The Charming French

I wasn't sure what to call this post since I'm writing about two French companies with names that are too long for a proper blog post title. As I thought it over, the word charm just kept popping into mind along with quirky as I think lots of the French design that I see is very charming but also quite quirky, which is a very positive thing as I am quirky myself and tend to like things that are unusual way more than the typical stuff you can find in any store. It seems that French design, as least their more homespun stuff, is so delightfully charming that you often sit in your chair thinking, "How is it that that hasn't become a global trend yet?" because it's just so, well, cute and almost in a contagious way.

Since the French seem to be big on torn and shredded fabric, making things by hand and flea market finds, as am I, I thought I'd share two companies with you who have me really charmed today. The first is Desaccord which means disagreement in English and I'm thinking they came up with that name because their products are very untypical and even disagreeing with what is out on the market as they are anything but normal. They partnered up with Les Petits Bohemes, another French business that specialized in vintage furniture, to do some lovely photo shoots together mixing their products (mostly handmade knits and sewn things like animal heads) with Les Petitis Bohemes' vintage finds that range from antique carriages to old metal beds from France. I'm so glad that I visited the MILK website today and found both of these shops because seeing these products made me feel very energized!

I love the branch wrapped with fabric - I tried this for my shop window in Amsterdam before even seeing this but I couldn't figure out how to get the branches to Amsterdam so I decided not to do them. When I got home and saw this I was reminded that I have to try it again, perhaps just for a home installation above a window or my guest bed. I would spray paint my branches white though and wrap more fabric around them but the idea is along the same train of thought.

I love the marriage of hand craft with vintage finds along with that element of forward thinking, for instance a knitted cable cozy for a light cord, because then you have old, traditional and innovative design rolled into one product which is an amazing joining of things in my opinion. Aren't all of these products in this post just delightful? Oh, Oui, oui! If you see anything that you like, please also visit their big cartel shops below and support these small companies because I imagine the people behind them are just sooo creative and wanting to make more and more things so by supporting them, we can continue to see this creativity and to become inspired by it.

Desaccord - online shop Les Petitis Bohemes - online shop

(images: desaccord + les petits bohemes)