My new chair is made of wood, like the floors in my apartment. I lovingly cleaned it up yesterday and my room is still fragrant with the warm, spicy smell of wax...I spent my childhood all over the world, in rentals where my family didn't own the furniture and where we may have to leave everything behind. We were living in Iran in 1979, in the midst of a violent revolution, when a phone call came, urging us to head for the airport with no luggage; so we fled this dear, beautiful country. Years later in Iraq, my parents kept a pouch with our passports and some cash at hand at all times because it was a possibility that again, we may have to depart at once, taking nothing with us.
These experiences, and obsessive readings about the occupation of Paris during WW2, when Parisians abandoned everything to the Germans, have made me very wary of "stuff"; always, at the back of my mind, is the notion one may lose everything, so I keep my possessions minimal.(Curious about the occupation of Paris in the 1940's? Irène Nimérovsky's extraordinary, if unfinished, novel Suite Française, whose manuscript was discovered decades after the author died in Auschwitz, is a must-read)
Still, I love having friends over and they need to sit somewhere, don't they?
Emily Dickinson
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25 comments:
very pretty. it seems to suit you and your natural elegance so well. also, i was looking for a new book, so i'll pick up suite francaise...xo
merci beaucoup Marie-Laure pour ton com et ton analyse
c'est des remarques comme les tiennes qui font avancer le débat et qui vont m'aider à créer un nouveau mouvement issu de la rue et que nous devons imposer aux marques.
merci infiniment.
Par mon blog, je vais tenir infiormé tous le monde.
je suis sûr qu'un jour nous collaborerons ensemble.
au plaisir de faire connaissance.
Kamel
street style romancer in Paris
A great post as usual! I'll be certain to take your reading suggestion.
Stuff... like people will come and go... but I love your chair. Iwould love to come and sit in it and maybe Benjy will come sit on my lap.
Joanna, thanks for your sweet words. It is really YOU who inspired me to blog and also to blog about furniture/design, so your compliments mean a lot to me!
Joanna and Ronda, I hope you do read "Suite Française". It's available in English or French and is a haunting and beautifully written masterpiece. I also cried when I read the preface, about Nimerovksy's life and her leaving for the concentration camp, without her two little daughters...
Bitterbetty, Benjy would love to sit on your lap anywhere, as long as you give him a nice belly rub!
Kamel, bonne chance pour lundi! J'irai sur ton blog pour savoir comment ca s'est passe...
hello Aurea,
what an amazing story life do you have...it must not have been easy for all your family, but i am happy you live in Paris now :)
it´s great to have nice furniture, i love it too!
i am adding you to mine favourite´s blogs, if you can, add me too :)
so, a kiss and a hug,
keep in touch,
Kira Aderne
hi mary-laure
great response to my comments (incidentally i didn't mean to post part 2 twice!)
having read my comments back and your response as well, i realise that i may try and defend myself too quickly when no defense is needed!?!
my own insecurities about my choices are my own demons. so apologies for making you feel the need to explain yourself, but i appreciate it non the less.
cheers!
It's lovely
it's the sort of thing that would look good in almost any room
AWESOME post mary-laure, loved every bit of it, thanks for sharing. px
Awwww, I LOOOOVE that chair! So sweet and simple--- just like you and your blog! :)
Lovely chair! But it doesn't look too comfy, I prefer plush couches with lots and lots of fluffy pillows.
Dear Bexy - not need to apologize. Your comments were welcome and interesting; I really appreciated it that you took the time to share your point of view and your personal experiences with us...
Now I know "What Makes You Tick"!
Dear Kira - it's true that things were not always easy but overall I'm immensely grateful for all the amazing and unique life experiences I had as a child, and all thos travels.
Dear Pia and Design For Mankind - you're making me blush...
nice chair
i know what you mean about wanting to live simply..
i dont like to have to many things, but a few beautiful things make everyday seem special
What a lovely post and chair. You really made me look at a simple object in a new light.
Here I was, looking at your profile thinking your blog was another fashion blog to check out, but as soon as I read this post I realised otherwise. This post in particular is amazing - you seem to have lived such an incredible life (forgive me if I'm being at all insensitive here), and it comes across in your blog.
An ordinary post about a new chair turned into a memoir-like recount of what seems to be a painful memory, but one that's important to hold on to. I love it.
You bring something different to the blogging world, and I can't wait to engross myself in your blog from now on. :)
Romany
xx
I can't belive what people get rid off! How much would someone else pay for this same chair in one of those "brocantes" (flea markets)?
Good job!
I love these peeks into your past. You writte about your life with such delicacy ans respect that I admire you for that.
Nice chair.
But then, you are right, if you run away you coul leave that behind, but no Benji! ;)
Laura - you inadvertently revealed where I got the chair from. Yeah, the garbage.
Etsi - thanks for your sweet compliments!
Romany - what you wrote means a lot to me. Sometimes I am reluctant to write about my childhood and my past, because it can sound very self-centered, which I don't want to be, but friends have encouraged me to write more about my experiences and I am very happy to see that readers such as you respond positively. Thank you so, so much!
Love your blog.
Thank you for sharing a piece of your childhood memories again, beautiful piece of writing by the way! The chair suits your place! You could have turn the opposite way and wanted to have as much as one could! Thanks for your lovely comment on my space!
Trés 1930, les ornements de la chaise.
Concernant la géniale Irène Nimérovsky, je te conseille la nouvelle le bal.
fascinating snippet of your childhood. i love the psychology of what you shared!
Nice chair, here it'd cost a fortune ... I do not know about Paris, after all, everything 's old tehre!
I can't begin to imagine a life where your roots aren't firmly grounded. We take the things around us for granted and never give consideration to the 'what if I had to leave in a moments notice'. I can imagine the immense sense of pride (without sounding 'arm chair') you must have felt after cleaning the chair.
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