda bored of. I honestly feel like Paris is lacking in this department. In New York there are so many good home stores. I still love La Tresorie and Ailleurs Paris though. 

If you could decorate a table for anyone or any event, past or future, who or what would it be and how would you style it? 

I would love to decorate a table for a big art benefit dinner and I would play with the shades of the same color to match a painting. I love when I get the freedom to style the table.   

Do you have some cool tips about how to easily decorate and dress up your table without too much fuss? 

Linens, simple low flowers, and votives add color, ambiance and joy instantly. 

What do you prefer about Paris? 

I prefer that life in Paris is slow living in the big city. 

https://madamedelamaison.com/

Last week to see my photo exhibit at Hotel Pont Royal, 5-7 rue Montalembert, 75007 Metro: Rue du Bac

Don't miss it! 

Sweet Cheese

Last week I was invited to a super fun event where cheese was the star of the show. 

Sweet Cheese celebrates 10 international chefs who have each dreamed up a sweet and savory dessert incorporating their favorite French cheese. 

The event was sponsored by an experimental label, Oh My Milk, a division of CNIEL, the French dairy association to promote French cheeses worldwide. 

Held at loft space on Quai de Valmy on Canal Saint Martin, a cross section of forty bloggers, influencers, and YouTube stars were invited to the experience. 

A bar with especially designed cocktails for the occasion was set up before the tastings and guests mingled before the event officially started at 8PM. 

The tables were prettily decorated with vases of seasonal flowers and each place setting had black stone cheeseboard with a tag with each guest’s name. I was seated next to an Australian architect living in Paris and across from Oliver Gee of the Earful Tower podcasts. 

Once we were seated, there was a short video of each chef in their restaurant kitchen, telling their story about their earliest memories of how they fell in love with cooking. They shared about their first experience tasting French cheese, and how they decided on their favorite one to use in their recipe.

The creations were presented from the most savory to the sweetest. Some were light and airy, some were rich, some were weird but good, some were just too weird, some were so subtle you couldn’t tell what kind of cheese it was, some were absolutely delicious, and only one I didn’t like. 

The presentation of some of the dishes were little works of food art, almost too pretty to eat, although that has never stopped me before. 

At the end of the presentation, the chefs lined up against a wall so we could applaud and photograph them. 

I have a big appetite and I can consume most people under the table. However, in this very rare situation, I was almost full by the sixth dish, and had to pace myself towards the end. I had a food hangover the next morning, plop, plop, fizz fizzing Alka Seltzer first thing when I got up. 

Click here to download the book with all 10 chefs and the recipes. 

Five of the chefs will feature their creation for one day at their restaurant. Click here for the list. 

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a contest giving away a free dinner for two at one of the chef’s restaurants.

Last week to see my photo exhibit at Hotel Pont Royal, 5-7 rue Montalembert, 75007 Metro: Rue du Bac

Don't miss it! 

Magnolia Blooms Palais Royal

Late last Saturday morning after relaxing with a café noisette at my favorite Paris café, Les Nemours (a blog about that soon), I strolled into Palais Royal to see if I could find something new to photograph. 

It’s funny how things in nature happen so quickly; Just a few days earlier I passed through the Palais Royal and all the trees were bare, nary a bloom. But suddenly out of nowhere, Mother Nature waved her magic wand and had the magnolia trees burst into bloom. Most were in that perfect shade of pink that only nature could produce, but I did spot a few white ones. The wind had strewn many of the leaves onto benches, the tops of shrubs, and on the ground. 

The sky was gray with a blue hue, kind of like that weird blue rinse grandmothers use to apply to their hair, which made the pink magnolias pop. 

Do you have a favorite from this series? 

Last week to see my photo exhibit at Hotel Pont Royal, 5-7 rue Montalembert, 75007 Metro: Rue du Bac

Don't miss it! 

Door of the Month March 2019: 21 Rue de l’ Université

My photo exhibition at the Pont Royal Hotel is close to the rue de la Université. Years ago I discovered rue de l’Université had a treasure trove of fabulous doors. 

 At #21 is a red lacquered door with lovely details. It was a hotel particulier built in 1639 for Thomas de Bragelongne and was acquired by Jean-Jacques Régis de Cambacérès, Arch-Chancellor of the Empire. It was known as Hôtel de Cambacérès and owned by the Duke and Duchess de la Salle. 

