December: The Sparkle Market !

Beautiful Christmas trees in front of Notre Dame, and inside the Galleries Lafayette . . . glittering white lights along the Champs-Élysées . . . perhaps snow on the Trocadero, in front of the Eiffel Tower  . . .  

The holidays in Paris . . . what could be more exciting . . . or have more sparkle?  

We can't take you to Paris this holiday season, but we can bring a little Parisian Sparkle to you!  Our "Sparkle Market" on December 12-15 will feature all that shimmers this holiday season, including tons of  lovely handmade and vintage holiday decorations, crafts and gifts, and -- as always -- our treasures that we shipped back following our own recent adventures in Paris! (You can see a sneak peek here.)

We'll kick off the market on Thursday, December 12 with our third 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 few other special surprises in store . . . but more about that soon!



The market continues Friday December 13, Saturday December 14 and Sunday December 15 (see hours below)!

We'll see you there!

December "Sparkle Market" Hours:                             

Thursday, December 12:              5pm-9pm 

Friday, December 13:                    11am-2pm

Saturday, December 14:              10am-4pm

Sunday, December 15:                  Noon-4pm

A bientot,

Anastasia and Adam

Fête de Bon Hiver Thursday Dec. 12!

Our Fete de Bon Hiver (Good Winter Festival) is an annual tradition at Confectionique.  It's always held on the Thursday start of our market weekend, during our usual Nuit Blanche. This year it will be held on Thursday December 12 from 5pm-9pm as we kick off our holiday *Sparkle* Market, which runs through Sunday Dec. 15!  (You can see a sneak peek here.)  The wonderful jazz pianist Steve Banik will again grace our party with the wonderful sounds of the holidays. And, as always, we will have complimentary beverages to warm you as you browse our Sparkle Market. 

We have added a few more fun new things to make our Fête even more festive this year! You will have the chance to meet all the other creative, behind-the-scenes women who help make Confectionique unique each and every month. Each of our vendors (including Anastasia) will have a free drawing for one of their lovely gifts. How will you know which of the lovely people milling about is a vendor at Confectionique? Well, by their Les moches pulls de Noel, naturally! Oui, even the French are even taking on this tradition of the Ugly Christmas Sweater, and so are we!  It sounds more classy in French, Non? Feel free to wear one yourself!

We hope you will plan to attend this delightful and fun evening to celebrate this most special time of year.  (you can RSVP here).  


December "Sparkle Market" Hours:

Thursday, December 12:    5pm-9pm
Friday, December 13:          11am-2pm
Saturday, December 14:     10am-4pm
Sunday, December 15:        Noon-4pm

Joyeux Noël,

Anastasia and Adam

Sparkling Holiday Paris, Dec. 12-15 !

We're calling our holiday market Dec. 12-15 the Sparkle Market, because there's no place on Earth that shimmers more than Paris at night . . . especially during the holiday season!

Just before sunset, Adam and I enter the Tuileries gardens and quickly grab three green metal chairs (two for us to sit on and one for our table), set up a small picnic and open a bottle of wine and wait patiently in front of the Musee de l'Orangerie. We know by now that we will get to witness a light show - like none other- at sunset.  


There's a lot that sparkles in Paris at sunset; the waves of the river Seine glistening from the lights of the surrounding buildings and the dinner bateaux that move slowly up and down this beloved waterway. The Notre Dame, the neighboring and bustling Ile Saint-Louis, and the busy Boulevard Saint-Germain with it's beloved shopping and dining district, but there's nothing like watching Paris sparkle than from our favorite spot. 

So, as the sun sets and with wine in hand, we watch the traffic continue to zip by with bicycles, taxis, cars and tour buses around and around the Place de la Concorde with many drivers and passengers unaware of the beauty that is about to happen. Then we wait for it, wait....wait....


Suddenly and slowly the beautiful green and gold-gilded lamp posts begin to flicker, first at the Place de le Concorde and then we gaze our eyes up the Champs where the light show moves up and along the most famous Boulevard to the Arc de Triomphe. Then, on the hour we look to our left. The grandest structure is all of Paris will begin her show. The Eiffel Tower will bubble and sparkle with a bright -- but not quite white -- light, more like a yellow-white hue. The lights appear to be popping rapidly off and on. Now, in every direction we can see Paris lit up and glowing! It's just so perfect: a perfect moment and a perfect evening.

We hope you will join us for some Paris shimmer at the Sparkle Market his holiday season (you can RSVP here and see a sneak peek here.)  

December "Sparkle Market" Hours:

Thursday, December 12:    5pm-9pm
Friday, December 13:          11am-2pm
Saturday, December 14:     10am-4pm
Sunday, December 15:        Noon-4pm

a bientot,

Anastasia and Adam

Kick it! Funky Snowman

This remains one of my favorite Calef Brown poems! With the snowy-cold weather approaching . . . you might as well embrace winter, act like Funky Snowman and kick it!




