Just Stay at Home

Can you just imagine turning the key in the keyhole of a beautiful old building in Paris to enter an apartment that for over 70 years lay untouched. With the rent faithfully paid, the doors locked, and an incredible treasure trove hiding inside, this apartment remained a secret. That is, until the apartments last occupant recently passed away at the age of 91. She shut the apartment up just before the outbreak of World War II to go live in the south of France and she never returned. The dust filled romantic rooms of treasure were discovered by  an auctioneer sent to inventory her belongings.


That is only part of the romantic story of the apartment of the granddaughter of Marthe de Florian, a beautiful actress of the early screen. When this lucky auctioneer entered the dust-covered Parisian apartment to take inventory of the possessions, he was quoted saying that he "had the impression of creeping into Sleeping Beauty’s castle where time had stood still". In the beautiful decaying apartment he came across a painting, which had hung in the living room, of an actress of exceptional beauty who went by the name of Marthe de Florian, enshrouded in a pale pink mousseline evening dress. The real story here is that this portrait was painted by one of 19-century Paris’ most prized portrait artists, Italian Giovanni Boldini.


The auctioneer had a hunch that this painting was made by the famous Boldini but could not find any record of the painting, it was not in any reference books and it had never been exhibited. After extensive research he found  one of Boldini’s calling cards in the apartment with a love message by the painter written to de Florian. Knowing this was the link, he continued his search and found proof that this painting was indeed a Boldini after finding mention of it in a book belonging to the painters widow.



Marthe de Florian had hosted her many admirers in the apartment where “she kept letters from her lovers in little packages wrapped up with ribbons of different colors,” according to one of the people who worked on the inventory. The calling cards of senior statesmen from the period were found tucked away in drawers.

Bonjour Mes Amis! If you have read my last post you know that I have been bitten by the entrepeneurial bug. I have always dreamed of owning a brick~and~mortar store and now is the time. A lot has changed since that last post that seems like it was ages ago but really it's only been a couple of weeks. We have found a new space and a new name that better fits our passion for this dream we are making a reality!


After some new developments, some gorgeous, ornate doors have opened for me. I am partnering up with the amazing Ebony from Mahogany Maddison to open a different kind of boutique experience. I am very excited to say that our opening date has been pushed back just a bit in order to prepare our new space. We are so excited with this adventure. I so appreciate all of the amazing and encouraging comments and if you were planning to attend, please sit tight and I promise, it will be worth the wait.

We are planning so many exciting things and I can't wait to share it all with you! I will keep you posted and I am so grateful for you and excited to take this giant leap with all of you by my side. After all it is because of you that I've been inspired and motivated.

I've fallen hard for these incredible pieces of jewelry. I love the intrigue and meaning behind them as well as thier beauty. Here's some backstory about these gorgeous Lover's eye miniatures.


In the late 1700s, while his father George III was losing the Revolutionary War in America, George IV of England was losing his heart to a young girl, who happened to be a commoner. The young prince's lover gave him a locket with a miniature painting of her eye; her anonymity was preserved while eye contact was maintained. The idea caught on and, for about 30 years, these Georgian miniatures became fiercely popular among the upper classes throughout Europe and have become a very rare and sought out genre of antique jewelry today.




Painted by miniaturists, portrait painters who specialized in small, detailed images. They focused on only the eye, often represented with eyebrow and lashes. Sometimes showcasing a wisp of hair or the suggestion of a sideburn or the bridge of a nose would hint at the owner's identity but never reveal it, how romantic! Adding to the mystery of it all the miniaturist often added a delicate border of clouds around the eye.
These amazing little love tokens appeared between the 1790s and 1820s in the courts and upper crust households of England, Russia, France.

Eventually, the idea caught on for use as mourning jewelry. Mourning pieces contained the eye of a departed loved one, sometimes set in a frame of pearls which symbolized tears.


Most eyes are unidentifiable, however, there is one diamond-studded example marked with an Imperial Crown and initials "J.B." This piece can be traced back to Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's ne'er-do-well brother who was once the Emperor of Spain! So incredible!!


“When full dressed she wore around her neck the barrenest of lockets, representing a fishy old eye, with no approach to speculation in it” – Charles Dickens, 1848
 
Such gorgeous pieces! How I would love to add one to my collection of portrait jewelry, a girl can dream can't she!?!

Bonjour My Dear Friends! I have been absent for so long and I miss you! Life has been a bit of whirlwind lately. Life made me prioritize my responsibilities and blogging had to take a back seat. However, I'm back!!!! I've missed you dearly and I've missed posting so much. I realize it is so therapeutic for me. I can't wait to catch up with all of you. I've been incognito reading your glorious posts and trying to stay up to date. So as I try to catch up I will leave you with some of the things I'm loving right now....

Dior

Anita from Castles Crowns and Cottages!!!!

I am very excited to announce Anita as the winner of my second giveaway! She is one of the sweetest and nicest bloggers out there! It is an honor to send her this little gift.

Lacroix

She has a lovely blog and her images and her fun positive energy is contagious! I love her posts on crowns and all things French. Her love of music and life are uplifting and each visit to her site enriches my soul! Thank you Anita, I am so happy that you won!!!

A big Thank you to all of you who entered, who read my posts, and to all of you who have shown me so much support!
XOXO

Judith~

Today is the Grand Opening of my new Etsy shop!

Paris Atelier

As you might know I have been setting up an online E~boutique and while I am in the process of doing this, I thought I would open an Etsy shop with a small preview of what I will be featuring in my online boutique. You have all inspired me so much over the last months that I just couldn't wait to share with you.

The shop consists of vintage treasures, object d'art, and Estate finds from around the world. Many of the items were found in Paris and abroad. I love the glitz and glamour of these special items and now I want to share them with you!

I am afraid that I have not yet listed some of the juiciest items that I have, so I have decided to do 2 giveaways. The first today and the second at the end of the week when I have added more items to the shop.

The first giveaway starts today! Just pop over to the new Etsy store then come back here to this post and leave a comment and you will automatically be entered to win, if you would like, you can post about the new shop and you will be entered twice more.