A Little Reminder of Ed Hardy Antiques...

If you've lived in San Francisco for a while, you remember Ed Hardy Antiques, just opposite the Galleria at the SFDC. His antiques store, housed in an Italianate palazzo, was gloriously opulent and beautifully staged in the stunning building that now houses Restoration Hardware's flagship store... ceilings at least 20 ft. high, stone walls and a gorgeous entryway garden. It was a refuge for resting the soul after a day of combing through the contemporary furnishings and fabrics at the design center. 

The design world and antiques lovers were bereft when Ed Hardy decided it was time to pull up stakes and call it quits... this was in 2009, remember, when the internet and the economy conspired to put many a successful bricks and mortar enterprise out of business.

I went to one of the days of his final auction, and left with this gorgeous bit of handmade Chinese work. I've just held onto it these last few years, not sure just what to do with it besides admire it greatly for its beautiful silken palette and exquisite beading and embroidery. 

Any idea just what this is? any ideas about how to display it? I've been told to remove the tattered "tails" and use as a jacket for myself, but can't quite see that! It is very fragile and was surely a ceremonial piece. I wish I had asked Ed more about it, but he was very, very busy a the time! Alors!

Bonne Weekend!

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Download brochure here

If you have any questions at all, 

I'd love to chat!

email kitatkitgolson.com 

or call me +1-650-302-6883
pacific time zone

I cannot wait to see your smiling face when you arrive

at your Provençal home and experience the joy

of the Chic Provence Design Tour!

bisous!

Kit

that's me, happily contemplating 
meeting YOU
in Provence in spring 2015!

The Holiday Weekend Alameda Flea Market Trek...

I got up very early for a Sunday morning, especially one after all the Fourth of July celebrating around here, and drove the 40 minutes across the San Francisco Bay to the Alameda Flea Market. So who needs the Paris fleas if you can just come here? I arrived very early, 6:15 am, and the skies were dark and brooding, the temperature hovering around 50 degrees and a lot of dealers still setting up their wares. Coffee in hand, I headed out to find my old friend Lauren, who was set up at spaces X-5 and X-6... for her colleagues at Patine. Later, I rounded up Therese Long from La Dolfina {her wonderful blog} and we had one wonderful time together!

look at Lauren's pillows, made from antique linens her colleagues find in Europe... 
are they not wonderful!

you can also buy yardage of gorgeous old European linens of every weave 
and suble color changes...

that's the always-chic Lauren showing customers a bowl... you can see how early in the morning it was... and those structures in the background are giant lifts for unloading giant cargo ships that come into the Oakland harbor...

Lauren, remember your good old friend before you sell this... I'll come running... LOVE this old French table and it would be perfect in my garden... should have grabbed it on the spot!

and the little green wooden folding chairs that used to
be seen all over France... I'll take four!

here is a good view of Lauren's French tubs... baby bathtubs on iron stands, a large adult sized zinc tub, a wonderful old rake and a great looking nice tall zinc wine bottle holder for all those empties!

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a few rows away (there are 800 separate vendors at this monthly flea market!!) I found the wonderful
green-ness of Elsie Green... {rumor has it she once did styling for Pottery Barn}...  what is it about
all that gorgeous blue green paint and jars that stops one in their tracks?

Elsie's chocolate jars from Paris, wire baskets from France, beautiful dahlias...

look at this wonderfully casually chic table setting... old tin cake molds
hold old glasses that hold a place setting of silverware.... rustic runner
on wooden table, more white dahlias in big chocolate jars, and look...
she clothespinned the napkins to each chair! could anything be
more charmingly summer-fresh?

and speaking of cool, what about these Paris park chairs, in varying shades of
mint and citrus greens.... love! someone snagged these eight...

from Elsie Green's charming website!

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of course, I had to stop over at Trinidad's to see what the
latest container from France contained....you know his
shop, Atelier de Compagne... check out the number
of followers on his FB page!

Trinidad's collections before the sun came up (top) and after it
is beginning to blaze down on us marketeers... don't you love that
bust? and those mirrors,  fabulous!

be sure to check Atelier de Campagne's website...

