My mother was born and raised in Prague. During the 1960’s she and her girlfriends would often accept invitations from foreigners to go out to restaurants that typical Czech’s couldn’t afford.

Just like Marie I and Marie II my mother and her friends would send their dates packing when the evening came to an end, and all that could be eaten and drunk was gone. Although those days were very difficult my mother seems to look back with nostalgia.

Unlike Marie I and Marie II I don’t think my mother and her friends decided to just be bad, they were rebellious and wanted to feel the freedom that they imagined people in the west had. Also they craved the luxury of an abundance of  food and fresh ingredients.

Growing up I can’t tell you how many times I was informed of how many hours my parents would wait in line for the opportunity to buy bananas only to get to the front of the line and find out there were none left.

The theme in this film is something I can relate to. Even though I haven’t struggled with living in a totalitarian state there are still freedoms and liberation from responsibility I wish I had.

Sometimes I want to just give in to being a little bit bad. Maybe a little food fight is all I need.

This image and these words remind me of my mother.

I love New Years because it can be a giant reset button if you want it to be. It’s like a milestone, a moment to reflect on the path you’ve just walked, and also the moment when you move forward again. It’s also a great excuse to put Hunter in a hat!

Lark About is my notebook, where I’ll store and share the things that inspire me and how I buy for Lark.

Happy New Year everyone!

Rocks Off – The Rolling Stones (1972)

Super 8 footage shot by Robert Frank in LA and NY, 1971.

-N.

My latest favourite discovery in Vancouver : Old Faithful Shop

Oh my goodness. They stock Fog Linen!!! I’ve got a serious obsession with this brand (a gorgeous line of linen products for home from Japan) and it wasn’t too easy for me to keep myself calm while I was looking around this shop today. The space is absolutely stunning and they have a fantastic collection of “items for daily life”, that are classic and well-made by unique manufacturers with history and craftsmanship. I also got really excited when I saw the industrial laundry baskets by Steele Canvas Basket (Remember these?). The shop owners; Walter and Savannah kindly showed me around and shared some stories with me. Such lovely people! If you’re in Vancouver, I highly recommend to visit their shop.

Read more about this shop HERE.

Love the whole concept in here.

This is a perfect shop for finding lovely gifts. It’s also a very dangerous place for me…

OLD FAITHFUL SHOP

320 W. Cordova Street, Vancouver B.C. V6B 1E8

Check out their blog.

-N.

]]> https://larkabout.wordpress.com/2010/06/06/destination-old-faithful-shop/feed/ 4 4960 lark about IMG_1960 IMG_1958 IMG_1954 IMG_1962 IMG_1964 IMG_1956 IMG_1970 IMG_1968 IMG_1966 IMG_1952 IMG_1972 IMG_1974 IMG_1976 IMG_1978 IMG_1980 IMG_1984 IMG_1982 IMG_1986 IMG_1991 IMG_1988 https://larkabout.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/destination-le-petit-atelier-de-paris/ https://larkabout.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/destination-le-petit-atelier-de-paris/#comments Wed, 26 May 2010 18:05:47 +0000 http://larkabout.me/?p=4912

Le Petit Atelier de Paris is a small workshop and boutique operated by two artists in the Marais. Their motto, “Du bonheur au quotidien” —”Happiness in the everyday”—is reflected in their charming, simple pottery and housewares.

(Images below via HERE.)

!!! I screamed when I found their blog. They have the cutest Shiba inu (dog)! Some of my close friends know how much I love Shiba dogs and they think I’m crazy, which I don’t deny. They’re the cutest dogs in the whole world (to me anyway).

Paris, French antiques, beautiful pottery/housewares, plus Shiba dogs….. So perfect!

Look how adorable this one is.

-N.

Serge Gainsbourg – All the things you are (1964)

-N.

Atelier Cézanne

-N.

Suzanne Lalique created porcelain designs for the Haviland Company in the late 1920’s.

Suzanne Lalique’s illustrations and fabric designs. (Images via here.)

Suzanne, the daughter of René Lalique, was born in 1892. She was raised within an arm’s length of her father’s creative activities and, although she never took formal art training, she grew up to design textiles, books, theatrical productions, and a painter. Not surprisingly she became a noted artist herself whose work was to span seven decades. Suzanne’s delight in art led her to study oil painting under the instruction of Eugene Morand. It was while on holiday (1916) with Monsieur Morand and his wife that Suzanne met her future husband Paul, a photographer and a head of the famous Limoges porcelain line that was founded in 1842 by his grandfather David Haviland. Paul was born in Paris, but graduated from Harvard and spent much of his early life in the United States.

The marriage of Suzanne Lalique to Paul Haviland (1917) was to change the course of history for the two companies; Lalique and Haviland, and the couple made an incredibly creative partnership with Suzanne able to flourish as a designer of porcelain, as well as of glass.

