A New Year Begins at Confectionique!

Are you ready for 2019 at Confectionique?  We have a wonderful group of truly creative women who have brought treasures each market with excitement and enthusiasm since our doors first opened nine years ago. We have a wonderful landlord and friends at the airport, a glorious space to help make all our creative dreams come true, and we have all of you -- our loyal friends and customers.

Some of you we see each market, some every few markets and some only for specific markets. We have so enjoyed seeing the happy faces of our established customers and the new ones that continue to find us one way or another.

Some of you have traveled along with us to Paris and to Provence, and all of you have encouraged us every step of the way as we move in other creative directions. For all this, and so much more, we are so very grateful and simply couldn't imagine something else more fun than opening our doors to you at Confectionique!

But, to avoid dullness and complacency, we decided it was time to shake things up a bit for 2019 at Confectionique.  We are introducing a new market schedule -- we will be having our first Valentine's-themed market in a few years Feb. 7-10.  Our April market -- our "Springtime in Paris" market April 4-7 -- will combine both our annual Easter-themed market with our annual spring and garden market for one festive welcome for warmer weather!  (Special note:  our April market will be one week earlier than normal!)  In June we'll host our annual "Summer in Provence" vintage market, and August will be "The Paris Apartment" -- our annual home or maison market.  Then we'll be ready to cap off the year with  2019's Les Trois Fetes:  The Haunting (October), The Feasting (November) and The Giving (December)!

We hope to see you at our Valentine's-themed "L'Amour" market Feb. 7-10.  We certainly want you along for the ride in 2019!  If you still need our 2019 market card, email us at confectionique@confectionique.com -- all we need is your name and mailing address and we'll pop one in the mail for you!

Confectionique's February "L'Amour" market hours:

Thursday, February 7:    5pm-8pm
Friday, February 8:         10am-5pm
Saturday, February 9:     10am-5pm
Sunday, February 10:      Noon-5pm

Bonne Annee,

Anastasia 

February 7-10: The "L'Amour" Market!

"Il n'y a qu'un bonheur dans la vie, c'est d'aimer et d'être aimé." (There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.) -- Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin (aka George Sand).

These words are the perfect expression of love for this time of year. For the month of February, Confectionique is all about L'amour  . . . and all that we love.  Stop by to say bonjour and to find something for your Valentine, or for yourself.  Our February market -- our first Valentine's-themed market in several years --  kicks off with Nuit Blanche on Thursday, Feb. 7 from 5-8pm and continues through Sunday, Feb. 10th! 


Valentine's Day can be about more than our beloved:  we thought it would be fun to celebrate the love of our many desires, the beautiful and inspiring things in and of life, anything and everything that brings us joy.  


We can't wait to see you again when we open our doors for Nuit Blanche on Thursday Feb. 7 from 5-8pm.  Stop by to celebrate whatever you love in your life and help us start our tenth year of Confectionique. . . we'll celebrate with you!

Won't you join us?

Confectionique's February "L'Amour" market hours:


Thursday, February 7:    5pm-8pm
Friday, February 8:         10am-5pm
Saturday, February 9:     10am-5pm
Sunday, February 10:      Noon-5pm

a bientot,

Anastasia

Extra Merriment Hours Dec. 14-15 !

The secret is  out . . . yes it's true . . . we're re-opening the doors to our biggest holiday market of the year for two additional days, starting this Friday Dec. 14th from 10am-5pm and concluding this Saturday from 10am-5pm! As is our custom, we will have a special "Extra Merriment Hours" Last-Chance Holiday Market in case you couldn't visit us in earlier (or just want to come back for more holiday merriment).  Santa's plane is landing one more time at Confectionique this season, so stop by to find the perfect French-imported gifts for your loved ones and help us make room for more French merchandise in the New Year!


We still have lots of holiday stocking stuffers, gifts and handmade crafts for you and your loved ones, plus beautiful vintage treasures from the flea markets of Paris.  And if you haven't yet picked up your 2019 market card with our new schedule, you'll want to do that -- we're shaking things up a bit for the new year!

We hope to see you and share some holiday cheer with you.  If you plan to attend, please RSVP by joining our Facebook event here or emailing us at confectionique@confectionique.com .  Merci!

"Extra Merriment Hours" Holiday Market:

Friday Dec. 14:           10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Saturday  Dec. 15:      10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Joyeux Noel,

Anastasia

Dec. 6th-9th: The "Merry Miracles" Market!

This holiday season, we cannot take you to Paris, but we can bring a little Parisian Christmas to you.  Our "Merry Miracles" market on December 6th-9th is the last of our 2018 "Les Trois Fêtes" year-end holiday festivals -- The Giving!  Our focus will be on bringing holiday joy to those you love.   Our last holiday market of the year will feature all that shimmers this holiday season, including tons of  lovely handmade and vintage holiday gifts and crafts 
and -- as always -- lots of new treasures that we just shipped back from our beloved Paris and other favorite French locations.  This December, you can shop like a Parisian, and live like the French!

We'll kick off the market on Thursday, December 6th with our eighth annual Fete de Bon Hiver (Good Winter Fest), again featuring the wonderful live holiday jazz piano of Madison's Steve Banik in the lobby, as well as our traditional complimentary refreshments and holiday cheer!  We'll also have a drawing for door prizes, and -- since it is our Giving market -- a special gift for those who attend Thursday night, which we will announce shortly!

The market continues Friday December 7, Saturday December 8 and Sunday December 9 (see hours below).  

We hope to see you soon -- remember, you can always RSVP here!


"The Giving" Market December 6th-9th:

     
Thursday, December 6:            5pm-8pm 

Friday, December 7:                 10am-5pm

Saturday, December 8:            10am-5pm

Sunday, December 9:               Noon-5pm

A bientot,
Anastasia

Nov. 8-11: Home for the Holidays!

