Famille Summerbelle

Paper cut London map

Thank you all so much for your overwhelming comments on the Paris map. It really motivated me to finish this one quickly. London map is much more detailed. Well, London is so much bigger, there was a lot to draw...and cut. Promise, these paper cut maps will be made into posters just before the Summer!

It's even better with the shadows...

Plates

Great plates just to decorate by Hella Jongerius for Nymphemburg USA.

Dollhouse

I love this life-size dollhouse found via Design-Shimmer.
The artist Heather Benning transformed this farmhouse into this amazing dollhouse with a plexiglass back.

To Have and to Count (Avoir et compter)

I love this educational wallpapers found via Vintage for Kids and designed by tandem designers Ich&Kar for Domestic:

250 x 46.5cm = €75.00

Jacques Tati

When in Paris don't miss the Jacques Tati exhibition at the Cinematheque in the 12th Arrondissement. It's until August so no excuse!

Jacques Tati would have been 102 years old this year. He made during his career 6 long and 3 short films. Extremely modern for his time, Tati fought to impose himself (ruining himself in the process) The massive and ambitious set of Playtime left him destitute, explaining why we have so few of his films.

Just to name a few:Mon Oncle, Parade, Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot, Jour de Fete...
You can view his films at the Cinematheque and younger visitors have films and guided tour especially for them.

Check TatiVille website for more info on the man and his film. I love the designs.

Just for the story, the two men getting ready to play tennis are my grandad on the left and Tati on the right. I have this picture on my desk and it was just appropriate to share it with you!

Paper cut Paris map

This is what I'm working on at the moment...a lot of detailed paper cutting to create a quirky map of Paris...

next it's London...:)

Le Jardin des Plantes

We had a lovely Easter week-end in Paris with friends from London. We went to spend the day in the 5th Arrondisement, on the Left Bank in the Jardin des Plantes. It's the most popular botanical garden in Paris. The flowers were all in blossom with stunning colours, and there is the most fantastic merry-go-round with hand painted endangered animals.

We actually headed there to visit the Natural History Museum, which is located within the grounds of the garden. The Grande Galerie de L'Evolution is located at the far entrance of the garden, opposite the beautiful Mosque (a great place to relax with tea and oriental cakes).
The kids loved seeing the variety of animals on display. The only thing is they wanted to stroke them which was not really welcome! I love the architecture of the building and the very subtle lighting of the main gallery.

Autoban

I love this 19th-century apartment designed by Istanbul based architecture practice Autoban and designer/manufacturer Spanish company De La Espada.

Au revoir

It's nice to be back. The past few days have been very sad. We said a last goodbye to my dearest Grand-father "Daddy" as we call him. We all went to the South of France were he enjoyed a good life. It's often for occasion like funerals that the family is all reunited. This was nice. We had a nice walk on the beach eating ice-creams.