Holiday Gifts Guide

The holiday season is around the corner and everyone is stressing out about gift shopping. The joy of Christmas has slowly transformed into the dread of choosing the right gift for everyone. We get agitated by our budget or the unavailability of the desired item and slowly forget what the holiday is all about.

We have to keep in mind that one’s upon a time Christmas was one of the few days in the year where people bought stuff for each other and got presents. Nowadays we buy things for ourselves weekly and we don’t “need” so many things. It becomes more and more difficult to find a nice present for someone who already has everything.

When choosing gifts, I try to pick up something small, but cute and at the same time somewhat practical. Here is my guide for this Christmas season.

For everyone who is above 18 years old and has already moved out of his parents, a nice gift would be anything for the house. When growing up, we start to think more and more about the decoration of our home and how our new apartment represents us. Since our home is part of who we are, we should make sure that it reflects our character. As Aleksander Petrovsky told Carrie “I love your house. It’s so you… warm and lovely”.

My favorite French store for everything related to the house is “Maisons du monde” (Houses of the world). They can always tempt you with their beautifully pre-arranged tables. My personal favorite is the champagne glasses with gold ornaments.

There is always the possibility to buy something “Christmassy” like these tree ornaments:

I find candles the most appropriate gift for this time (or any time) of the year. People become more and more obsessed with candles and why not? They make a great atmosphere and can bring mystery and magic into the house.

Candle – https://www.maisonsdumonde.com/FR/fr/c/bougies-f7f933a233de5a794622944afd6d24b6

While shopping for our friends and relatives, we should not forget our four-legged friends as well.

To find a gift for the tech-savvy is very difficult because even the smallest thing can be rather pricy. How about these cute power banks? They are fun and practical in any situation.

Another option is this tile that helps you find your keys.

A fun and not-so-original gift for a guy would be socks. With “Happy socks” this present became expected but still appreciated.

Perfume is something that everyone could use. If you are a fan of Jo Malone like me, I would suggest you go to Zara. It’s quite interesting that the woman behind the brand did a collaboration with Zara and you could buy it in the store.

One thing that a woman can never have “too many” is jewelry.

Books are also a gift that I would die for. That’s why I always assume that everyone else is happy to get one as well. You can opt for a table book like this one or get something way more practical like this one:

Or this stylish travel guide.

Last but not least, I found some little goodies in “Palais du thé” or the Palace of tea. You can find it strange, but I feel so relaxed in this place. The small cup of tea you get when entering sets the mood for a warm and pleasant shopping experience. You can smell the different tea sorts and then choose the best one.

There are gift sets as well.

Happy shopping everybody!!

Be there or be square

In the world of French luxury brands, who does not know the name Hermès? It’s a brand that I particularly like because of their integrity and work ethic. This is a French fashion house that did not outsource the manufacturing of their signature creations. The problem nowadays is that even high fashion brands started manufacturing some of their articles in countries where it is less burdensome on the wallet than in their own country. Luxury tastes a lot more different.

Hermès is mostly known for the bags. Other than that, every French girl owns at least one of the famous scarves. The carré (square) is a type of scarf that one could wear on the neck or tied on the bag. It gives flavor to every classic outfit and personalizes bags that are too “ordinary”. This December the fashion house invites everyone to dive into the universe of its carré and meet the illustrators behind it.

We arrive at “Le Carreau du Temple” (Temple square) in the 3^rd arrondissement of Paris. For every French speaking guest the wordplay is obvious and we enter with a little smile. Right after the entrance everyone is invited to leave their mark. After all, in modern days this is the goal that we all chase – leave something behind us. The art piece is surprisingly interesting. I rarely give credit to such a creation, but in this case it was very well color coordinated and even though many different people with different aesthetic views have collaborated, the final result was magnificent.

A couple of counters were dedicated to the capsule collection of Hermès with limited edition scarves and more. There was also a bar that summons everyone to take a glass of wine and discuss the elegance that is surrounding us. In the Carré Park the visitors could watch a skateboard show. In some of the booths, one could pick up the phone and hear stories, secrets and more. Sadly, the phones that I picked up were broken and there is no Hermès secret that I could reveal. Maybe that was the whole point?

The most interesting part of the event for me was the Carré Studio. A dozen counters were showing different artists and their techniques while creating scarves. The first one that cached my eye was Daiske Nomura. Through very fast and sharp movements, we could follow the creation of a dragon design. It was exciting to watch the inspiration flow through the artist.

Octave Marsal & Theo de Gueltzl are behind a very unusual design. They both left a mark on this one and that’s why the title says “4 hand scarfs”. Mr Marsal centers his art around the notion of utopia, inspired by architectural drawings. He creates large spaces and imaginary cities that arise from nowhere or that sometimes refer to specific geographical areas, urban or desert. The peonies are made by Mr De Gueltzl.

There were many interesting techniques to observe. Here are some pictures of the process of evolving a design and drawing inspiration from different and seemingly random items. The results are mesmerizing. Most people do not think about the process and only consume the final product. Knowing the whole story gives more value to these creations and make them even more special.