I Prefer Paris

Where Are They Now? Parisian of the Month, Susan Oubari

I interviewed Susan Oubari as the Parisian of the Month in May 2011. At the time Susan, who is American, was working in the fashion business wearing many different hats as an art director, stylist, writer, agent, photographer and producer.  She started her career in Milan working for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and later on at a photo agency which represented top notch fashion photographers. 

Finding the fashion business stressful at times, along with having to raise a family, she turned to Reiki therapy, which changed her life view. Eventually she would study and practice Reiki, which led her to a new path of self-preservation and care, and also wanting to share it with other people.

In between the time of the last interview, Susan had some life changes. She moved to Vancouver for five years in 2012 because of her husband’s job, which uprooted her Parisian lifestyle she had so become accustomed to. Although she appreciated the much more relaxed lifestyle, she missed the excitement of the fashion world. She got a job as a personal shopper at Nordstrom, in addition to brand ambassador for Stella McCartney  and was one of the top producers in terms of sales. 

In 2017 Susan moved back to Paris and she wanted an outlet to share her 14 years of studying the work of wellness masters Amma, Jack Kornfield, Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, Vicki Noble, Eckhart Tolle, and Dan Brulé.

On the suggestion of her sister, Susan went to Los Angeles and embarked on an intense course of Breathwork, a therapy that uses breathing exercises to improve mental, physical, and spiritual health. 

In 2017, Susan started Breathe in Paris, a 90 minute to two-hour class which incorporates meditation, breathwork, and Reiki. Classes are led in English and in French. 

I attended a class during the summer at Le Centre Element, a  spacious, and calm wellness studio in the Marais. The class started with Susan explaining the different stages of the work we were going to do, with a meditation before the breathwork that would take place the last 30-45 minutes of the class. The breathwork was intense and vigorous, really pushing our breathing limits. I felt an emotional and clear release towards the end and was invigorated yet spent. Of course, everyone else in the room had a different result and at the end we shared some of our feelings and emotions. 

Breathe in Paris has had much success in its short life. Besides teaching group classes, Susan also has a thriving business with private clients. The classes have received some major press coverage with articles in Madame Figaro, Elle, Cosmopolitan, and Yoga Magazine. 

Breathe in Paris schedules weekly, 90-minute classes at the American Church in Paris for a very reasonable fee of 20€.

 I highly recommend you try a class. 

For more about Susan’s work and schedule of classes, click on link below. 

http://susanoubari.com/

Click here to read my original interview with Susan. 

All photos by Anaka photos.

  

In my latest  A Bite of Paris video, I've taken a break from food tasting to visit my friend Jessica at La Vaissellerie, my favorite tabletop, dish ware, and kitchen shop, located in the Marais. 

Click here to watch or link below 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGfIOVl7188&feature=youtu.be 

Please remember to hit the LIKE button if you like it and SUBSCRIBE button to subscribe to my channel.

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

Raquel Welch: Drinks at the Plaza Athénée

Raquel Welch is a former client and friend of my partner Vincent. She is in Paris on a press junket as the cosmetic company Mac’s beauty icon of 2007.

Raquel invited us for a drink in the lobby of the Plaza Athenee last night at 6PM. We arrived in the lobby of this opulent and elegant hotel and were seated in the lounge area on plush chairs. As we waited we saw a fascinating array of people from well dressed 16th Arr. women in fur coats to model/mistress types wearing tight jeans and outrageous high heeled shoes to men in crisp tailored gabardine suits.

Raquel sauntered in, looking radiant and flashed her movie star million dollar smile. She looked sensational in snug fitting jeans, an espresso brown short leather jacket with big gold buttons, a low cut flattering white top, and fabulous copper metallic high heeled Gucci loafers. (I immediately asked where her shoes were from). Her light brown hair cascading below her shoulders, looking great, this over 65-year-old beauty looked truly and naturally gorgeous.

