October: The Haunted Ménagerie !

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 Haunted Menagerie" market is where the City of Light meets the darkness.  It's the first of our 2016 "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 6 from 5:00pm-8:00pm for Nuit Blanche and help us kick off our "Haunted Menagerie" market!  Enjoy a complimentary glass of (blood-red) wine while we celebrate all things Paris, and all things Halloweenish . . .

October "The Spooky French Chateau" Market Hours:

Thursday, Oct. 6:            5pm-8pm (Nuit Blanche!)

Friday, Oct. 7:                  10am-5pm

Saturday, Oct. 8:            10am-5pm

Sunday, Oct. 9:                Noon-5pm

a bientot,

Anastasia

Next: "Les Trois Fêtes" of 2016!

Now that summer is winding down and our recent markets are behind us, we are excited to tell you what's next for Confectionique!  Starting in October, we are delighted to present "Les Trois Fêtes" (the three festivals) of Confectionique for 2016!

October:  The Haunting, la première fête, is our annual Halloween market from Oct. 6th-9th -- this year's theme is "The Haunted Menagerie!"  Something wicked is arriving from France!

November 3 - 6:  The Feasting, la deuxième fête, will be our annual celebration of holiday gathering, this year with the theme "Home for the Holidays."





November 17-20:   The Giving, la troisième fête, is our annual celebration of holiday gifting --  Bringing holiday joy to those you love!

That's it!  This year, we plan to wrap up our scheduled markets before Thanksgiving, so plan on shopping early for the holidays.  We can't wait to see you!

In conjunction with each of these three year-end festivals, we'll be having special events and treats for you -- stay tuned for more information!  We hope you will plan to join us for these three very festive markets!

October "Haunted Menagerie" Market Hours:


Thursday, Oct. 6:            5pm-8pm (Nuit Blanche!)

Friday, Oct. 7:                  10am-5pm

Saturday, Oct. 8:            10am-5pm

Sunday, Oct. 9:                Noon-5pm

a bientot,

Anastasia

Mini-Marché 50% Sale Aug. 4th-5th !

Bonjour, friends!  Ah, the long days of summer:  The lightning bugs, knee-high corn stalks, and Confectionique's secret plans to lure you back one more time this summer.

We hope you are available to visit during our special two-day sale on Thursday August 4th from 5pm-8pm (for a little Nuit Blanche celebration) or Friday August 5th from 10am-5pm. Here are the top five reasons we are opening our doors one more time before autumn:

5.  We have received many requests asking if we would open again before the holidays.

4. We are off to France in September, and you know what the means: More authentic French inventory. We need to make room!

3. We can't seem to find our hammer. Perhaps if we sell more merchandise we will find it!

2. It's just in our nature to be a little unpredictable . . .

1. We sincerely miss seeing all of you!

So, if we have a sale, we like to have a serious sale!  Our August Mini-Marché sale will feature 50% off all furniture (excluding buffets and hutches -- sorry!), 50% off all lamps and 50% off wall art too. Plus, we will have a "Suite Sale" room with a variety of goodies at 50% off also. Here is your opportunity to find summer gift goodies. RSVP here, s'il vous plait, so we know how many libations to plan for.  This will be your last opportunity to shop Confectionique before our October market!

August's Special Mini-Marché Sale Hours:
Thurs., Aug. 4:      5pm-8pm (Nuit Blanche!)

Friday, Aug. 5:      10am-5pm

A bientot,

Anastasia 

June 10-12: "The Paris Apartment" !

There is nothing that helps me soak in the French experience more than having our own apartment in Paris.  If only for one short week or for a long stay, having a place to "nest" and call home helps me feel as if I really am living life as a Parisian.

Just like Americans, Parisians (and the French in general) have a wide variety of tastes.  But something binds them together.  A love of the worldly, the cosmopolitan.  A flair for the eclectic.  A need for travel.  And a passion for practicality and efficiency embodied in style. 

