madame love loves: Neëst

Hello everyone, Neëst is definitely one of my favourite online shops and it also happens to be a French one. The selection of items is so gorgeous - it symbolises my dream of a pure and de-cluttered home, where you would love each single object because it is functional, simple and, well - beautiful. Sandrine Pigeon, the owner says that she is inspired by the "natural style of life". It is a mix of everything I love: Japanese design and a strong Scandinavian influence. You will find brands such as the Japanese fog linen or Futagami and designers like the brilliant Shanna Murray and her lovely wall stickers. It is very special for me to present this shop today on the blog because I have been a reader of Sandrine's blog for a long time, and she is one of the reasons why I started blogging. She is such a talented photographer of daily life and I am the biggest fan of her cat Pompon. I wish you a great day! Elodie

decoration idea: dry cushion bush

Hello everyone, I love decorating with grey tones and using transparency in my decorating projects. I also much prefer displaying beautiful, locally grown fresh cut flowers in my home. This is not always possible, especially is you live in the Northern part of Europe as I do. This winter I fell in love with a silver plant called cushion bush or silver nugget (its botanical name is leucophyta brownii). It's a robust winter plant, you can put in your garden. I decided to put it in a transparent marmelade jar and to let it dry as I did a few months ago with my heath plant. Do you like it? I wish you a great day today! Talk to you soon, Elodie

madame love loves: Caroline Gomez

Hello everyone, Today I would like talk about the very talented Caroline Gomez from Caroline Gomez - Slow & Natural Design.

Caroline is an Art Director and designer living in Bordeaux. She represents a certain French touch for me.  All her creations are made by craftsmen in France and produced in limited series. She is also the maker of one of my favorite magazines: SLØ magazine. (A magazine about Slow life that does not celebrate slowness or nostalgia but really a return to senses, pleasure and creativity - the texts in English and French).

I love her choice of soft colours, simple forms and natural wood. Caroline says about her work: "My creations are all about what is singular in the object, about the experience of living the evident."

What do you think? Do you like it too? I wish you a great Monday! Elodie

You can buy Caroline Gomez products on her online shop. If you live in Germany, you can order SLØ magazine here.

Muscari Love

Hello everyone, just a little flower update for you today. My muscari is now blooming in my little Ikea BRÅKIG bowl and that makes me very happy! What makes you happy today? Floral regards, Elodie

#2flowergirls come back in February

Hello flower girls and boys, as announced previously, the #2flowergirls with madame love and glomerylane will be back in February! The flower to style for this month will be the Anemone. If you want to participate for the first time, here is how it works. Inga and myself will be posting our flowers on 26.02., so you have a little time to find your anemones, style and shoot them! Floral kisses, your 2 flower girls Inga and Elodie

Chess flower in a glass

Hello everyone,

I am back from a very nice week end with my family in France with a little sick baby. I hope she will be feeling better soon as it breaks my hearth to hear her coughing. Today, I just wanted to share a little decoration idea with you. I planted a couple of Fritillaria bulbs, also called "Chess flowers", because of their pattern or "Snake's head". You can find them on the market or at your flower shop for a couple of Euros in a plastic pot. Depending on the number of bulbs, find a glass that can fit them. I love to be able to see the white roots of the plant through the glass. After a couple, it will bloom and stay beautiful for a couple of days. After that, you can replant the bulbs in your garden or on your balcony. It makes a fabulous table top display in your living room and looks also great a the centre of the table for a nice dinner with friends. Hope you will find it inspiring for a nice February flower decoration. Talk to you soon, Elodie

madame love loves: happy home

hello everyone! I want to share with you today one of my favourite French online shops called happy home. The products they sell are so well chosen and always beautifully styled, which is for me the secret of a successful online shop. A lot of shops nowadays sell similar products, but if you see them in a nice environment, and if the concept of the shop is coherent, you will want to come back to this shop. What is true for an high street shop is also true for a virtual one. They source some French designers such as the lovely Caroline Briel and her beautiful postcard or the stationary and pens from the Korean label Livework. You can also find the beautiful Baker Twine from the German label Garn & Mehr. The good news is that they ship worldwide!

PS: If you like the aesthetic and the products of Happy Home, you might also like the French magazine toc toc toc! that you of course can buy on the happy home online shop.

Talk to you soon! Elodie

#flowersonmyway - A new Instagram photo challenge

Hello everyone,Those following my on Instagram already know that I love posting flowers on my stream:

• flowers growing in my neighbour's garden
• flowers growing on the street
• flowers from the market
• flowers in the park
• flowers in my parent's garden
• flowers displayed in front of my favourite flower shop...

I thought maybe you would like to play a bit with me, open your eyes

• on your way to work
• while pushing your pram
• on your way to the baker
• on your holiday

and look for the best flowers on your way. So, if you want to play with me, just use the hashtag #flowersonmyway on Instagram or on Twitter. At the end of each month, I will publish my favourite photos on the blog. My first post will go live on 28 February.

So! Do you want to play with me and discover the best flowers in your city, in your local park or flower shop? I would love it!

Talk to you soon and see you on Instagram!

PS: I have got a little secret to share with you. #2flowergirls with glomerylane will be back in February. We are still discussing about the flower to style. So stay tuned!

Elodie

my interpretation of the Ikea BRÅKIG Collection

Hello everyone,On Monday, I made a little trip to Ikea with Ella and my friend Clara. I needed to buy some standard stuff, you always buy when you go Ikea, but I was also curious to see the new BRÅKIG Collection in the flesh, developed in collaboration with ArtRebels. I had seen the collection so often on blogs and on Instagram already, that I thought I might get a bit fed with it. Nevertheless, I love the traditional Japanese print that Ikea has used for the collection and the colours are really pretty. I ended up buying two bowls and a big tray. Here are a couple of pictures of how I am using the bowls.

After a visit to the market yesterday morning, I planted some Muscari in one of the bowls. I will post some pictures when the blooms are starting to show.

Here are a couple of tips if you want to do the same at home:

TIP n°1: If you plant that kind of bulbs in a bowl like that, without a hole underneath, you should not water it too much, otherwise the plants wont last very long. TIP n°2: If you have a balcony or a garden, you can replant the bulbs outside in the spring. TIP n°3: You can fit about 10 small bulbs and 3 to 5 big ones in a BRÅKIG bowl. You could for instance try with some hyacinths or daffodils.

So what about you? Do you like the BRÅKIG Collection? Have you bought something, or are you planning to buy something from it? and what will you use it for?

I wish you a great day! Elodie

A set of two bowls cost 8.99 € and the big tray (Ø 56 cm) 9.99 € In Germany.

madame love loves: Lyndie Dourthe and her paper flowers

Hello everyone,
I have been a fan for a long time of French artist Lyndie Dourthe's work and her fabric flowers. She creates lovely flower jewelry to be worn or displayed.
I am so delighted to introduce her work to you on the blog today. I am also very pleased, she answered a couple of questions. Dear Lyndie, thank you so much!

1.   Dear Lyndie, Tell us about your background, what did you study?

After my studies at the Ecole Duperré in Paris. I had several work placements in some very big, but also some very small, companies... only to realise that I really wanted to be my own boss!
A friend and I decided to start making paper objects and accessories. That is how we created costumes and decoration, as well as dressing shop windows and making jewellry.
My friend wanted to teach, but I continued the jewelry. Paper flowers are the first pieces of jewelry that I made and then I developed in addition my fabric print collections.

2.    Where does your passion for flowers come from ?

The decision to work with flowers and plants came about because I lived and still live in Paris and, like many people, don’t have a garden! I therefore recreated a sort of imaginary garden where I could invent all the varieties that came into my head. Not having a garden means that I grow a few plants in my studio that I look after attentively.
In addition, every time I travel I collect seeds that I find there and I grow them where I work every day.

3.    What inspires you?

Lots of things inspire me! It is above all my very regular visits to public gardens, greenhouses, botanical museums (and other types of museums!), etc...
I also try to see exhibitions regularly. Apart from that, inspiration is everywhere: in a film, in the street, in a discussion... and also on the internet, of course.
But normally I often go on a walk with my camera to take photos of things that I like and that give me ideas.

4.    Which blogs are you reading regularly? 

There are lots, but here is a collection:

• Saipua
• worlds end farm
• quince with sugar
• hermin van dijck
• mieke willems
• lorenzo papace
• trend tablet
• intelligent clashing
• studio attenzione
• artisaway
• smallets stories
• pinterest.com/drubi/pins/
• lnlachouette 