Raquel is very personable and funny and is a wonderful storyteller. She regaled us with stories about the whirlwind of activities and events she’s attended since she’s been here. She told us about the glamorous French Vogue party till which she stayed till 5AM. She met Nicolas Ghesquiere from Balenciaga and loved the collection but wondered how any one could fit in it. She then ran into Azzedine Alaia and spoke about how when he first had his atelier on the left bank, he would send over the clothes and she bought the whole collection of his slinky clothes. She then went on to say that she still has them in her closet but can’t fit into them anymore and takes them out every once in a while to admire them.

We sat for about an hour chatting while we were drinking wine and she was sipping pink grapefruit juice. She also spoke her press tour in New York and about the ritzy dinner benefit in honor of her at the Palace Hotel. She was nervous about being on The View but went on to say how nice and generous Rosie O’Donnell was, considering that Rosie is having a fight with almost everyone these days.

Raquel shared a funny anecdote about how the idea for using tiger stripe for the motif on the Mac packaging came about. She said that women were always coming up to her and saying how fierce she was. Thinking that tigers are associated with being fierce, she came up with the idea of using tiger stripes.

As we were sitting there, a few people came up and complimented her and said what fans they were. Tall, dark, and handsome Frederic Fekkai, the New York super star hairdresser, looking dashing in a suit, came by and double kissed Raquel and said that he is always in LA and that they must meet for dinner.

Although I have known her for almost 8 years and can chat with her like most of my friends, I am still star struck knowing that I just had drinks with Raquel Welch, one of the great beauties of our time and one of the last real Hollywood movie stars.

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about including small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.

Special Offer for Eye Prefer Paris Tours: Until the end of February, I am offering a 25-euro discount on any tour booking. The regular price is 175 euros (for up to 4 people) and the price will be 150 euros. To receive the discount, please email by clicking the email tab on the left side above the Google ads and I will send you instructions.

Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

 

A Shaded View: Diane Pernet Interview

If there ever was the quintessential soup to nuts fashion person, Diane Pernet is it. Her impressive resume includes being a top fashion designer in New York in the 80’s, fashion journalist and editor working for Vogue, Elle, and the former Joyce magazine, writing the popular blog a Shaded View on Fashion with over 3,500 visitors a day, and founder and co-curator of the You Wear It Well Festival,The First International Short Film Festival on Fashion, Style and Beauty. I’m sure you recognize her from sharing the front row with Anna and Suzy at the runway shows, and attending top parties and openings. She defies the clichéd fashionista label, by never changing her trademark uniform: piled high black hair with an attached black lace mantilla going down to her waist, bright red lipstick &pale white non-makeup makeup, black top & ankle length skirt, black platform shoes and her lady-like 50’s sunglasses, hence her “shaded view”. We sat down over tea last week and discussed her take on the fashion world.

You’ve worn a lot of fashion “hats”, being a designer, editor, photographer, journalist,filmmaker and more. Which, if one, has been the most satisfying?
Probably being a designer. You’re actually creating something as opposed to critiquing, but that said,also co-curating the film festival and making my short intimate lo-fi films. I love doing the site too. Being a true Libra, it’s difficult to make a choice.

If you were stuck on a desert island with only one fashion person or artist, who would it be?
Robb Young. He’s a writer/journalist and talent scout. He writes for the New York Times, The Herald Tribune, Financial Times and L’uomo Vogue. He is one of my dearest, closest friends.

If there is one person, living or dead you could have dinner with, who would it be?
John Cassevettes or Fassbinder. Again, being a Libra.

You’ve lived in Paris for over 16 years now. What are some of the differences you see in New York/U.S. fashion world and the European one?
Basically New York is about big business and always has been.European shows are more creative and fun. Paris in particular, has the best shows and everybody on the planet comes.You can miss Milan or London, but you can’t miss Paris. The reason that you cannot miss Paris is that everyone from all of the other countries show here in order to get the most visibility.

