Pierre Frey, Paris France

If you ask most any well educated designer who their favorite French fabric lines are, the name Pierre Frey will always be in the mix.  Pierre Frey is a family owned and privately held French luxury design house founded in 1935.  Since its inception, the company has grown now to include three other brands: Pierre Frey, Boussac, Braquenie, and Fadini Borghi.  When I was in Paris with Design Trust, we had the pleasure of visiting the Frey Headquarters and toured their offices, archives and two of their homes.  Our host for the day was none other than Pierre Frey, grandson of the founder, his father Patrick Frey, President and Creative Director of the Company and his two brothers, Matthieu and Vincent.  Our day began with a visit to the corporate office and archives then culminated with a tour of Pierre Frey's apartment ended with a dinner in Vincent Frey's apartment.  I can't wait to share my visit to the archives, but lets first look at some current Pierre Frey Fabrics that I'm dying to use in some projects.

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Shopping in Paris!

My mind has been on Paris with Fashion Week last week and Bastille Day on Monday.  It's not hard to daydream about Paris, especially if you have ever visited the city of lights.  It is amazing.  Last September I had the opportunity to visit Paris for the first time with Design Trust led by Steve Nobel. I had always dreamed of going to Paris, so when opportunity knocked, I answered with a resounding yes!  Paris did not disappoint.   Our trip centered around design related activities, many of which I haven't shared on the blog.    I decided to take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of the photographs I took during my trip. 

 Window shopping in Paris is almost as good as buying things.  The fashion houses go all out, when it comes to their store fronts. There are American companies who send employees to Paris just to see the windows for trends and ideas?  After visiting Paris, I now understand the attraction of the Parisian windows.  Here are a few of the photos I took while shopping in Paris.  I bought a few things, but mostly enjoyed just window shopping.

There are many shopping districts in Paris.  To read more about the various districts

read this article by about.com on the best shopping in Paris.
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Happy Bastille Day & Trends at Paris Fashion Week

It's France's National Independence Day!  Independence Day in France is called Fete nationale. As a confessed Francophile, I hope to one day attend this festive occasion in Paris.  Can you imagine fireworks over the Eiffel Tower?  

I was excited to attend my first Maison & Objet last year during their week dedicated to home fashion.  It was amazing to be introduced to new trends in Paris and watch as those trends as they gradually trickled into the U.S.

Credit Via

Runway fashions often influence the home decor market.  As a designer, I'm very interested in what's happening on the runway.   I must admit I'm also a bit of a fashion addict as well.  This past week, when the fashion gods gathered to celebrate Paris Fashion Week, I couldn't keep my eyes off the internet runway releases.   Visiting Paris during fashion week is on my bucket list.   I find myself constantly checking out the shows as they are released on ParisFashionWeekLive.com    Almost every major fashion publications has been covering the event. 

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