Striving

"When I intend to create something beautiful as I've never seen before, I wonder what and where the source of the design's power will come from.I wonder if what I have seen, learnt and been moved by will be the source, from which it develops unconsciously. If I am ready to admit that, I wonder where I can attain the confidence for my creations and how they should present themselves as adorable items that women should love to try on in the future. After all, I wonder if I will manage to learn from the past, our experiences and history. Is it impossible to do creative work freely with a blank heart and not be restricted? Working tirelessly toward this calling, we can gain experiences and a sense of the craft through accumulating a natural sensitivity. However, this too can prove the difficulty in creating inspiration, a truly explosive force. I wonder what in the world I should be improving on and take a great deal of care in every new generation. Since I established this brand while wondering thoughts like these, a decade have passed."
-ISSHI KANAMARU, Head Designer, Feral Flair

all images via Feral Flair

Cheap & Chic: dressing Deb

Hello lovelies!

Melissa here, from Melissa loves. Honored & happy to be filling in a tiny bit for darling Deb while she is living it up in Paris! :) I know Deb likes my cheap & chic posts so, I though I would take a stab at getting together something for Deb. She most definitely doesn't need my help looking chic & sharp but, I thought it would be fun!

~ top here $69.95

~ bracelet 1 here $48.00

~ bracelet 2 here $48.00

~ clutch here ( in gold ) $38.00

~ pants here $99.95

~ wicked pissah boots here $32.80

In my mind, Deb likes to be comfortable but chic. Likes black and yet, is a bit funky. Obviously she loves jewelry & has more than enough of her own beautiful baubles to wear with any outfit but, I thought I would throw in a few little things to shake things up a bit. Plus, I have seen Deb wear some really great pieces mixed in with her own and they always look amazing. So, I hope you like it, Deb! And I hope you like it too, lovely Bon Bon readers. I will be back in a week or so for another visit. Until then, be well!

xo

Melis

a little color

credit where credit is (totally) due for brightening my (very wet humid gray rainy) day:
1. pretty dresses in a row via chloé van paris
2. emily henson's pretty office (via design sponge)
3. an iced heath ceramics tea set
4. simply lovely celebration flags and photo (by simple lovely)

Eye Break: Timeless French Hotties

Bonjour, bonbon babies!

It's P. here from What Possessed Me. So pleased and honored to be kicking off the week's guest posts with a little visual inspiration while Deb is knockin' 'em dead in Paris.

Deb asked us to post a little something with a French theme for this fine internet publication. Somehow in the past year, I overdosed on striped t-shirts and macarons (especially the macarons. Which is why I can no longer wear horizontal stripes). But I never grow tired of these classic French beauties - I come back to them again and again when I need an eye break, a nudge, a reminder. They seem to represent so much of what I admire about French women.

Catherine Deneuve. The freshness of a black scarf tied around the hair. The sassiness of a bow. The return of charm. The allure of a sidelong glance. The utility of a cashmere sweater. The sexiness of the demure.

(I have no idea what to say about the dog. But it's cute, non?)

Brigitte Bardot. Cigarettes as diet aides (effective, but ill-advised). That black scarf again - this time dangerous, capable, and rugged. Again, the sidelong glance - this time saying, "Your face is mace, Jean-Louis" (but in French). The badassery of kohl-rimmed eyes. The collar askew, the hair tousled - the perfection of imperfection.

Charlotte Gainsbourg. The aura of intelligence. The surprise of shyness. The coolness of menswear. The awesomeness of not caring - and still being beautiful.

Whose look inspires you?

Oui, oui, Paris! Oh, how I love thee...

It was October 2006, just one month shy of my wedding, and I, Miss Bee, was galavanting through Paris with my friend Nancy. We had flown there on her frequent flier miles—mine a free companion ticket, thanks to Nancy's constant travels—and were staying with a friend, just a stone's throw away from the Eiffel Tower. By any measure, I'd scored a free trip to Paris. How did I get so lucky?

Nancy had surprised me with the idea of a quick jaunt to Paris one night over dinner and drinks a few months earlier. Certain there were more drinks than dinner involved in her decision to whisk me away, gratis, I waited the next day for her to confirm that her offer still stood... that she had, in fact, been lucid when she'd offered me a free ticket to The City of Lights. She had. And we would... leave in late October—the perfect girls' getaway before my walk down the aisle. I was ecstatic!

There was only time for four or five nights away, but it was all we needed. We logged miles each day, on foot and sometimes by ferry, leaving no stone, shop, or scone unturned. Museums, gardens, cafes, and bars—we couldn't soak them in fast enough. And the shopping! Oh, the shopping. To this day, my favorite pair of boots (espresso brown, soft leather, two-buckle, scrunch-down beauties) were bought in a small boutique in the (oh, which was it again?) la-la arrondissement near our flat. Whenever I put them on, I smile and think back to that wonderful time spent in the apple of France's eye. It was completely magical and my do I have some wonderful friends.

A city like Paris is meant to be courted, cajoled, returned to again and again throughout one's life. I imagine the city I fell in love with two years ago will bring me something new and different when I return, perhaps a year or maybe five years from now. It is romantic and popping with energy and love and light. For now, I'll live vicariously through friends like Deb, and through my vivid memories of walks along the Seine. I can still close my eyes and smell the crisp, fall air now. Paris, je vous adore.

Merci, my lovely bonbons, for indulging my trip down memory lane. I hope you'll come visit me from time to time at my homes, The Lil Bee and Feather. And to my sweet Deb, safe travels and big kiss! J'adore.

Color Therapy

These pretty ladies really cheered me up a few weekends ago with their bright approach to winter. It was like a big "F* You Winter". First it was that sweetie-pie Jen, completely pretty and unafraid in pink and pattern when I went for breakfast at my favorite restaurant in Greenpoint, Five Leaves. And then later, below, when I went for a massage (a gift certificate that I stole from Jim for Therapy--hey I was hunched over ok? You gotta be fast in this house!), the fabulous Paige, who does the zero-balancing there and who is a lady of many talents, wood-turned rings being one of them and putting a hot bunch of patterns and colors together being another.

Thanks ladies for cheering me up again today when I found these pictures of you.

James Merrell

Looking for inspiration for the shoot, I rediscovered James Merrell through one of the very first blogs I've ever loved, This is Glamorous where I can always find a wealth of delicious visuals and introductions. I chose these above because they relate somehow to what I'd love to achieve in my jewelry work and I wish in this shoot...I love his easy way with the camera and his subtle, earthy and often exotic vignettes, a natural disorder which is compelling in it's disheveled-ness. They offer such a beautiful way in---I wish I could live inside them.