Artisan chocolatier
There are multiple locations of the much-loved chocolatier A la Mer de Famille around the city, but head to the 9th arrondissement for the original shop with its historic facade, tiled floor and wooden till. Founded in 1761 and family owned to this day, À la Mère de Famille is the oldest chocolate products in the capital, and recently acquired Shutterthe oldest patisserie in town. All chocolates, caramels and jellies are made in France and anything they don’t create in their own kitchens is made by small, independent artisans. Don’t miss the window shopping around the holidays.
35 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, lameredefamille.com
Fragrances and beauty
With its wooden apothecary display cases filled with retro-style bottles and classical music playing, walking into Officine Universelle Buly 1803 it’s like stepping into an elegant past. The historic beauty brand was given a second life in 2014. by Victoire de Taillac and Ramdane Touhami, drawing on its 19th-century roots. Known for its water-based, alcohol-free perfumes, Buly sources natural ingredients globally and transforms them into perfumes, creams, soaps and candles in France. The sophisticated packaging design integrates intricate designs with fine typography and emphasizes the personal service of bygone eras with a cashier calligrapher to handwrite the gift tags. There are multiple locations in Paris; expect a queue at the original store on Rue Bonaparte.
6 Rue Bonaparte (also at 45 Rue de Saintonge and 19 Rue Vieille du Temple), bully1803.com
Custom chinaware
Parisian sculptor Alix Depond-Reinis combines the past with modern functionality in its own collections of tableware, porcelain decorative lighting and jewellery. Her stores (called Alix D Reynis) look like stylish homes, perfectly showcasing porcelain with subtle patterns and neutral tones against a dark wood background. Prototypes are made in the Paris workshop (initially at the Rue Jacob location) and then cast in Limoges, a city with a long history of porcelain production. Products can be personalized with names and monograms.
22 Rue Jacob and 14 Rue Commines, alixdreynis.com
A toy store full of treasures
The historic Passage Jouffroy in the 9th arrondissement is home to one of the oldest toy shops in Paris, Pain d’Épiceswhich opened its doors in 1849. Packed with treasures over two floors, it feels like you’re wandering through a ramshackle old home with delights to be found at every turn, from puppets to puppet shows, rocking horses to music boxes. Most famous of all are the dollhouses and intricate miniature creations, with everything from small furniture to food (making workshops are also held here). The shop’s Made in Paris status celebrates their work locally, employing more than 90 local artisans.
29 Passage Jouffrois, paindepices.fr
Impeccable stationery
Papier Tigre is a French stationery brand that is not afraid of color. Their notebooks and planners are printed on recycled paper and made in France with creative covers ranging from ombre tones to notebooks destined for the Elysée Palace. There’s a huge collection of markers and pens along with accessories from pencils to rubber stamps to keep you organized. One step into this shop in the 3rd arrondissement and you’ll understand why it’s also popular in Japan (their second location is in Tokyo). Look for the giant blue pencil outside the flagship store in Paris at hout (top) Mare.
5 Rue des Filles du Calvaire, 75003 Paris, papiertigre.fr
Vintage science and books
Dayrol it feels like a private museum of days gone by. Enter through Le Prince Jardinier, a garden shop, and head upstairs to Deyrolle – the fantastic curio cabinet filled with stuffed animals (don’t worry, every animal has died of old age or disease), insect specimens and fossils – and a trip to time back to 1831 when it was founded. The store, in its current location since 1888, is truly one of a kind, although it had to be rebuilt after a fire in 2008. Science and education have always been a key focus at Deyrolle, so check out the beautiful books, children’s curiosity kits and retro-style science posters celebrating the natural world.
46 Rue du Bac, deyrolle.com
Pure Parisian artistry
Marine Montaguta few blocks from the famous Luxembourg Gardens, is the universe of French artist, illustrator and designer Marine Montagut, known for his watercolors of Paris, which have been adapted into a complete product line. His creations celebrate elements of his favorite Parisian neighborhoods and are brought to life on silk scarves, with cards, painted mugs and ceramics, notebooks, pillow cases, postcards, tarot decks and even matchboxes that resemble the storefront.
48 Rue Madame, marinmontagut.com
Heart of glass
Everything in La Soufflery at Odéon, it’s made from recycled glass – beer bottles, wine bottles, champagne bottles – and hand-blown, giving unique contours to one-of-a-kind pieces, from glasses to vases, many of which are formed in molds (the most iconic them pieces integration of faces). More recently, La Soufflerie has expanded into plaster, terracotta and candles. One of the missions of this family business – with husband and wife duo Sébastien and Valentina Nobile at the helm – is to keep the art of glassblowing alive in Paris, and all the pieces are made in the city.
7 Rue de l’Odéon, lasoufflerie.com
after the promotion of the newsletter
Amazing age
Fromagerie Quatrehomme still run by the same family that opened shop on Rue de Sèvres on the Left Bank in 1953. (now has multiple locations). In the year 2000 Marie Quatrehomme was the first woman to receive Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) status, a designation awarded only to those at the top of their craft. They offer an endless variety of specialty cheeses (more than 1,000 throughout the year), such as Camembert with Calvados and Saint-Félicien with black garlic. There’s also a collection of charcuterie, as well as wines, beers and treats to accompany the cheese.
62 Rue de Sèvres, quatrehomme.fr
Eternal curiosities
Nessie’s messy officenear Notre Dame, may be the newest addition to Left Bank shopping, but every little detail, from the hand-printed sign to the bookshelves inside, feels like it’s been there for decades. A mix of new and old curiosities, there’s a timeless quality to all stock brocante treasures to travel accessories and signed books from local authors (including Don’t Be a Tourist by creator Vanessa “Nessie” Grall series). Nessy also offers a concierge service to help you plan your trip to Paris, Europe and beyond, inspired by the insider information gathered for her popular blog Messy Nessy Chic.
19 Rue de Bièvre, shop.messynessychic.com
Where you can have it all
Just off the popular Rue Montorgueil market street near Les Halles, Z Detu is loved by chefs and bakers for its unique collection of ingredients, from large bags of chocolate to a wide range of nuts and a range of mustards. The goods are both local to France and from different parts of the world. The retro facade is a reminder that this is not your typical grocery store. The name is a play on words, where the pronunciation sounds like the equivalent of “I’ve got it all”, while bearing the name of the founder Gérard Detou in 1951. Today Benoît Bourloton is the owner (he is a vanilla expert). Until the 1970s, Les Halles was home to a large market, so you can also find other culinary shops nearby.
58 Rue Tiquetonne, on instagrin the morning
Art house
The bookstore-gallery Artazart since 2000 henceforth calls its Canal Saint-Martin location home. You can’t miss the bold orange facade, which is worth a closer look as artists often take over the shop windows. Inside, the walls are covered in works by contemporary illustrators, with prints for sale that won’t break the bank. While most of his books—specializing in graphic design, photography, street art, cookbooks, illustrated maps, and children’s books—are in French, the visual nature of everything in this store is an invitation to add to your own collection.
83 Quai de Valmy, artazart.com
This store will leave its mark on you
You will never come across another store like it Leh Tampograph Sardona shop full of rubber stamps from the mind of Vincent Sardon. Here’s the catch: it’s only open one day a week—Saturday—which allows the artist to enjoy his time with customers and spend the rest of the week making the prints in his rural studio. The designs of the stamps range from French profanity to bisous (kisses), skeletons, flowers, roofs, or two-color stamp sets. The best part of shopping is seeing what is stamped on your bag. While in the area, visit Père-Lachaise Cemetery, which has its own kind of magic.
4 Rue du Repos, 75020 Paris, https://tampographe.com
