”Merci: 111, Boulevard Beaumarchais, 75011 Paris, France
All the benefits, minus the costs and salaries – go to children in Madagascar.
A charity concept store. It is the result of several years of hard work by Marie France and Bernard Cohen, the creators of French luxury childrenwear Bonpoint. The 1500 square meter (16,000 square feet) space was previously a fabric factory; today, it is a luminescent menagerie split up into three stories, it offers a multitude of books, clothes, flowers, furniture, but also a café and an elegant cafe and courtyard garden.
Numbered comfy sofas for hanging out and waiting for your turn or your partner.
A dramatic and creative renovation of this old factory makes for luminous and large spaces.
How about wood picnic 18th c. style flatware and spring loaded chopsticks? Very chic!
Even the Packaging is eco-chic for these stylized picnic utensils
The top level of the loft offers a wide range of furniture, some affordable, some more decadent, and in limited editions, along with a multitude of home accessories. This includes a 1950s school desk by Arne Jacobsen, 19th century stools found in Chinese farms, but also contemporary pieces by designers such as Oskar Zieta or François Azambourg. “This is a personal mix of rare pieces and daily objects, which illustrates my life philosophy” said Marie-France.
Everyone needs a pocket truffle harvesting knife and cleaning brush!
For Lunch, a Fantastic Organic Cafe.
The cafe is adjacent to a beautiful courtyard garden.
A gorgeous organic salad to help shake the jet lag from California.
Les Deserts!
More shopping, Bowls, mugs, to make colorful displays in your tiny Parisian Kitchen.
Another favorite of mine were Pantone mugs, perfect for the design office.
Vintage and Retro Chic Garden furnishings and recycled furnishings go catch the eye of any designer.
Fashionable and trendy donated vintage clothing has been professionally edited for style.
Fashion is a joint effort: Merci offers specially designed pieces by Stella McCartney, yves Saint Laurent, Paul Smith. These are 30 or 40 percent cheaper than retail because the designers gave up their profit margin. The collection includes YSL's famous Safari Jacket, specially re-edited for Merci in white and Khaki. The rest of the clothes for women, men and children is eclectic and fun offering designers such as APC, Isabel Marant, Paul&Joe, as well as brands such as Acme, Swildens and Forte Forte. The vintage stand, is fun and retro. Second hand Chanel purses and complete with a selection of pieces donated by various actors, models and singers. There is even Fragrance, an Annick Goutal perfume laboratory, when one can create their own fragrance.
Next door is an international bookstore, Café Bouquiniste (the Reading Café) and cafe where every book was donated and used. Check out this incredible 'must see' destination when in Paris.
"Merci"
T.: +33.1.42.77.10.38
www.merci-merci.com