Funky Snowman loves to dance
You'd think he wouldn't have much                     chance
without two legs or even pants.
Does that stop Funky Snowman?
                   NO!!
Turn up the music with the disco                            beat.
When you're in the groove you don't                 need feet.
Crowds come out and fill the street.
Kick it. Funky Snowman!!
                                  - Calef Brown




If nothing else, dancing to the disco beat will help keep you warm!
a bientot, Anastasia

Introducing Confectionique on Etsy!

You probably wouldn't be surprised if I told you that Adam and I tend to be attracted to the opposite ends of the shopping spectrum, especially when it comes to shopping at a Paris flea market.  I gravitate toward the tables with all things girly:  fabrics, mercerie, ephemera with images of women in beautiful dresses and fancy hats and jewelry. Adam would invariably end up looking at binoculars, lighters and old letters and photos. It's not that we don't appreciate what we each love, it's just that our buying priorities are very different.


In March, Adam and I opened Brocanturee, our online Etsy shop. It has been quite successful and a lot of attention has been paid to the items that are more "guy-like." It's actually cool that there is a place for folks who tend to love items that fall on Adam's side of the spectrum.

After some refining and redefining Brocanturee over the course of these past several months,  Adam and I decided it would be fun for customers if we brought our Confectionique brand back to Etsy while maintaining Brocanturee.  The Yin and Yang will both be represented on Etsy -- two shopping experiences that compliment one another, not that are opposite of one another.

Brocanturee will continue to focus on the Paris flea market experience -- all things ephemeral, metal, Old World, lighters, binoculars, and the like will continue to find a home there, with an increasingly masculine feel over the next few months.

Our Confectionique Etsy shop, on the other hand, will be beautiful Paris-inspired creations and finds that focus on crafting, sewing, creating and pretty decor, all with a more feminine flair.


Take a visit to both sites and see for yourself!

Au revoir,

Anastasia and Adam

November: The art of getting cozy....

Parisians have the ability to create coziness in the most unusual places.

In Paris -- the grand, large city -- I find coziness in many places. A few examples are  Luxembourg Gardens, the Musée de l'Orangerie, a cafe along a busy street, or even an apartment that is no more than 500 square feet! Do I experience a sense of comfort because I am in a familiar place? Perhaps. Paris is comfortable, no doubt, because I know the city, but I think it is more than that. Parisians have a way of creating cozy niches no matter how large the space.


In Luxembourg Gardens, I am comforted by the well-groomed trees, the gardens, the water and the chairs. I can move the chairs to a quiet place in the garden and have it feel like it is my very own space for as long as I wish to be there. In the l'Orangerie, home of the awe inspiring massive canvases of Monet's Water Lilies, coziness holds you. Although stunning in artistic nature, Monet's canvases are equally stunning in their size. But when you sit in the Water Lily rooms, you feel held -- even hugged -- by these grand works of art. In a busy cafe, I can lose myself as well as all track of time. There are cozy spots to sit, the waiter visits very little, and I tend to slow down to enjoy every single bite, every single sip and every word of my companion.

As for Parisian apartments, I am amazed at the sheer creativity of the residents of Paris to create a cozy space with everything one needs in less than 500 square feet. It sometimes makes me wonder why I have all the stuff that I do at home.

I also know that coziness is individual. Some of you long for the coziness of a wood burning stove, a snowshoe hike after fresh snowfall, reading a good book next to a roaring fireplace, baking your grandmother's banana nut bread, the coming of autumn 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, "The Cozy Holiday Home."  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 space . . . no matter how large or how small.   Over the river and through the woods to a cozy holiday "maison"!

November "Cozy Holiday Home" Market Hours:

Thursday, Nov. 7:          5pm-8pm (Nuit Blanche!)

Friday, Nov. 8:                 11am-2pm

Saturday, Nov. 9:            10am-4pm

Sunday, Nov. 10:             Noon-4pm

Au revoir,

Anastasia 

October: The Haunted Paris Market !

Paris is haunted.

No doubt there are spooks in the air in certain Paris haunts.

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 "Haunted Paris" market is where the City of Light meets the darkness.

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 10 from 5:00pm-8:00pm for Nuit Blanche and help us kick off our "Haunted Paris" market! Enjoy a complimentary glass of wine while we celebrate all things Paris, and all things Halloweenish . . .

October "Haunted Paris" Market Hours:

Thursday, Oct. 10:            5pm-8pm (Nuit Blanche!)

Friday, Oct. 11:                 11am-2pm

Saturday, Oct. 12:            10am-4pm

Sunday, Oct. 13:                Noon-4pm

Au revoir,

Anastasia