Lalique is known globally as one the leading companies in the crystal, jewellery and perfume world, renowned for its unique expertise in the manufacture of crystal. Founded by René Lalique in the early twentieth century, the company specialises in the creation and production of luxury pieces for the home as well as jewellery.

Haviland was created in 1842 at Limoges and has now been at the forefront of the porcelain world for over 150 years due to the exceptional quality of the porcelain and high levels of creativity in design. Prestigious artists such as Cocteau, Dali and Kandinsky have all created designs for the brand which has graced the homes of such historical icons as Abraham Lincoln, Jacques Chirac and Emperor Guillaume II of Germany. Today Haviland remains a pioneer in porcelain technique combining tradition with modernity and classic re-editions with the most stylish and contemporary creations. All pieces are of the highest quality and entirely hand made.

(The information via here and The Blue Lantern.)

-N.

]]> https://larkabout.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/drawings-of-suzanne-lalique/feed/ 3 4775 lark about M5051_0997_0121_0032-79920.JPG M5051_0997_0121_0057-79561.JPG M5051_0997_0121_0039-79543.JPG M5051_0997_0121_0033-79921.JPG M5051_0997_0121_0034-79922.JPG M5051_0997_0121_0028-79917.JPG M5051_0997_0121_0068-79587.JPG M5051_0997_0121_0084-79930.JPG M5051_0997_0121_0087-79933.JPG img-news-art-inconnu-5_123127569749 https://larkabout.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/happy-mothers-day/ https://larkabout.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/happy-mothers-day/#comments Sun, 09 May 2010 17:32:37 +0000 http://larkabout.me/?p=4764

(Above images via LIFE)

-N.

A stick, a stone, it’s the end of the road, it’s the rest of a stump, it’s a little alone

It’s a sliver of glass, it is life, it’s the sun, it is night, it is death, it’s a trap, it’s a gun

The oak when it blooms, a fox in the brush, a knot in the wood, the song of a thrush

The wood of the wind, a cliff, a fall, a scratch, a lump, it is nothing at all

It’s the wind blowing free, it’s the end of the slope,
It’s a beam, it’s a void, it’s a hunch, it’s a hope

And the river bank talks of the waters of March,
It’s the end of the strain, the joy in your heart

The foot, the ground, the flesh and the bone,
The beat of the road, a slingshot’s stone

A fish, a flash, a silvery glow, a fight, a bet, the range of a bow

The bed of the well, the end of the line,
The dismay in the face, it’s a loss, it’s a find

A spear, a spike, a point, a nail, a drip, a drop, the end of the tale

A truckload of bricks in the soft morning light,
The shot of a gun in the dead of the night

A mile, a must, a thrust, a bump,
It’s a girl, it’s a rhyme, it’s a cold, it’s the mumps

The plan of the house, the body in bed,
And the car that got stuck, It’s the mud, it’s the mud

A float, a drift, a flight, a wing, a hawk, a quail, the promise of spring

And the riverbank talks of the waters of March,
It’s the promise of life, It’s the joy in your heart

A stick, a stone, it’s the end of the road
It’s the rest of a stump, it’s a little alone

A snake, a stick, it is John, it is Joe,
It’s a thorn in your hand and a cut in your toe

A point, a grain, a bee, a bite, a blink, a buzzard,
A sudden stroke of night

A pin, a needle, a sting, a pain, a snail, a riddle, a wasp, a stain

A pass in the mountains, a horse and a mule,
In the distance the shelves rode three shadows of blue

And the riverbank talks of the waters of March,
It’s the promise of life in your heart, in your heart

A stick, a stone, the end of the road, the rest of a stump, a lonesome road

A sliver of glass, a life, the sun, a knife, a death, the end of the run

And the riverbank talks of the waters of March,
It’s the end of all strain, it’s the joy in your heart.

“Waters of March” (Portuguese: “Águas de Março”) is a Brazilian song composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The lyrics, originally written in Portuguese, do not tell a story, but rather present a series of images that form a collage.  In both the Portuguese and English versions of the lyrics, “it is a stick, a stone, a sliver of glass, a scratch, a cliff, a knot in the wood, a fish, a pin, the end of the road,” and many other things, although some specific references to Brazilian culture (festa da cumeeira, garrafa de cana), flora (peroba do campo) and folklore (Matita Pereira) were intentionally omitted from the English version, perhaps with the goal of providing a more universal perspective. All these details swirling around the central metaphor of “the Waters of March” can give the impression of the passing of daily life and its continual, inevitable progression towards death, just as the rains of March mark the end of a Brazilian summer. Both sets of lyrics speak of the water being “the promise of life,” perhaps allowing for other, more life-affirming interpretations, and the English contains the additional phrases “the joy in your heart” and the “promise of spring,” a seasonal reference that would be more relevant to most of the English-speaking world. (Wikipedia)

(Video: Elis Regina)

-N.