Maison & Objet Paris Exhibition

This weekend I took a trip to Paris to view the Autumn/Winter collections for our website.  I wore my most comfortable  shoes as there were almost 3500 exhibitors this year, showing cookware, home textiles, accessories, furniture, the list goes on.  Basically, the Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre is stuffed to the rafters with gorgeous and practical items for your home.  What more could a girl want? (apart from a bag with wheels.  Brochures + bottle of water + iPad = HEAVY)

I made a couple of new discoveries which I'm pursuing for the website.  I found gorgeous lambs wool blankets in bright colours, perfect for snuggling up under on a cold winter's night and because they're so pretty, will look fantastic draped over the arm of your sofa too.  I wouldn't mind waking up on Christmas morning and finding one in my stocking.  

I also found a great company that sells beautiful home ware inspired by the traditional skills of artisans in Africa and India.  Their designs fit in perfectly with the Andrassy Living look and to top it all off, they're a fair trade company.  Suffice to say, plenty of "I have to have it" moments.  They had lovely tableware, baskets and throws, all of which stood out from the crowd but for the blog, I'm featuring these antique brass frames which I'm completely taken with.

I'm not sure if my iPhone has done them justice but I love the brass and the fact that they display these dried leaves and flowers so beautifully.  These make effective pieces of art for your wall at a fraction of the price of a painting and they'd look incredible with several grouped together.  Also, if you've inherited any old photographs of great great grannies and grandpas, these are the perfect thing to show them off in. Anyway, I'm off to find my flower press (last in use since around 1982).

I also found these beautiful ribbons which I'm going to stock this Christmas as we've obviously got plenty of wrapping ahead and if you take great pride in the presentation of your gifts then these are for you.  They also make lovely presents for grown-up stockings (if you still enter into such things - sadly F.C. stopped visiting me in my late twenties) or for someone who's hosting you for the weekend.  And what do you think of the grey ceramics with the bamboo lids?  They also do them in bowls and I think they're gorgeous.

So, that's just a taster of what M&O had to offer.  I could go into much more detail and add more pictures but I don't want you to nod off.  If you have any comments I'd love to hear them as it's important to know what you like and don't like.  Thanks for reading and hope you'll visit the store next month to see our new collection.