Dear Readers and Subscribers,
My apologies for the Door of the Month photos not coming through on Monday and for not posting yesterday. My server Typepad was shut down for a few days due to technical problems and I couldn't access my blog. Subscribers please check your EPP email from Monday again, the photos should appear. If they don't, go to http://www.ipreferparis.net/2014/04/door-of-the-month-amsterdam.html
As I mentioned before I have met so many wonderful friends over the years who are blog readers.
Saundra Tobman, who lives in Montreal, is a good friend of a close friend of mine from New York and my friend introduced Saundra to Eye Prefer Paris a number of years ago. Saundra began to email me about things she read on my blog and we became email friends.
Saundra makes an annual trip to Paris and in 2011 she said she would love to meet and take me to lunch. We corresponded closely for months with long detailed emails, so when we met it was like meeting an old friend. Needless to say we hit it off like a house on fire and discovered we were passionate about many of the same things including food (Saundra is a fabulous and inventive cook), fashion (she always shows me the eclectic clothes she buys at the wholesale clothing places near Sentier), design, photography, art, and travel. Saundra is also an adventurer like I and we loved sharing our travel adventures, plus we both love doing fun and quirky things. Now we have a yearly ritual where we have lunch at a trendy restaurant and catch up on a year's worth of news. Since we both love fashion, this year we went to see the Dries Van Noten exhibit at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs.
Saundra is a semi-retired librarian but also has a creative and entrepreneurial side. After selling antique Victorian and ready made jewelry for many years, three years ago she started designing jewelry inspired by her world travels. She collects materials from Afghanistan, Turkey, Paris, New York, and Los Angeles to make one of a kind necklaces, pendants, and bracelets. Sifting through the souks of Istanbul to pounding the pavements of Paris in the wholesale jewelry district, Saundra uses an eclectic mix of semi precious stones including agate, jasper, quartz, crystal, jade and mixes them with more raw materials such as fossilized nuts, grains, seeds and fish vertebrae for her creations. She calls her style Ethno chic/Fou funk.
I asked Saundra to bring samples of her jewelry to photograph and put on Eye Prefer Paris. Bracelets range in price from $35 to $60 (U.S.), necklaces from $50 to $250. Saundra does not have a website yet, but she will gladly email you photos of the jewelry and will take requests for customized pieces. Please email her at saundrat at gmail.com
Saundra has traveled extensively in Turkey and goes for ten days to two weeks every spring. She invited me to come with her next year so I am excited to join her.
Thank you Judy for introducing me to the fun and fabulous Saundra.
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte's professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.
Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday,Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.
Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.
I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.
Tours cost 210 euros for up to 3 people, and 70 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com
Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour
