Sanctuary

I’m a bit of a dreamer who sometimes finds it hard to see what’s close by. So, a few moments from yesterday intentionally captured on the camera. 

On the packing table

Scenes from my early-evening walk (August in the city has a special charm)

On a side note, apart from the pictured grand-old establishment Hagelstam second-hand bookshop (may it never disappear!), the two other businesses are newer on the scene and female-owned, and whenever I walk past (or go in) places like these, I feel very inspired by the unique vision and heart that’s gone into them. They radiate a kind of warmth into their surroundings. 

It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately while preparing for the next steps with my fine art print shop. How creativity and work can go hand in hand. How connections with fellow business owners, who have also put their soul into what they do, can be all about inspiring and lifting each other up. And how, when navigating with your heart wide open (and head screwed on), you can bring something meaningful into the world, no matter how small it may seem. Something of beauty to be shared, with kindness.

Came home with the prettiest garden roses from a flower stall, perhaps subconsciously influenced by the sea of roses in that park…

With love,

R

“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.” - Maud Hart Lovelace

I took a long time envisaging a newsletter for my shop Poésie Privée, until finally a thought landed – La Lettre Privée, a gentle monthly round-up of seasonal moods, recipes, studio notes and Friday favourites, usually in the form of some interior candy.  The very first edition goes out tomorrow, arriving in your inbox like an early-summer breeze. You can subscribe via the La Lettre Privée link over on poesieprivee.com

x

- Yohji Yamamoto

There’s just something about these slow in-between days that blend into each other, until you’re no longer sure what day of the week it is. A state of being rather than doing or consciously striving for anything. That’s when I find things start to bubble up – like an inner mood board, although with soft contours, more like invitations and possibilities. 

I’ve been going back to past inspirations – my favourite photography books, black-and-white images, portraits. In this age of AI, it’s the analogue sources of inspiration that beckon. Let’s see how much of those inspirations start to reveal and manifest themselves, perhaps spill into this space, too. Instead of some grand master plan for the New Year, a gentle call to “leave some room for the unimaginable” (Mary Oliver, who else...). 

A sense of cleansing, shedding and preparing for something new. 

It all ties in with an urge to create a blank space also for my love child Poésie Privée over on Instagram – a reimagined gallery. I’ve been giving the moulded walls a fresh lick of imaginary paint, scrubbing those herringbone floors and chilling the crémant for anyone wanting to step in (find it on Instagram: @poesieprivee ).

I wonder what's nudging you, as the year is closing and another beginning?

Wishing you moments of rest and replenishment, before a fresh page turns.

Avec amour,

Rebecca

P.S. Images 1,2 & 4 were taken for my book Parisienne at the dreamy Ullman's Villa – a place close to the sea  for plenty of replenishment, any time of the year.