Paris gift stash...........starting at Astier de Villatte

Silk Sachets with Provence Lavender 

& Ma Vie 2013 Agendas from Astier de Villatte

Probably the best thing to bring home from any trip besides your photos is a stash of gifts. Isn't that the best part? My Paris gift stash is like the afterglow and every gift purchase has a story, a place, a person attached to it. I like to pick up things that will add some personality to any of my future gift presentations, things that add a certain joie de vivre. There is always one shop that sticks with me long after I come home, a spot that has me regretting I didn't stock up on more of their merchandise. This Paris trip I find myself remembering Astier de Villatte for a number of reasons (two years ago I was all gaga for  Cire Trudon). We had already been impressed at the trade-only showroom at the Maison show and now we were ready to "shop-shop" in the retail store. Based on their "cool" factor, I did purchase a number of the 2013 Agendas (Ma Vie 2013 ~ My Life 2013) as a gift for a few special friends and one for myself. How could I resist? Besides that, you-know-who was stylishly nudging me on as she was already a convert to Ma Vie in 2012. Maybe sooner.

There was a line-up at the Rue Saint-Honoré shop the day we were there, many buying up these popular agendas and the smaller companion notebooks. Each notebook/agenda is silk-screened by the last existing master printer in Paris resulting in each agenda having it's own unique colour palette which explains the unique imperfections I noticed upon closer inspection when I returned home. I intend to use Ma Vie 2013 (My Life 2013) as a thought-of-the day type journal, a New Year exercise intended to have me writing instead of clicking at the end of the day. It is almost the size of an ipad so it will most likely sit bedside in my case. That the agenda/diary/journal includes a Paris and New York telephone directory at the back is just part of it's continental charm. After all......... you never know when you will need the number to Harry's Bar.

Astier de Villatte is best known for their highly-collectible, remarkably delicate, handmade earthenware. Their 2011 collaboration with NY decoupage artist John Derian is breathing graphic life into their all-white collection and judging by new products that we saw at the trade-only showroom, it is the perfect pairing of talent. By price and nature, these are the type of delicate pieces that you carry home on the plane like precious cargo, on your lap, the whole way home. Maybe something smaller to fit into your luggage? The perfect hostess gift for the upcoming holiday season? Each Astier de Villatte candle is designed to evoke the scent of a particular place, all the way from Paris, Monte Carlo, to Delhi to Jerusalem. I would select Opéra just based on it's description........bonus points to you if you already know why a candle named after the Palais Garnier has honey as one of it's fragrance notes? If not, go here to read this fascinating fact. There are two boutique locations in Paris and and if you visit, you must ask to see the delicate cuff links, mother of pearl I think, with subtle monogram initials..............an exquisite gift for a woman who adores cuffing a beautiful shirt. Another sweet little french gift? Perfumed pencil erasers, the old-school kind...................now isn't that just fabulous? Candles, cufflinks, and perfumed erasers............the gifts I left behind at Astier de Villatte.

There is something so sweet and innocent about the toys in France that always gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling............the purchase of this enchanting keychain was inexplicable. Well not really, I think I was missing Daisy and this sweet face reminded me of her and I really do need a keychain, all the better if it makes me smile. More gift stash to come and some gift wrapping too.

Instagram photos by A Gift Wrapped Life