my stylish french girlfriends - Marie-Laure

Another talented and stylish girlfriend has been kind enough to endure my camera and questionnaire - where would I be without them?! 

Marie-Laure lives along our valley in a beautiful house with her husband and four gorgeous children.  The house is typical of the valley, shutters, stone walls, a barn.  Sweetly she apologised that being at the start of winter,  the garden didn't look more spectacular,  I thought it looked great!

 Besides caring for her family she also creates!  Marie-Laure is handy with a jig saw and a paintbrush and turns out beautiful items that sell like hot cakes on the net and in private sales around here!

I asked her a few questions ...

Thank you for inviting us into your home Marie Laure, a real family home.  I know you like to hunt for brocante like me, and you use brocante pieces in your house.  What are your favourite items?

 Thank you for inviting me over Sharon,  Yes, I love discovering things that have their own history, and just need a little attention to give them a second lease of life.   I think my two favourite pieces are the 'meuble de metier' (the large chest of tradesman drawers), and the Hermes silk scarf that I framed.

 Your workshop is at home, where does your inspiration come from for the pieces you create?  And where do you sell your goods?

At the moment I am inspired by natural elements, birds, deer.  They are motifs I use a lot.  I also specialise in portrait silhouettes which are very popular.

I sell on the net at Decoclico, the shop 123 famille in Paris and Versailles and soon I hope to sell via my new blog.

How do you manage to find the right balance between work, family your home and your children?

It takes a lot of self discipline, and it's not always easy, especially at this time of year when I am making things for Christmas.   I generally work while the children are at school but sometimes I have to creep into my studio over the weekend too.

With four children you must do a lot of cooking!  Do you enjoy cooking typically French food?

Ooh la!  They eat so much, especially the boys who are growing fast!   I cook more at the weekend, and a blanquette de veau is a family favourite, but we also eat a lot of italian food, risottos and pasta.  I love sitting down together for family meals.

We are lucky to have a good selection of local food shops, even locally made macarons!

You live in the country in a tiny village, but you dress very stylishly.  Where do you like to shop for clothes?  

Thank you!  Actually I wear jeans and a jumper a lot of the time, but to go out I'll always make an effort.  I hardly ever wear all black, I love to use bright colours, in particular burnt orange.  It's easy to shop in Paris from here, but I also like Rouen, it's such a pretty city.

Thank you Marie-Laure for letting us be so indiscreet and good luck with your business!

I hope you are enjoying my series, I aim to bring you one more before Christmas,
I'm just waiting for her to put up her tree!!

Thank you for reading, à demain!

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my stylish french girlfriends - Emilie

How much fun must it be to arrange beautiful weddings in exceptional surroundings?!  - definitely a job I'd be happy to get my head around ... and that is what Emilie does, read on and you'll know more ....

Although originally from Normandy, Emilie lives and works in Paris.  She gained her know-how working for the LVMH group of luxury products, then a few years back decided to launch her own events and weddings company, L&M Event along with her  friend Lucie.  

Eager to discover more about her  life as a bright young entrepreneur in Paris, I asked her a few questions while  I followed her around Paris as she prepared an upcoming wedding:

Hi Emilie,  thank you for letting us join you for the day.   How easy is it to live and work in Paris?  We have the image of such an elegant city, do you have to be super chic every day?


Thank you for featuring me!  I adore living in Paris, it's a melting pot and you're right, there are a lot of very chic people around.  I try to dress in a feminine fashionable style, what the French like to call 'sport chic'.  I always dress carefully when I meet clients, but sometimes a pair of jeans with high heels and a smart jacket or top is more chic than a fancy dress.  My weakness is shoes, I have a cupboard full, in every colour.  I think that shoes really make an outfit.

What is a typical working day for you?
   

Ooh la!  No two days are the same!   I always start the day early, I run or exercise then have breakfast while going through my emails.   After that it varies a lot.  Sometimes I have days where I'm tied to the office, other days I'm meeting with clients, or checking in with my 'suppliers' the fleuriste, photographer, printer, caterers.  I'm lucky to have such a varied job.

Where do you like to shop in Paris?

Professionally I am faithful to my favourite florists, Fleurs Fruits Feuillages.    I love going to Ladurée for wedding favours, and often use their adorable restaurant for meetings with clients.  For my own personal shopping, I far prefer to use small shops than large stores.  That's the beauty of Paris, that you can still find the small outlets be it for food, for shoes or even for a hat!

I notice that you like to jump on a 'velib' to get around Paris, in high heels, is that usual here?

You'd be amazed how many women you see cycling around Paris in beautiful outfits, I love using these velib bikes, it makes it so easy to get around town, but only when it's not raining!

Your role of wedding planner at LM Event  is fairly new in France, do you think it's a very feminine job?

Yes I think you need a woman's touch when it comes to listening to a client and understanding what they want, deciding on the decor, the flowers.   But when it comes to the big day I feel like I'm running a marathon, it can be quite physically demanding - I love it!

I'm sure that in France, food plays a big part of a successful wedding.  What do you think is fashionable at the moment?  And what brings a French touch to a wedding?

I love to cook, and I love to eat well!  I help my clients decide on a menu and find the right caterer for their needs.  At the moment people prefer to spend longer with cocktails or champagne and 'amuse bouches', finger food, before sitting down to eat.  It allows for mingling, and it means that the guests don't need to be sitting down for so long.

