Quoi de neuf: Shopping in December
Making scents of history
NESTLED quietly at number 98 on picture postcard rue Grande, the Provence hilltop village of Saint-Paul de Vence’s main shopping street that is anything but ‘grande’ by today’s standards, a very old perfume business has new, fresh face in charge.
Maison Godet was founded in Paris 1901 by Julien-Joseph Godet, who opened his first boutique on Rue de Rivoli two years later. By 1920, La Maison Godet opened in Nice, with flowers from nearby Grasse used to make the scents.
Now nearly a century later, Julien-Joseph’s enthusiastic and passionate grandaughter Sonia Godet has relaunched the family business using all the old techniques. Her array of fragrances (€125 for 100ml) maintain the Grasse connection, the elegant bottles are hand-blown and all the packaging and labelling is hand-crafted in France. One unique innovation is the ‘dabbing’ mechanism in the bottle top, which allows you to put perfume “wherever you wish to be kissed”...
See the Instagram feed for enticing visuals!
parfumsgodet.com/en
Old style, new sounds
OLD transistor radios, many of which relayed epoch-defining news and music across France – from de Gaulle’s London broadcast (known as the June 18 speech) to the first Beatles record –
are languishing in dusty attics or hidden in brocantes.
But some can get a new lease of life thanks to Charlestine, the Parisian restorer that transforms vintage hardware into modern sound systems by cleaning them up and adding a 30-50W amp to power a 13-20cm wideband speaker. Bluetooth 4.0 allows you to connect your tablet, phone or computer, while a 3.5mm jack is included for greater compatibility and headphone use. You can
also send them your own radio for renovation. From around €850.
www.charlestine.fr
Open and shut case
SPUN out of the Magic Stock clothing outlet brand five years ago, TEKMi produces a wide range of travel bags and suitcases.
The company says that a TEKMi suitcase is not considered as a simple four-wheeled cube, but rather as a travel companion, whose design is the result of lots of research and know-how.
Features include the use of solid and light materials, diverse and colorful looks, and detailed work on padlocks, label holders, storage compartments and zipped pockets.
Pictured is the Gordon Rouge set of two cases (small and medium), priced €160.
www.tekmi.fr
Cooking with... candles
NOTHING says French winter nourishment, or keeps the chills at bay, quite like a seaming slab of melted raclette cheese, slathered luxuriantly over some hot new potatoes or a platter of Alpine charcuterie, with some tangy pickles alongside to cut through the richness.
And few things offer satisfaction quite like preparing your own raclette serving using an individual cooking pot. Made by Lyon homeware design firm Cookut, this one does away with a cumbersome, tabletop grill and an electric wire – the cheese is melted by candle heat.
The other advantage is that the Lumi is easily transportable – no need to set up the dining table if you prefer to fire up your candle burner in front of the TV after a long day on the slopes or Christmas shopping.
Each set includes two individual metal raclette pans and two wooden spatulas. Price €24.90.
www.cookut.com