I wish you all a great day. Talk to you soon
Elodie

☛ Atelier: Chez Rouge Manufacture

15 ter, rue Sainte Marguerite 93500 Pantin -   FRANCE

http://lyndiedourthe.blogspot.fr/

http://lyndiedourtheworks.blogspot.fr/

All photos: © Lyndie Dourthe

Magnolia Multiflora in my living room

Good morning everyone, Do you like magnolias? I do and I always did.
When I was a little girl my parents had a beautiful magnolia tree in their garden, and I loved to climb on it. It was a MAGNOLIA GRANDIFLORA, with a few big flowers. In the summer, my mum would sometimes take one flower, and put in a small vase at the centre of a summer table. The big white flower looked fantastic and had a very delicate smell. Such a sweet childhood memory.
Now, I don't have a garden, but I am still fascinated by this tree and its flowers. I found this beautiful branch of MAGNOLIA MULTIFLORA in my local flower shop. It hadn't bloomed when I bought it, and it took about 2 weeks to start, but eventually, the first pink bloom started to show and was wonderful. When you buy a twig of magnolia and put it in the water, it can take 5 to 6 weeks to bloom, or not bloom at all. So I was very lucky!
This one was huge! more than a meter high. It would have looked fabulous in a loft, but it didn't really fitted in my flat, so I cut in smaller branches and made two smaller bouquets out of them, so that it would look nice in my space and put it on a wooden box filled with books.
What about you? Do you like magnolia? Which flowers or branches do you like to have in your home in January?
Speak to you soon,
Elodie

Loveliness from Japan - my little Daruma

Hello everyone, I think everyone needs a little motivation to achieve a certain goal, or realise a dream or make a wish come true. That's exactly what a DARUMA is for.  A DARUMA is a traditional handmade Japanese wishing doll. It is a centuries-old tradition from Japan.
Those who know me well know that I have a special relathionship with Japan (like many French people) and that like everything Japanese. I had three years of Japanese at school (which I completely forgot of course) but I am still a big fan of the Japanese culture and I spent my honeymoon in Japan in 2008.

That's how daruma dolls work:

1. Decide on a SPECIFIC GOAL you are DETERMINED to ACHIEVE or a SPECIAL DREAM, you want to COME TRUE.
2. A Daruma always comes with two blank eyes, so DRAW one of your Daruma's blank eyes to signify your COMMITMENT to achieving your GOAL.
3. Place your Daruma somewhere VISIBLE in your home.
4. Once you've achieved your goal or your dream has come true, draw in Daruma's other eye to say THANK YOU!

I brought the first one, on our honeymoon in Japan. It was a traditional red one. My wish was work related, and it worked. The second one I brought at the end of the pregnancy, and I chose a golden one. 

I love the meaning of the talisman, but I also find it very cute as a decoration item. Mine now lives on my bookshelves in my living room. It reminds me of my sweet dream, which was (now that it came true, I can tell it) : give birth to a happy and healthy baby.

WHAT ABOUT YOU, WHAT IS YOUR DARUMA DREAM OR GOAL?

You can for example find a DARUMA online here on the Saroshi online shop. I bought mine directly in the shop situated in the Gertigstrasse in Hamburg.

Talk to you soon,

Elodie

Lovely Quince Branches

Hello everyone, January is definitely not the best month for flowers. It is the end of the amaryllis season and the beginning of the tulips. You can also find some ranunculus and anemones, not the cheapest and not the most beautiful ones either. Branches, such as those lovely quince branches are a lovely alternative. They last quite a long time and look lovely when they bloom.
They come in different shades of pink and in white.
Here are a couple of pictures from the ones I have a the moment in my living room.
I wish you a great day.
Elodie

Meet PonPon Morgana

Hello everyone, Look at the beauty I found yesterday morning on the market: a PonPon Morgana Ranunculus Success XXL!
I love the very big flower from the Ranunculus Success XXL, the mix of  pink, white and green of the PonPon Morgana is just so elegant that it's a good idea to present one single flower in a stem vase to let its beauty shine through.
Don't forget to keep it simple and buy some flowers!
Elodie

My year 2013 in flowers

Good morning everyone, I hope you had a nice week end! I have been writing my New Year's Cards today. In France, you usually don't write cards before Christmas but in January, and you can write them until the end of the month. So I thought it's not too late to look back at 2013 and show you some of my favourite flowers from last year.
Speak to you soon
Elodie

1. MOODY BACKGROUNDS:
I love flowers on the dark background and would like to do more of that kind of pictures in 2014. You can see more photos here and here.