We want to share our vision of the Paris apartments we have grown to love over the years -- please join us at Confectionique's "The Paris Apartment" Market June 10-12th, part "deux" of our two-week Summer Market Fete that starts the week before on June 2nd with our "Summer in Provence" market!

When you think of a Paris apartment you may imagine white furnishings, chandeliers and gold mirrors -- it can be these things, certainly, but a Paris apartment can also have a modern or minimalist look.  It is not unusual to find a centuries-old wardrobe next to an Eames chair, for example.  In the end, a Paris apartment is about using the elements of design in a compact space that is aesthetically beautiful, well-designed and functional.

Parisians are experts at making little spaces seem big. They do this with multi-use furniture, getting by only with what they need (most Parisians would consider art and decorative pieces a need ) and bringing this all together in a cohesive and useful manner which showcases one's individuality and -- above all -- remains stylish. After nesting in a smaller space while living in Paris, it does make me wonder if I really need so much stuff at home.

Since summer can be the time of year to begin thinking about moving into your first college apartment, fixing up the bedroom your college-bound child just vacated, or planning for the upcoming holidays, our Paris Apartment market is the perfect decorating market for you.

Our goal at the Paris Apartment market will be to have stylish yet functional furnishings, linens and decorative pieces that really give your space a sense of individuality.

We hope you will join us at the Paris Apartment market where you will feel inspired to live in style!

"The Paris Apartment" Market Hours:

(No Thursday hours on June 9th)

Friday, June 10:      10am-5pm

Saturday, June 11: 10am-5pm
Sunday June 12:     Noon-5pm

A bientot,

Anastasia 

June 2 - 5: "Summer in Provence" !

Sea, sand and sun.  For our next 4-day market June 2nd-5th, help us welcome the arrival of warmth and "soleil" as we celebrate a vintage French summer!

School is almost out.  Flag Day.  Father's Day.  The 4th of July.  Patio cookouts.  Vacations.  Picnics.  The great outdoors.  Even Bastille Day.

At long last:  Summer!

Join us for Nuit Blanche on Thursday June 2nd from 5pm-8pm and share a complimentary glass of wine with us while we kick off our long-awaited summer with our "Summer in Provence" market.

The market continues Friday June 3rd from 10am-5pm, Saturday June 4th from 10am-5pm and concludes on Sunday June 5th from Noon-5pm.  We'll have just returned from our May buying trip to Provence and Paris, so we'll have lots of new treasures to delight you!

And don't forget -- "Summer in Provence" is only the first part of our two-week Summer Market Fete.  As soon as we close on the 5th, we'll be restocking the shop with new merchandise -- including more from our May buying trip to France -- for an entirely new theme and new market the following weekend -- our "Paris Apartment" home-themed market is Friday June 10 through Sunday June 12!  Give your home a touch of Paris!

Join us for a complimentary glass of wine on Thursday, June 2nd from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm as we kick off the "Summer in Provence" market with our traditional Nuit Blanche celebration!

Part One:  Our "Summer in Provence" Market Hours:

Thurs., June 2:      5pm-8pm (Nuit Blanche!)

Friday, June 3:      10am-5pm

Saturday, June 4: 10am-5pm
Sunday June 5:      Noon-5pm

Part Two:  Our "Paris Apartment" Market Hours:

(No Thursday hours on June 9th)

Friday, June 10:      10am-5pm

Saturday, June 11: 10am-5pm
Sunday June 12:     Noon-5pm

A bientot,

Anastasia 

Travel has it's downs . . . and Ascensions

Adam and I rushed back to the apartment time and time again with new finds from the Arles markets with our bags overflowing with treasures: metal baskets, linens, enamelware, old signs,  a couple of working old alarm clocks, and very old religious regalia...and on and on.

We could't believe our luck in finding the perfect boxes from in front of the Poste as well. They were sturdy and the a great size for mailing. We had tape, bubble wrap, a scale and now we had all the brocante....what could go wrong?