Le Chic Dentiste

My dentist, Stéphane Brun, is good looking, charming, stylish, an artisan, and a perfectionist.

His office in an unassuming small building, located on rue Pierre Lescot next door to Joe Allens, is more an art gallery and mid-century modern furniture exhibit than a dentist's office. When you walk in, his lovely assistant greets you, takes your coat, and escorts you to the waiting room. She closes the door and you are left in a room ready to be on the cover of Elle Décor, filled with Bertoia chairs, a Frank Lloyd Wright-esque fireplace, a Mies Van de Rohe black leather club chair, and a dramatic torpedo-like light sculpture hanging from the ceiling all against warm teal blue green walls. There are stacks of the latest art and design magazines and I arrive early, so I can read all of my favorites that I am too frugal to buy.

After testing out all the chairs and catching up on the art & design dish, Stephen is ready for me and I go into his state of the art office with large computer screens, a Mac, and a futuristic purple and white dentist chaise right out of the Jetsons.I slid into the chaise and he worked on my two root canals, one extra large filling, and two caps. He took X-rays of my battered teeth, which instantly appear on the screen in front of me, and he also has a cool device that looks like a pen but is a video camera that gives you a tour of the inside of your mouth. For all of his gadgets, he is an expert craftsman and I have never been to a dentist who was so thorough, as he worked tirelessly for hours making sure everything was perfect. It’s like having an artist work on your mouth. To make you feel at ease, he has a jazz radio station on, so Ella, Miles, Sarah, and Louis are serenading you and drowning out the drilling. When we are finished, we go into his office and he sits behind his white 70’s hard plastic desk and we talk. He is warm and charming and I find out that he is also an art collector. He then shakes my hand, escorts me to the door and says “A'bientot!”

By the way girls and boys, he’s taken: he has a wife and two children.

Dr. Stéphane Brun
28 rue Pierre Lescot 75001
01 42 36 63 20

Paris Daily Photo:An Interview with Eric Tenin

Paris Daily Photo is a delightful blog with a simple mission: It posts a single photo of Paris everyday. Eric Tenin, photographer and editor, takes imaginative, captivating photos of Paris daily life and writes short blurbs to go with them. 
Sitting in a comfy club chair, I interviewed him last week over coffee at the Starbucks on rue des Archives.

How did you start Paris Daily Photo?
I was offered a digital camera from my family as a gift and I accepted it. I didn’t know what to do with it, so I started to take photos and decided I must have a blog to post them on. I posted my first photo, which was near my house by the Luxembourg Gardens on March 11, 2005. (He has since moved to the 9th)

What famous historical figure, living or dead, would you want to take a photo of?
Mozart in Paris

What’s your personal favorite Paris Daily photo?

Do you ever run out of ideas for photos?
All the time. I take 2 or 3 pictures in advance, but I’m always worried about my next pictures. My photos are one week old at the most.

What’s the most interesting comment you’ve received from a reader?
I have two readers who regularly post comments that add historical backgrounds and specific references to my photos.

Tell me about the online Daily photo community and your relationship with them. (There are over 150 other Daily Photo blogs).
After I started my blog, I invited others to do the same in their cities/towns and it’s grown very well. All of them have been extremely nice in sharing their city.  I am happy to have some small towns in the U.S., along with large cities. It’s a good mix.
We are starting a portal of all the city blogs featuring photos of each city and an icon that will take you to that city.

Are there certain areas of the city that you tend to take more photos of?
Yes. I take a lot of photos between where I live in the 9th and where I work in the 14th. 

Were you always interested in photography?
No. I never really liked it before.

What other places besides Paris, would you like to take pictures of?
Venice, Barcelona, New York and Amsterdam.

What photographers inspire you/influence you?
I’m not into photography but I now love to look at photos to improve my own.   People ask me tech questions all the time, but I have no idea what to tell them.

