Two of our designers, Amy and Leslie, just returned from Paris and Milan and they brought back details on what the current trends are in both cities.  Their first stop was in Paris and this is Part 2 of our series of posts.  Their favorite place to stay (and shop!) is on the boulevard Beaumarchais in the Haut-Marais arrondissement. They found a beautiful new store called Merci, a 16,000 square foot general store which opened in July.  It's a mixture of modern and traditional, of the new and second-hand, and, since it's in an old warehouse, the displays of home furnishings, apparel and accessories have the quality of apartment or loft living.

One display was made of hundreds of ceramic tea cups - tea lights!- hanging from the ceiling.

There's even a used book store and a cafe.  The best part of the store? 100% of profits go to a children's charity in Madagascar.

Now that's what I call shopping.  Merci BEAUCOUP!