 

I think that the Frenchness we can bring to a wedding is simple elegance. 

I know that you have already planned weddings for American clients, how easy is that at such a huge distance?

It actually works very well.  My American clients are used to the idea of a wedding planner, and although they are very demanding, they also are happy to trust and let go.  We communicate by email and skype, and they generally arrive shortly before the day of the ceremony.  Part of my family lives in America, so I'm very familiar with their culture and the level of service they expect.

Most of all, I love my job and I think when you enjoy what you do, that energy is communicated!

 

Thank you Emilie!

I hope you enjoyed this latest glimpse into the everyday life of a femme française, soon to come  ....  another local girl!

If you missed the first two in the series you can read about Christelle here

and all about Frédérique here

all wedding shots from the LM portfolio of events

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my stylish french girlfriends - Frédérique

Frédérique is what the French call a châtelaine, which is just a fancy way of saying that her home is a  château.  This one actually.  Le Château d'Emalleville, where she lives with her husband and children and horses and dogs.

Remember last week my criteria for this series about my french girlfriends?  totally gorgeous, great home, great job;  Well they all seem to work with Fred.  We are good friends,  we ride together, we invite each other over, our children are friends.  I have always admired her stunning looks, her distinct style and her meticulous nature.

When I asked her about taking part in my girlfriend series, she replied with her habitual generosity and candour that it should be fun!

She has full days keeping up with her husband and children,  her horses and dogs and of course the guests to the  château where she and her husband Arnaud run guest rooms and a conference centre.    Over coffee one afternoon, I sat her down and asked her a few questions.

First of all Fred, thank you for letting us into your beautiful home and accepting this interview.   I know that most of the time you go for a very natural look in the way you dress and look, but I've also seen you very glamorous.  Which side is the real Fred?

F:  That's easy, the real Fred is a pair of jeans, riding boots, and some red nail varnish to make me look a bit more chic!  Every morning I pull on jeans and a jumper or t-shirt because it's the most practical way for me to dress for my busy days here,  but by the evening I love to be able to dress up to go out for dinner.  Sometimes I may even overdress, but that doesn't matter, it amuses my friends and there's no point in having a wardrobe full of dresses if I never use them!

You live in  a beautiful château, you are probably living many people's dream, what are your favourite moments? 

F:  I love going off for  a run in the mornings, with the dogs (Chips and LOL), it has to be the best way to start a day.  After that I go around the paddocks feeding the ponies and checking that everyone had a good night, that is what makes me the happiest and is a real luxury.  But maybe my biggest luxury is having the time to do so many different things, and time to see my friends and I have to admit that I spend a lot of time on the phone too!

Why did you decide to start breeding ponies?

F:  Oh dear, if you say I breed ponies, it makes me sound very professional and I am still learning every day!  I love to be with horses, I try to ride most days, we have the space here so I started this project three years ago.  My daughter Charlotte, who is 15 also rides, and competes, so it is an interest we can share, even though I know that at her age she has other priorities too!

Would you like to live in town, in Paris for example or are you really a country girl at heart?

F:  Before coming to Normandy I lived in Paris for 38 years.  I was born there and grew up there, I love Paris, I'm sure it's  the most beautiful city in the world.  But I don't regret our change of lifestyle in 2004.  Living in the country allows me to live differently with different centres of interest, I think I've become a real country girl.

Anyway Paris is only an hour away, close enough to go out to dinner or to the theatre, or to go on a  shopping spree, but maybe with 8 pairs of jeans in my wardrobe I don't need to go shopping that often (that bit is to please my husband, Arnaud!)

I know that you are very meticulous, but this is a large château to look after, how do you manage to have everything so impeccable?

F:  It's true that I hate things to be untidy.  I try to be well organised in running the property, the guest rooms, organising and hosting the seminars, but I'm very lucky to have the help of our super nanny Paulette.  She has been 'looking after' us for the past 15 years and she works miracles!

I like the property to run like clockwork, I try to have everything done in a timely manner.  I love to have a list of things to do, and if I have ticked everything off by the end of the day, then I'm happy.

The French are famous for their great cuisine, do you love to cook?

F:  To cook?  What does that mean?!  No I don't like cooking and I'm not that good in the kitchen.  Our family meals are very simple, and quick to put together.  Luckily our Paulette is a great cook, and she often prepares meals for us.  We love to entertain here, but even more I love to be invited to friends' homes for dinner.  I'm lucky to have friends who cook really well, and I'm always ready to  finish off a dish.  I have a very sweet tooth, in fact I just love good food.

I have to ask you Fred, what's your secret for looking so young.  You are very slim and you have fantastic skin, do you spend a lot of time and money taking care of yourself?

F:  Thank you!  Maybe I'm just lucky!  I have no expensive creams or beauty routine.   I do a lot of sport, I'm outdoors for hours each day, I walk long distances all over the property, the only place I sit still is in my car!  Some of my friends find me hyper-active, but that's just the way I like to be, always rushing around doing things.  I hate having nothing to do.  So tough luck if people don't think I look ladylike enough for a 45 year old woman, I like it when I'm called Mademoiselle instead of Madame!

Voilà girls - another French girl with serious style and beauty, just getting on with the simple things in life, even if she lives in a not so simple setting!

I hope you enjoyed the second in my French girlfriends, let me know if you'd like to meet some more.....

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