thank you {MERCI,PARIS}

as a stylist i am always in search of new inspiration. of course i troll the sites of stylish bloggers, to see where they have been and to view the latest and greatest resources out there. however, nothing beats travel and seeing things for yourself. there is no substitute for taking in the style and verve of an other city's lifestyle. so while in paris this weekend i headed to Merci and decided, "why not take you along"... so here you go a glimpse into what i saw and picked up at this amazing lifestyle store in the middle of paris.

as you might know i am a visual~experience person to the core, so sight and touch and taste have so much to do with how i style my world. whether in the realm of my personal life or for work in the context of home, food, or the entertaining genre. i travel extensively to create new and interesting work for my clients, they look to me for fresh style information, current trends + new creative expression, so i am always out there looking and taking it all in.

The fantastic retailer Merci. is a concept store that combines, floral, fauna, fashion and homegoods. The crunchy feel good interior combines clever crafty decor with earthy goods. There is an eatery in the basement, along with a dark and fabulous coffee house lined cleverly with library shelves filled to the brim. The whole store is housed in a complex of an old very french style building that obviously in it's hayday was a beautiful residence. One enters through a courtyard where you are greeted by a smiley red vintage cinque cento {as you know one of my all time favorite automoblies} I know every blogger has written about this boutique of late. But I was so impressed by the deep commitment to great merchandise that runs the gamut of japanese happy tape, to an exquisite array of shoes and stone washed linens and super cool faux barnwood wallpaper. i was in stylist heaven! i managed to purchased a rainbow of rustic linens for upcoming food shoots, including my own style/cookbook {i am starting to shoot chapters later this month} and the most incredible selection of paper labels for an upcoming organizing story for a shelter publication i am styling mid month. needless to say it was a very successful trip. i will be lugging all these goods home with great pleasure.

the store decor was clever and inspiring, i have a new lease on styling just from walking the streets of paris. travel is the stylist's breath of life. and i feel refreshed and re-energized, just from a few days of visual culture shock.

me in the courtyard with miss smiley fiat cinque cento

the pretty entrance to the store

handmade pom pom chandeliers greet shoppers

flower suitcases house bright and colorful cotton scarves, i snagged 2 of them

so happy and clever

view of the homegoods from the second floor balcony

a fantastic array of paper goods

a display of faux barn wood wallpaper caught my eye

reams of japanese happy tape as far as the eye can see

delicious selection of a rainbow of rustic linens

enjoy these pics, honestly it was super hard to pick what to post...i guess you need to see Merci for yourself if you want to take it all in...all i can say is a big THANK YOU to Merci!