A Story I Carried Home From Paris x
Spring mornings in Paris, soaking up the inspiration (and the sun!)
Paris will surprise you in ways you didn’t ask for but you will be secretly (or not secretly) delighted by. Like stumbling into a public holiday without knowing it was happening. One minute it’s an ordinary Wednesday night near the Arc de Triomphe, the next minute you’re wondering why the streets have an undeniable enchanting energy about them, and your double glazed windows aren’t enough to keep the chatter out for your 8pm bedtime. That public-holiday-eve excitement.
Early the next morning: sunshine, quiet. The kind of quiet you only get on a sleepy public holiday. The kind that makes even the sturdiest of Parisian façades look like they needed a strong coffee to wake up, themselves. We hop on a bus, past the Arc, past the Eiffel Tower (just casually dropping icons left and right), trying not to look too touristy, aiming for Luxembourg Gardens and, more importantly, coffee, baguettes, and butter. We land in the 6th, which is suspiciously quiet. We find a café wedged between Gertrude Stein’s old digs and where the Fitzgeralds once wandered about. Casual neighbours. Perfect spot for people-watching.
And then.. It begins. A subtle buzz. More footsteps, more chatter, more fresh bakery goods being carried past us in the direction of the gardens. And then, as if the city had pressed play, the vendors appear. With baskets. With flowers. Specifically, lily of the valley. One euro a stem. Do I need it? No. Do I want it? Obviously. I’m weak when it comes to flowers, especially when they’re hand delivered to my table.
Turns out, it’s not just a flower, but a thing. On May 1st, Parisians give and receive lily of the valley for good luck and happiness. Labour Day, with an adorable floral twist. How could I possibly resist? Also, why don’t we do this in Australia?
The rest of the day feels like the love child of a French cliché and a Pinterest board. Baguette and butter (basic, but life-changing), draping ourselves over chairs in the gardens Hemingway used to - probably, in a huff - stroll through, on streets Woody Allen turned into a pretty cheesy rom-com.
My poor lily got squished, of course - you try carrying a dainty little flower around Paris!! And I also had to leave it behind when I left the country (customs aren’t super charmed by plant smuggling).
Months later, in my studio, I’m sketching a wedding invitation for a couple, both born in May. The lily popped back into my head. A floral symbol of good luck and happiness, a nod to the May babies (Of which, I am also one, by the way. Yeah Taurus!) I tucked it into one of their design concepts, not telling them straight away, just letting it unfurl during the brainstorms. They were delighted with the design concepts, and the stories I presented to them.
Paris, a flower, a public holiday you didn’t plan for, your soul mate born in the same month as you, it’s funny how these things end up woven into our little life stories.
Until next time,
Lys x
The design process for Louise & Charlie’s Lily of The Valley Invitations.