***

no visit to the Alameda Flea would be complete without checking out Big Daddy's
latest offerings... and his merchandising is so much fun.... love them or not, these
old green chemistry jars with red wax seals have tons of panache... and his
version of the painted-board-strips-turned-art is quite sophisticated, non?

you know me... if there is a sunburst mirror within twenty miles, I will find it and I will photograph it.... Big Daddy has a huge one in gilt wood mounted on old rustic grey boards, the ultimate in chic!

this wonderful huge old Coca-Cola sign will make quite a statement in a large, airy loft
in San Francisco somewhere....

this is from Big Daddy's website... love the old yellow olive oil jugs and all that white & gray...

***

had to drop in on this shabby chic set up.... love the ticking bags she is selling... and all the painted furniture.. greys, whites, creams.... and of course all the silver.... and yes, that lady is wrapped in a small blanket, it was very chilly in the morning before the fog burned off....

I  still go weak in the knees for silver... always have loved it .... 
it's the Southern Girl in me.... 
and her display is quite charming....

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Scouting the Chic Provence Design Tour

I love Provence so much; nothing is more fun to me than spending the week before the Chic Provence Design Tour scouting out all my locations, vendors and sights, meeting and greeting old friends and checking out new ones. I want everything to be perfect and to run smoothly for my guests from the minute they arrive until we return them a week later to the TGV in Avignon.

This then is how a typical day of pre-Tour scouting goes for me... come with me next time! 

hmm.... Madame is offering fresh eggs right from her farm... I'll take a half dozen!
 found these on my  morning walk along the banks of the River Sorgue

along with President butter, a fresh croissant
and blood oranges, these eggs made a
fabulous breakfast, giving me lots of energy
for a fully packed day of scouting in Provence!

of course, un petit pause for a fabulous cup of
coffee was in order as the morning went on...
here I am using my wonderful basket from
Andrea at The French Basketeer!  Thanks, Andrea!!

the summer linens in the Provençal markets always delight me...
and this spring I spied this chic little dress and scarf... paired with
a scarf and sandals, the perfect outfit for browsing the markets
in the South of France... and at 34 euro, a real bargain!

Steven and I headed to our favorite boulangerie... the one that makes everything on site, from scratch, using only the finest "bio" (organic) ingredients... we had to make sure everything was acceptable for our guests at the villa the following week... and yes, everything was!

even the baguettes as they rolled out of the ovens, their aroma just begging for un cafe au lait and a large smear of pure butter and jam!

OK, well fortified, it's off to scout les antiquaires... just to be sure nothing has changed drastically in the last year... we found so many gorgeous treasures we were sure our guests would be completely delighted! this small chandelier caught my eye and I could picture it in my guest room chez moi...

peeking into Madame's window, a row of fanciful dining chairs catches my eye, along
with that gorgeous chandelier and mirror...

these garden cloches will surely captivate my wonderful guests... wonder how many of
these will find their way back to the USA ?

a fancy candelabra called a girondole almost made its way into MY suitcase!
isn't it pretty?

the witty fish sculpture in company the otherwise seriously glamourous
objets is a hallmark of French design... don't take things too seriously!

I fell completely for this period oil painting of Louis XVI himself... pompous and
soft, he epitomized all the excesses that eventually got him into serious trouble... aka
the guillotine!  but I really loved this painting, and at 650 euros almost brought
it home to my French-history-loving husband Chris!

OK, back outside, and off to Gordes... just to be sure nothing has changed in this stunning
hilltop village since we were last there... and of course, it is just as gorgeous as always...we need
not have feared!

I always peek into the church in Gordes... this time preparations were underway
for a funeral mass for the oldest firefighter (pompier) in Gordes who had
passed away in his 80's... a procession wove through the village 

side view of the chateau at Gordes... actually that is a very excellent
organic grocer tucked under those eaves...

back to our villa to check things out... the olive
tree basking in the late afternoon sun...

...the outdoor mantel a study in still life....

the breakfast kitchen inviting us in for
un cafe under the wisteria arbor...

still the perfect spot for morning breakfast and lingering...

..and putting the final touches on the gifts for
each of my treasured guests when they arrive...
fine chocolates, pate de fois gras, candle,
lavender oil and a sweet bundle of lavender
to tuck under the pillow for a good night's sleep!