See & Do

I’m a sucker for a good “concept store,” although I’m getting a little tired of the term.  Can we come up with another name for them that sounds less – pretentious?  Regardless, all the aspects that make them distinct from “regular” stores are also what make them so fantastic.  You can find things you’ve never seen before, and perhaps products that are exclusively sold in that store.  As far as gift-buying goes, these types of stores are the place to go.

I stumbled across this gem, called Usagi, on a dreary, rainy day a few weeks ago; one of those annoyingly cold days that just doesn’t belong in July.  The minty green colour of the facade and image of a doll-faced girl with “bubbles” in her eyes immediately caught my eye.  I didn’t have time to go in until a week later, when it was much sunnier. When I did finally step through the door, I politely asked if I could take some photos of the place for my blog.  I was fully prepared for rejection, assuming for some reason that I wouldn’t have enough authority (?) to step in and photograph, but the man who helped me was more than welcoming.  Gideon was his name, a painter and musician hailing from New York (you can see his work here).  It’s always a pleasure to come across fellow Americans while out and about in Paris, and honestly, it’s not that hard of a thing to do – this is a very international city.

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