The next morning we carefully wrapped and packed both boxes, and everything fit. Oh glee! Well, if all was so perfect, we would mail them today and be on our way to Avignon a day early. We notified both landlords of our plans. How perfect. We were well on our way to smooth sailing with our first shipment. If you knew how many years of little failures we experienced over the years with the French post office with the process of packing and mailing boxes, you would understand our need to pat each other on the back.

The landlady comes by to check us out of the apartment, "Oh, you have two big boxes to mail home I see." We exchanged pleasantries, talked about the importance of today's holiday, "The Ascension" and all the festivities that will go along with this in Arles. We said our au reviors to the landlady, who gave us instructions on how to depart.

You know that scene from Home Alone where the parents get out of bed and scream "we are going to miss our plane!" We looked at each other, "A holiday in France, the Poste will be closed!" We ran out to the Poste and found it was indeed closed...on a Thursday and the French love long holidays. AAARRRGH! We did get it from two good sources; a random kind French woman standing outside the Poste and our landlady that we have a small window of opportunity to get to the Poste on Friday morning. Okay, time to adjust our plans. We ended up having to take the train to Avignon to check into our new apartment  AND stay in the one we were currently renting. Luckily my dear hubby decided to make an overlap plan "just in case" and in this case, it was the Ascension.

So, this is how travel goes, up and downs, especially when in foreign lands. You do your best to plan, read guidebooks, learn what you can about traditions. You begin to feel confident in your abilities to travel abroad until you are set back a bit on your heels and realize you have so much left to learn and may never know. Adam and I, for all our love of France and the French people and the French culture, will always be visitors.  France will always be a little bit "foreign". This can be a challenge, but it can be good too. It deepens our love of travel. This ignorant bliss encourages learning, problems solving, appreciation and increases the sense of accomplishment and adventure for us.  It deepens our love for France even more. So, were we finally able send off those boxes this morning?

a bientot, Anastasia and Adam

Come to Paris with Us This Year!

Hosts Adam and Anastasia

A new year is time for new adventures!  Over the years, as we have prepared for our buying trips to Paris, we've been asked by many customers in a sweet, not-so-serious (but really a sort-of-serious) way... "Can you pack me in your suitcase?" We all laugh, but it also got us to thinking . . . and now you can plan on packing your own suitcase to tour the flea markets of Paris with us!

Carousel at the Eiffel Tower

In cooperation with Madison's Burkhalter Travel, we will be leading our first Paris Market Tour this year from September 13-21, 2016.  Confectionique's Paris Market Tour 2016 will offer you the opportunity to feel right at home shopping the Paris flea markets and touring the city.  You will have the opportunity to learn more about the world of the Paris flea markets by meeting friendly French dealers and having the guidance of Anastasia and Adam.  The daily morning itinerary includes venues such as the markets at Aligre, Port de Vanves and La-Motte Piquet, the Marche aux Fleurs, and the neighborhoods of Montmartre, the Marais and St. Germain.  

Flea Markets Galore!

Afternoons will be spent exploring, experiencing and partaking in the pleasures of Parisian life.  We will have time together and you will have the freedom to search for some adventure on your own!

While on the tour, you will stay at the charming, 4-star Le Littre Hotel in the center of Paris, between the mythical neighborhoods of Saint Germain des Pres and Montparnasse.  Very Parisian by nature, you will enjoy the peace and quiet, comfort, friendliness and service quality of this hotel, which has been run by the same family since 1942.  All rooms have air conditioning, complimentary Wifi, a flat-screen TV with international channels, an individual safety deposit box and a minibar.  

The Bar at Le Littre Hotel

A stone's throw from the Parisian antique dealers and art galleries, Le Littre Hotel offers a quiet, plush setting for your stay in Paris.


Ready to go?  Just email us at confectionique@confectionique.com and we'll send you Burkhalter's full brochure with information about price, tour inclusions and tentative itinerary!

Au revoir,

Anastasia