One of the most unusual details of the hardware of the door is at the bottom right and left hand sides. These structures were built to help slow down the horses arriving, so the wheels wouldn’t scrape the limestone, leaving marks. This is the first one I’ve ever seen with a face on it. I can’t quite figure out what the face is –Is it a ram because of the horn, or is it a fish? Also, is that a tassel hanging from its mouth? Perhaps you have some clues. 

21 rue de l”Université,  75007

Metro: Rue du Bac 

Last two weeks to see my photo show. 

Partnership with Tablet Hotels

I am happy to announce a special partnership with Tablet Hotels, the top website for booking the best boutique and luxury hotels around the world. 

Tablet has an extensive list of great hotels in Paris, many that I have personally recommended to my clients. Paris hotels include Le Bel Ami, L’Hotel and Hotel Montalembert in Saint Germain, Hotel Duo, Pavillon de la Reine, and Les Bains in le Marais, Crillon, Le Bristol, Royal Monceau and the Lancaster in the 8^th arr. plus numerous hotels in other areas of Paris. 

From budget-friendly urban boutiques to haute-luxury palaces, from medieval castles to avant-garde design experiments — each hotel listed on Tablet is a chance to escape the everyday and experience another world.

Click here for a full list of their Paris hotels.  

My partnership with Tablet hotels includes exclusive discounts, upgrades, and value-added amenities not available on the website. 

If you are interested in booking hotels in Paris or anywhere else on the Tablet website, please email me directly at [email protected] and I will be happy to assist you in choosing the right hotel for your needs. 

https://www.tablethotels.com/?depDate=2019-03-17&arrDate=2019-03-16&nR=1&nA=1&nC=0

Le Pavillon des Lettres https://www.tablethotels.com/en/paris-hotels/le-pavillon-des-lettres

Hotel Adele & Jules https://www.tablethotels.com/en/paris-hotels/hotel-adele-jules

Le Saint Hotel A Paris https://www.tablethotels.com/en/paris-hotels/le-saint-hotel-a-paris

 

Nolinski Paris https://www.tablethotels.com/en/paris-hotels/nolinski-paris

 

Les Dames Du Pantheon https://www.tablethotels.com/en/paris-hotels/les-dames-du-pantheon

 

Hotel du Temps https://www.tablethotels.com/en/paris-hotels/hotel-du-temps

 

Brach Paris https://www.tablethotels.com/en/paris-hotels/hotel-brach-119637

 

Last two weeks to see my photo show. 

 

Guys and Dolls

I am always happy as a clam when American musicals come to Paris, as it’s one of the things I truly miss about living in New York. In past years I’ve enjoyed productions of Sunday in the Park with George, My Fair Lady, Sweeney Todd, The King and I, West Side Story, and An American in Paris. 

This season Guys and Dolls, the quintessential American musical is making its premiere in Paris. 

I went to see it last Friday night and was overjoyed. The production from beginning to end left a smile on my face and I hummed the tunes for hours on end after I left the theater. 

Based on Damon Runyon’s tales of New York City from the 1930s, the story follows a group of outcasts, gamblers and hustlers coming up against the stiff morality of the Salvation Army. Try as they might, the Salvation Army characters eventually succumb to their immoral underlings. 

The cast is uniformly excellent, hitting all their marks, but the true star of the show is Ria Jones, as Adelaide. Her flare, timing, and wit as the lovable, lamentable Adelaide was superb, adding that little bit of extra je-ne-sais quois that gives her star power. She reminded me a bit of the brassy Ethel Merman, especially with her curly auburn mop and large voice. 

I forgot how many consistently great songs Guys and Dolls contains from longing ballads like I’ll Know and I’ve Never Been in Love Before, to the finger-snapping anthem Luck Be a Lady, to musical comedy classics such as Adelaide’s Lament and Marry the Man, and the clever If I Were a Bell. 

The exuberant and athletic choreography by Stephen Mear gives the show an extra shot of energy, to an already fast moving show and the costumes vary, sometimes spot on for the period but in brash colors, sometimes cheap looking, looking like the production gave the costume designer a limited budget. 

Guys and Dolls is the feel good hit of the season, a much-needed respite from the disconcerting times we live in. 

Guys and Dolls 

Until July 28, 2019 

Théâtre Marigny 

Carré Marigny 75008

Metro: Champs Elysees-Clemenceau

https://www.theatremarigny.fr/

Last two weeks to see my photo show. 