2. BLUE HUES:
apart from moody backgrounds, I seam to have liked blues and greens a lot this year.
You can see more photos in those blogposts - from top to bottom and from left to right.
table decoration for the Metropolitain//Favourite Flower//#2flowergirls //
cactus farm//blue variation//sweet peas//
#2flowergirls - Hortensia edition//dry petals//vase story

 3. LOVELY FLOWER SHOPS:
Those pictures belong to the series I made for my floral guide for sisterMAG. My second contribution for my favourite e-mag was a great experience. You can read the complete feature here.

 4. SHADES OF PINK AND RED:
another red thread through my blogpost last year was the use of reds and pinks.
from top to bottom and from left to right:
crepe de chine et macarons//in my neighbourhood//pink and red roses
//pink still life//#2flowergirls - garden roses edition//wild flowers from Spain//
#2flowergirls - peonies//dahlias for baby love//#2flowergirls mums edition

decorating with trophy animal heads

Hello everyone,
Let's talk about one of my favorite topics in decoration, decorating with animals. As I was putting together my moodboard for the nursery, it was clear I wanted a trophy for my daughter's bedroom. I picked this beautiful Unicorn, I love it and I was important for me to teach my daughter from the beginning to face reality!
She really loves it too and it's one of the first things she could actually see, as the newborns only see strong contrasts and the white unicorn head is hanging on the dark grey wall.
Here are a couple of the lovely animals I came across while doing some research.
I hope you will enjoy them.
What about you? Could you imagine decorating your home or even a baby nursery with one of those? Do you like them? Which one is your favourite?
Talk to you soon,
Elodie

1. Unicorn // 2. Bear // 3. Hippopotamus // 4. Hare // 5. Monkey
6. Badger //7. Rabbit // 8. Fox // 9. Polar Bear

First Mini-Bouquet of the year

Hello everyone, I hope you are having a good week so far. I was inspired by my blogpost from yesterday about the flower shop Saxifraga and its small bouquets. It's not the best season for flowers but you start finding anemones and ranunculus in the flower shops and I love them so much that I couldn't resist, so here is my first bouquet this year for you. And don't forget: Small is beautiful and you can do a lot with just a few flowers! Have a great day! Elodie

LOVEly Flower Shop: SAXIFRAGA

Hello everyone!Here is another flower shop I visited for my article in sisterMAG last year. This shop is all about mini-bouquets. If you read my blog, you know I like mini-bouquets. My lovely #2flowergirls Inga from glomerylane calls me the "mini-bouquet lover"!

Saxifraga in Hamburg, is one of my all time favourite flower shop. Forget everything you know about flower shops before you go there. The owner Carola Wineberger is a very creative lady and really manages to create atmospherical flower compositions.  The shop is situated in the very creative district called Karolinenviertel or Karoviertel and surrounded by many small shops with a lot of handmade fashion and decoration items.

She makes some very small bouquets and displays them in recycled jars or shot glasses – they really look like the ones I loved making when I was a child - and still make now. No vase is small enough for these little beauties. She sells them for a couple of Euros. I find it so refreshing to find that kind of bouquet in a flower shop. So far away from all those pre-formated bouquets you find everywhere with gerberas and a lot of green.

Have a great day and speak to you soon! Elodie

SAXIFRAGA Website Glashüttenstraße 100 20357 Hamburg Mo-Fr. 10:00 - 18:00 Sat.: 10:00 – 16:00

Herr Max

Hello everyone,
as promised yesterday, I am presenting you today the lovely Herr Max in Hamburg where the Räder presentation took place.
It is located in the Sternschanze district in Hamburg, in the same street as the great flower shop Grüne Flora. It has this rough flair I particularly like. If you are visiting Hamburg, I really recommend visiting this amazing place for a coffee, a piece of cake, or an ice-cream in the summer. Herr Max is open everyday from 10:00 to 21:00.

HERR MAX
Konditorei & Patisserie
Website
Schulterblatt 12
20357 Hamburg
Mon. to Sun. : 10:00 - 21:00

New vases collection by Räder

Hello everyone,
Last year in November I was invited to the press event of the German company Räder, for the presentation of their new home collection, with among others some new vases that I am very found of. I will be styling some flowers in those vases this spring, but now that the presentation has been shown to the public (It was shown today at the Nordstil Fair in Hamburg) I can show you some images of those pretty vases. I am so happy to see some more creative vases on the market this days. The mini vases collection is great and I am a big fan of the lady looking at the fishes. The size is really good for bigger branches and bouquets.
The presentation took place in one of my favourite cafés in Hamburg called Herr Max. A very stylish and nostalgic café with a lot of flair. I will show some pictures of Herr Max later this week.
I wish you a great week!
Talk to you soon,
Elodie