When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze, for the holidays, you can't beat home sweet home! -- "Home for the Holidays"

We love to travel to Paris in September, after the summer heat but before what Ernest Hemingway
called the bad weather that "would come in one day when the fall was over."  When we return home from Paris, the change of seasons is usually underway here also.  Autumn is now in full swing in Wisconsin, with orange and yellow leaves and crisp, cool days.  Our hearts and minds turn to the coming holiday season.  Some long for the coziness of a wood burning stove, others for a snowshoe hike after fresh snowfall, or reading a good book next to a roaring fireplace, baking your grandmother's banana nut bread, the coming of Thanksgiving and -- not long after that -- Old Man Winter. It is especially this time of year that we may long for comfort and coziness the most!

We hope to create a sense of warmth and bundle you up in joy at our next market Nov. 8th-11th, "Home for the Holidays," the second of our 2018 "Les Trois Fêtes" year-end holiday festivals -- The Feasting!  We'll have tons of home decorations for the holiday season, including Christmas, as well as treasures and lots of gift ideas from our most recent buying trip to Paris and Provence.  We want you to feel as though you can come and stay as long as you please, as if  you are being hugged by beauty and find happiness around every corner.  And maybe you will find a little something for your precious, cozy home.

No matter how far away you roam . . . there's no place like home for the holidays!

"Home for the Holidays" Market Hours:

Thursday, Nov. 8:          5pm-8pm (Nuit Blanche!)

Friday, Nov. 9:               10am-5pm

Saturday, Nov. 10:         10am-5pm

Sunday, Nov. 11:             Noon-5pm

a bientot,

Anastasia 

Oct. 11-14: "The Menacing Maison !"

France is haunted.

No doubt -- there are spirits in the air in France.

Don't believe me?  Then spend some time in the Paris Catacombs. This deep underground cave devoted to the bones of the dead is certain to make you believe in all things ghostly. How about Pere Lachaise cemetery? The cobblestone walkways between the ancient graves sometimes feel that they will cave under your feet. And what about some of the crypts that are no longer completely sealed? I dare you to peek inside one of them on a cold, crisp autumn night.

One of my favorite things to do when I visit Paris with my hubby Adam is to wander the narrow cobblestone streets of the oldest parts of the City of Light late at night and breathe in the history and romance of this ancient place.  Sometimes it's really quite creepy to look up at the dark, imposing shadows of the Concierge, where Marie Antoinette spent her last days imprisoned before meeting her sad fate . . . Even the river Seine has a certain eeriness about it when the wind is blowing and you can only hear the faint sounds of traffic above and the rippling water below.

Confectionique's October "The Menacing Maison" market is where the City of Light meets the darkness.  It's the first of our 2018 "Les Trois Fêtes" year-end holiday festivals at Confectionique!

What scares you? At Confectionique, we will do our best to creep you out just a little bit -- but with Paris style, naturally!

I hope you will join us on Thursday, October 11th from 5:00pm-8:00pm for Nuit Blanche and help us kick off our "Menacing Maison" market as we celebrate all things Paris, and all things Halloweenish.  (Or should we say "Hallo-oui-nish?)  Get ready for a spooky season filled with autumn delights!

October "The Midnight Chateau" Market Hours:

Thursday, Oct. 11:            5pm-8pm (Nuit Blanche!)

Friday, Oct. 12:                  10am-5pm

Saturday, Oct. 13:            10am-5pm

Sunday, Oct. 14:                Noon-5pm

a bientot,

Anastasia

Une fuite!

Bam! Bam! Bam! This was followed at about 6:00 a.m. by loud French mutterings on the other side of the door of my high-rise Paris apartment. I stumbled awake and fumbled for my robe. I didn't see anyone through the peephole, so I turned on my lights and started to make coffee. I opened my door to the hallway to see if I could assess the concern. Two people came running toward my door with arms waving in the air. "S'il vous plait, s'il vous plait," the French man said as he pointed to the inside of my apartment, gesturing that he wanted to enter. I am sure I look confused and concerned. I recognized the woman at his side as the apartment maintenance person, Madam Hernandez.  (I  learned her name later.) She said "Desole, une fuite," as she pointed to the inside of my apartment and then back out to the hallway along the floorboard.

My French is okay, but not good enough to understand "une fuite."

Moments later Flavia, my neighbor whom I had never met before, arrived at the door in her robe. She began calmly explaining that the cold water to my apartment must be turned off immediately and permanently due to a leak somewhere in the bathroom that was damaging the adjacent hallway.

The plumber quickly went to work finding the valve.  Meanwhile, Mrs. Hernandez was talking with Flavia, who was talking to me while I was on the phone to the landlord, who said I would need to find another apartment as this one is no longer "suitable." Oh, and I was already unpacked, had one box that needed to be mailed home, and Adam was arriving in a few hours from the United States.  I must have looked deflated.

Flavia turned to me and said, "No need to worry Anastasia, you can use my apartment for anything you need while I am work. I would let you stay with me, but my daughter is coming for the weekend. However, whatever we have is for you and your husband to use while you are here in Paris. I will get you my spare key."

No, we had never met before, and yes, she was willing to leave for work and let Adam and I use her apartment as we needed.

Adam and I found another apartment.  That is a whole other story of a wonderful bunch of French folks -- whom we had never met before -- who came to our aid.

So, our answer is no, the French are not more rude than Americans. The French can be more reserved and can be more formal in their interactions. These cultural differences are often misunderstood by Americans. The French are a generous, kind and helpful people. We are so thankful for the many French people like Flavia we have met who open both their homes and their hearts to us.