Roxie Paris

Roxie Paris is set to bring the elegant supper clubs of the 1930s and 40s back into vogue again. 

Newly opened at the end of 2018, I was invited for dinner two weeks ago. Located on a side street off the Champs Elysees, the exterior already emits a throwback to the 1930s with a black lacquer marquis spelling ROXIE in bold letters. 

Two good looking, well dressed staff members warmly greeted us, took our coats and escorted us to the dining room. The lacquered interior looked like it was dipped into a bottle of red high gloss nail polish. On the stage were two singers, one strumming the guitar, crooning pop songs we all know and love in a relaxed, folksy style.  Behind them was a fabulous Art Deco style mural with a naked goddess spreading her arms and a round chandelier 

We were escorted up a shows stopping double-sided staircase, the kind you would imagine a line of beautiful dancers dressed in sequence and feathers would come down. Upstairs we were seated at a table overlooking the stage downstairs. 

In true French tradition, we were offered Champagne as the first order of business, although we opted for wine with dinner instead. The menu choices were quite appealing and it took some serious decision making before Vincent and I made our final choices. A crispy tuna maki was crispy and light with a bit of crunch to it, with super fresh tuna. Vincent enjoyed his salmon cooked with a piquant Asian style sauce and I savored my chicken rolled in crushed peanuts and cornflakes in a peanut sauce. Dessert was a divine chocolate sensation hard to describe. 

The name Roxie is inspired by Roxie Hart, the femme fatale that's the heroine of the musical Chicago is based on. Roxie brings back the days of private supper clubs and speakeasies but in an updated version. 

Instead of torch singers slinking over a grand piano, Roxie has a musically versatile six-piece band and singer performing everything from Aretha Franklin to Joe Cocker to Lenny Kravitz to Adele. Unfortunately the band was not performing the night we were there, but I’d like to return and see them. 

The bar at Roxie serves creative cocktails with throwback names- Ginger Rogers, Roxie Hart, and Louis Armstrong plus a formidable menu of whiskies and bourbon.

Roxie can be rented out for a private function for dinner and/or drinks, so if you want a bang up venue for a special occasion, this is it. 

 

29 rue de Ponthieu, 75008

Metro: Franklin Roosevelt 

https://roxie-paris.com/

Only three more weeks left of my photo exhibition at the Hotel Pont Royal, 5-7 rue Montalembert, 75007 

Reopening of Private Apartments in Chateau de Chantilly

After a two-year restoration, the private apartments of Chateau de Chantilly have been reopened to the public. In 1845 Henri de Orleans/the Duke of Aumale, the last heir to the Duke Aumale, commissioned architect Victor Dubois and decorator Eugene Lami to create private apartments for he and his new wife, Maria-Carolina-Augusta, on the ground floor of the Petite Chateau of the Chateau de Chantilly. The series of eight rooms was completed in 1847, includes the prince and princesses bedroom, salon, toilet and bathrooms, plus the Petite Singerie, the only room that hasn’t been altered since it was built. The wood panels painted in 1735 by Christophe Huet, a kind of satire, display the aristocratic activities of female monkeys (lunch during the hunt, picking cherries, playing card games, dressing) borrowing the clothes and expressions of the Condé princesses, in each season of the year.

There were fifteen stages of the demanding undertaking including restoration of the painted ceilings, gilding and paint, restoration of the wood paneling, wainscoting, and parquet floors, plus the replacement of textiles including tassels.  

On a small group tour the other day, the guide took us through the eight rooms, explaining the significance of each one, the history of the furniture, paintings, general décor style, and family. The most beautiful of the rooms was the duchess’s salon, a semi-circular room painted in the most vivacious shade of violet, along with a hand painted-ceiling of blue sky and cherubs. The furniture is upholstered in violet silk and the walls and doors are decorated with exquisite gilded wood paneling. 

The contrast between the duchess’s and duke’s bedrooms is unusual. The duchess’s bedroom is a study in opulence with teal blue with an extravagant floor to ceiling bed canopy, white lace bedspread, tufted silk chairs, and white gilded walls while the duke’s bedroom is much more subdued with a small bed with barely a headboard, and pale gray walls, although his desk is quite elaborate. 