If you suddenly could only post one last photo on Paris Daily Photo, what would it be?
The Statue of Liberty in Paris on the ile de Cygnes in the 15th. Also, one of the entrance signs to Paris that are on the roads entering the city.

www.parisdailyphoto.com

Eric’s Bio
Eric Tenin, 46, journalist for a living, blogger for a hobby. I was born in Paris and have been living here all my life. I love it and I would trade it for very few other cities in the world (Barcelona, New York or San Francisco maybe). I am a city person, and a workaholic; I get bored after 2 days when I am on vacation!

Serial Colors: Frederick e. Grasser Herme

I went to a book signing Thursday night for Frederick e. Grasser Herme’s new cookbook, Serial Colors, at Le Galerie Food in the northern Marais. The delightful gallery/bookstore dedicated to everything food, was packed with eager foodies waiting to have their books autographed. The unique book is actually 10 small notebooks, each in a different color with recipes coordinating to the color. The books are sold separately for 6.50 euros. 85 euros gets you the whole set,smartly bound in a ring with a white Lucite cover, packed in a shiny white box

Frederick e. Grasser Herme is a major player in the Paris food world. In a recent interview, she told me she wears three hats: cookbook author with 20 published books, food consultant to top restaurants and hotels, and cookbook publishing advisor. Her books run the gamut of food topics including caviar, tartines, mozzarella, and queerest of all, a book with recipes for dogs and their masters.


The fashionista boutique and water bar restaurant, Colette, hired her to create a different colored food for their menu every month and that’s how the colored food idea started. The first book, Noir, has recipes for all black food. Another ongoing fascination is making vegetables sweet like desserts and desserts savory in a cookbook, Cuisinez Les Legumes Autrement (Cook the Vegetables Otherwise).

When asked what foods would be a must on a desert island, uzu fruit, a Japanese citrus much like a tangerine with a sour taste, Pierre Herme uzu flavored chocolate, and pink beet roots were her first choices. She likes her food simple, eats just for pleasure and is not particularly interested in food techniques. Favorite chefs/restaurants are Pascal Barbot- L’Astrance, patisserie and chocolate genius and ex-husband Pierre Herme, Thierry Marx-Château Cordeillan-Bages, Helene Darroze, and American Charlie Trotter. Top picks for food shopping are the organic Raspail market on Sundays, Marche Aliques, Marche Alma Marceau, and Grand Epicerie at Le Bon Marche. Current projects include a prepared food menu for Hotel Amour in Paris and menus for the up-scale Moroccan hotel chain, Dar Ahlam.

Being a former chef and caterer in New York, I was inspired by Frederick’s inventive and innovative food ideas.

Click here to order Frederick e. Grasser Herme’s books on Amazon

My First Celebrity Interview: J. Alexander

As promised, here is my first in a series of celebrity interviews asking them what they prefer about Paris.

J. Alexander
is a judge on the top rated TV show “America’s  Next Top Model” with super model Tyra Banks and it is seen in 97 countries.
He began his career gracing the runway for Jean Paul Gaultier in New York City. After a modeling stint in Tokyo, he eventually decided to settle in Paris, and since 1991, is a preferred contact for casting and coaching runway models for well-known designers, including Valentino, Galliano, Bill Blass, Alexander McQueen, Chanel and Nina Ricci

What do you prefer about Paris?
Paris prefers me.

What is your favorite area of Paris?
Any not populated by tourist.Some Areas in Paris are full of surprises.

What is your favorite restaurant, museum, and hotel?
Any  with traditional French cuisine.Why eat a hamburger?
Hotels, I don’t really have a favorite but like The Crillon or The Ritz. The Louvre for my girl Miss Mona L.

What is the thing you most enjoy doing in Paris?
After traveling as much as I do NOTHING…

What is the one thing that makes Paris unique to you, that no other place has?
The Shady French

What’s the one big secret about Paris that you don’t want any tourists to know about?
WHERE I LIVE…