Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/184590
THE HUNT Grand Objets for Pia Wurstenberg pottery Heather Wiese-Alexander, owner and mixologist of beloved home furnishings emporium Nest, tapped out a diary for PaperCity as she and dapper collaborator Donald Fowler sped through two jam-packed weeks at the London and Paris home decorative shows. Searching for the next luxe objects to line the shelves of Nest, the dashing design duo managed to make many a sidetrack to hot shops, boîtes and cafes, now entered in our iPhones. LONDON DAY ONE Three weeks of travel every four months cause one to master the art of the stay. We arrive at The Rockwell, a boutique hotel situated near Earls Court. The first order of business is brunch at Bibendum. Tomorrow, we will begin early at the London home-furnishings The Rockwell show Top Drawer and at a nearby debuting show titled Home. Donald and I have not seen each other for nearly two weeks, so we take the day to catch up and align our thoughts on the upcoming season's buy. DAY TWO Both shows are surprisingly small. Our focus at Nest is on smart, beautiful lifestyle objects. Our clients are well-educated and well-acquainted with luxury. So, the search is on. Within three hours, we are hooked on bright hobo shoulder bags and gorgeous bowls by Krasznai. Donald points out a sleek, beautiful laptop table by iwoodesign. I swoon. He knows me too well. We walk for another four hours and have just a small handful of items to show for it. Tomorrow merits a day in the shops of London for added inspiration. DAY THREE We start with a wake-up moment at Tina, We Salute You (yes, that is the name of the cafe) to talk shop and strategize. The need to include natural, light woods, unexpected mixed media and bright accents has materialized. We peruse the Dalston district and find ourselves in Eva Sonaike's store. She is a former German Elle editor of Nigerian decent, with a notion for returning goodwill to her native country. Her beautiful Tina, We Salute You pillows and throws will, no doubt, find their way home with us. Hours later, we meet with Pia Wurstenberg in her studio. She melds terracotta pottery together with glass and turned-wood accents — another amazing find we can't wait to bring to Nest. Cocktails? Yes, please. We wander over to Mark's, the little brother to the famous Hix near Picadilly. It's calm, yet buzzing. I sip a gin punch, and Donald nurses a John, John & Tom Collins — just one drink with a rather long name. We talk cobalt blue and the resurging relevance of punk. Our cocktail napkins fill with ideas of product development and color stories. DAY FOUR Back at the shows, we find sure trends: 1. Neon accents grounded in natural foundations. 2. Cobalt, azure, lapis … that blue. 3. Odd couples: metal and puffy-fabric lighting; resin and wicker basket-weave chairs; and, something we don't love, but that's still trending — the animal head atop some vintage-esque bust (it's really time for that one to disappear). 4. Birds. There are birds, birdcages, bird references everywhere. Lucky for us, we have the perfect Nest. Tonight, Donald meets up with Carl Blucher, buyer for the hip London furniture store Aria. I stay behind to fashion an invitation suite from my stationery line, Bell'Invito, for a VIP client — which is a great way for me to clear my head before we move onto process the day's finds. DAY FIVE I laugh as the Donald, whom I have never seen in any form but perfect, looks up from the dimly lit breakfast booth, looking uncharacteristically disheveled. This might be the first time that he has not stood up to give me a proper greeting. I decide we should have some coffee, a gallon of water and venture into fresh air. I have to admit, I might be a little jealous of the previous evening's lampooning at The Owl & Pussycat pub. We make a day of taking in Selfridges, Liberty and Fortnum & Mason, and discover Willer, a tiny well-edited store we love and will definitely revisit. We decide our afternoon could use a non-work diversion — a Jack the Ripper walking tour is in order. DAYS SIX AND SEVEN Our next show begins in Paris in two days. Today and tomorrow will be filled with laptop work in cafes, outings, random brainstorming and strategizing dinners. Eventually we Eurostar it to Paris and embark on week two. PARIS DAY EIGHT My favorite Paris hotel is Mon Hôtel, as it's quiet, central, chic and affordable. My Le Cinq room has three small, beautiful balconies and a giant central loft-style bathtub. I consider staying longer and letting Donald take the New York leg. We work at the hotel and meet a friend for dinner at Le Cinq. I would stay out late, but my partner in crime insists we arrive at the hour-away show by 9 am — mornings are where we differ. DAY NINE Somewhat promptly, I arrive at breakfast at 8:10 am. I could live on the French breakfast of crusty bread, ham, cheese and butter. Donald slips me a present: an assortment of green teas from Fortnum & Mason. We take the two trains required to get us to the Maison & Objet show. We arrive on a packed car and push our way through the throng into the first of eight massive pavilions filled with lifestyle objects — think twice the size of Highland Park Village for each pavilion. We take a deep breath … here we go. We fall in love with Gae & Tana's cashmere throws with colorful yarn tassels, Christian Lacroix candles and modern, clear glass hookah pipes with 3-D white porcelain fish that look as if they are jumping out of the vessel. Gae and Tana cashmere throws By that afternoon, we are zombies. DAY TEN We have been called by Issey Miyake to their showroom to Eva Sonaike pillow view their new collection of bags. Donald described them to me, and while I love the idea, I am a bit skeptical of their fit in Nest. We enter a huge, gorgeous old door where we are greeted and shown up to the collection. Donald Fowler looking at Missoni wares The Miyake bags are magnificent — I immediately want the rose-gold tote, as the structured space-age aesthetic gives easily to the touch and yields an unexpected softness. I'll take a hobo in black, too. Next we are due at L'Eclaireur, Colette and Merci. Somehow, amidst the work, I ended up with a shopping bag full of Valentino. All our romping, shopping and dreaming work up an appetite, and we find ourselves at Angelina savoring its famous hot chocolate. DAYS ELEVEN AND TWELVE We take the next three days combing through every vendor at Maison & Objet to find the unique, unexpected, smart and interesting. We find great totes stitched with pop icons, beautiful wallets, more neon accents jumping from burlap and other neutral canvases. We break up the days with neighborhood pubs, new restaurants and friends — both old and new. Noteworthy excursions were Brasserie Julien (an Art Nouveau dining staple), Club Silencio David Lynch's hot new Club Silencio, an Anglo neighborhood pub called Stolly's Stone-Bar and, of course, a stop-in for caviar at the Four Seasons Hotel George V. Donald Fowler, Heather Wiese-Alexander THE SHOPPING DUO'S HAUNTS: LONDON Aria, ariashop.co.uk Bibendum, bibendum.co.uk Eva Sonaike, evasonaike.com Fortnum & Mason, fortnumandmason.com Home, home-london.net Liberty, liberty.co.uk Mark's, marksbar.co.uk The Owl & Pussycat, owlandpussycatshoreditch.com The Rockwell, therockwell.com Selfridge's, selfridges.com Tina, We Salute You, tinawesaluteyou.com Top Drawer, topdrawer.co.uk Willer, willer.co.uk PARIS Angelina, angelina-paris.fr Brasserie Julien, julienparis.com Club Silencio, silencio-club.com Collette, colette.fr Issey Miyake, isseymiyake.com Le Cinq at the Four Seasons Hotel George V, fourseasons.com/paris/dining L'Eclaireur, leclaireur.com Merci, merci-merci.com Mon Hôtel, monhotel.fr Stolly's Stone-Bar, cheapblonde.com