In order to control the wear and tear by admitting too many visitors, the apartments can only be visited with a guide. A 45-minute tour in English is given everyday at 11:30AM for a cost of 5€ in addition to the general admission ticket for the chateau. 

Domaine Chantilly 

http://www.domainedechantilly.com/en/reopening-of-the-private-apartments/

Only three more weeks left of my photo exhibition at the Hotel Pont Royal, 5-7 rue Montalembert, 75007 

Apple Store Champs Elysees

I have been an Apple fan ever since I bought my first Mac laptop in 2001. Every computer I’ve owned since then is an Apple and I bought my first I-Phone in 2008. 

Besides their superior products, I’ve always liked their consistent minimalist and streamlined design, which their stores clearly reflect. They are more like tech laboratories than a retail store. 

A few months ago a new store on the Champs Elysees opened and it’s the most beautiful and unusual Apple store I’ve ever been in. 

What’s unusual about the store is the fact that it’s located in a former hotel Particulier with a corner rotunda. Inventor and aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, who was one of the first men to fly an airplane, once owned it. 

Instead of one vast open space like most Apple stores, there’s an assemblage of smaller scale rooms on three floors. The centerpiece is an ornately carved staircase stripped to its original finish with stairs in chocolate brown veined marble, and landings of black and white diamond shaped tiles. 

Walking through the lobby entrance though a portal of swirled wrought iron, you arrive at the spectacular atrium reaching up three floors capped by a mirrored kaleidoscope ceiling. The atrium, lined with newly potted trees, serves as an event space. There’s a massive screen where videos and news of product updates are shown. Customers can sit on wood cubes to watch. 

On the second floor is a series of salon-like rooms, which are still recognizable as rooms of the original apartment with wood parquet floors and painted over fireplaces and moldings.  

The Genius Bar is discreetly located down a long hall with no sign on it and if one has to wait on line, they are visually rewarded with a series of Art Nouveau stained glass panels.  

My favorite room was the semi-circular with curved glass paned windows overlooking the Champs Elysees filled just with I-Watches. The Hermes double strap one has my name on it. 

Another room, which is beautifully decorated with mid-century style furniture and black and white vintage style photos, appears to be a screening room (there’s a large screen on one wall) and also features a long light wood table, perhaps for dining or reading. 

The store is definitely a destination and you can add it to your must see places in Paris. 

114 Av. des Champs-Élysées, 75008

Metro: George V 

https://www.apple.com/fr/retail/champs-elysees/?cid=aos-fr-seo-maps

Links Eye Like 

Checkout an article about new crystal fountains being installed on the Champs Elysees in the N.Y. Times

https://www.apple.com/fr/retail/champs-elysees/?cid=aos-fr-seo-maps

Congratulations to Michele K. who was the first person to make a comment about The Empire and the Five Kings and has won a copy of the book. Thanks to the others who submitted their comments. 

If you haven't already seen my Eye Prefer Paris exhibit, it's on until March 31. 

Eye Prefer Paris Book of the Month March 2019: The Empire and the Five Kings by Bernard-Henri Levy

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a new book, so I am re-launching the Eye Prefer Paris Book of the Month series. 

I am happy to have the new book The Empire and the Five Kings: America's Abdication and the Fate of the World by award winning French author Bernard-Henri Levy as my selection this month. Levy is one of the most respected and popular authors and intellectuals in France.

In this book, Levy offers a provocative look at America’s withdrawal from world leadership and the rising powers who seek to fill the vacuum left behind.

The United States was once the hope of the world, a beacon of freedom and the defender of liberal democracy. Even when America did not live up to its ideals, it still recognized their importance, at home and abroad. But as Lévy lays bare in this powerful and disturbing analysis of the world today, America is retreating from its traditional leadership role, and in its place have come five ambitious powers, former empires eager to assert their primacy and influence.

The Empire and the Five Kings draws upon lessons from history and the eternal touchstones of human culture to reveal the stakes facing the West as America retreats from its leadership role, a process that did not begin with the current president and is not likely to end with him.

The publisher of The Empire and the Five Kings has kindly offered a free copy of the book for one of our readers. 

Be the first person to leave a comment in the comments section on https://www.ipreferparis.net and you will receive a copy of the book. Please note, the book must be shipped in the continental USA. 

If you haven't already seen my Eye Prefer Paris exhibit, it's on until March 31. 

To purchase book, please click link below 

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250203014