What Caught Their Eye: Katy Klassman, Boutique Owner & Artist
Over the last few months on this newsletter, you have seen me share a variety of things I love, what I’m buying, and more. Well, I’m happy to be handing the reins over to someone else from time to time!
This is “What Caught Their Eye”, a guest edit section of my Substack to introduce my readers to executives, artists, creatives, and everyone in between.
Keep reading to find out more about my next guest, Katy Klassman.
Introducing Katy Klassman, Boutique Owner & Artist
A D.C. transplant by way of Cleveland, Upstate New York and Chicago, Katy happily traded winters and corporate retail for managing frizz and carrying the torch of Upstairs on 7th, the boutique her Mom started in the corner of an art gallery in 2007. She now operates the multi-brand concept store in the iconic Warner Theater Building, three blocks from the White House.
When she is not in the shop or sourcing goods overseas, she can be found painting with and making pastels, designing custom stationery and working on commissions (an early 2024 pen release for Retro 51 is next up).
This is What Caught Her Eye...French Edition
Follow Katy: Here
What Caught Katy’s Eye
Brigette Tanaka Organza Bag
French and Japanese sensibilities mingle at Brigette Tanaka, the charming shop of curiosities just off the Rue Saint-Honoré. Owned by jeweler, gallery owner, and interior designer Brigette Giraudi and Chieko Tanaka, a Tokyo transplant and producer, this boutique is a must when you are shopping for the person who has everything, especially if that person is you!
Their standout items are eponymous label organza bags that transform the commercial plastic shopping bag into an embroidered work of art, while retaining practicality and promoting sustainability. Whether you are collecting your daily baguette or gifting a bottle au vin, they have designed the perfect shape for the task. My favorite is the Pharmacie bag, perfect for gathering beloved French drugstore items (Biafine, Embryolisse Lait Creme, and Avene Eau Thermale are a must,) or for a daily carry that doubles as a conversation starter.
Buy: Here
La Maison du Pastel 24-pc Petits Roché “a Harvest of Color” set - by Katie Rodgers
In a small courtyard on the Rue Rambuteau is the storefront of La Maison du Pastel. The more than three-hundred-year-old company is now under the stewardship of Isabelle Roché and Margaret Zayer. They use the same methods and secrets of the house as their predecessors to produce the 1600+ colors in their range, making it the oldest and largest offering in the world. Used by pastel greats past and present: Degas, Vuillard, Boncompain and Nicolas Party, they offer the most prized. pigmented sticks available.
New Mexico pastel artist Katie Rodgers, inspired by the colors of the farm where she volunteers, collaborated with La Maison du Pastel to make this glorious set of twenty-four petit-Rochés (their soft pastel half sticks). The collection is an ideal way to experience the beauty of painting with pastels of such exceptional quality and have a small piece of Katie's art which has been used to illustrate the packaging of this box and commissioned for brands like Diptyque, Oribe, Estee Lauder, and French candle line Apis Cera.
Buy: Here
Buly 1803 Baume des Muses
There are Buly 1803 boutiques in select locations all over the world, but their DNA is Parisian through and through. Their first boutique opened in 2014 in the 6th arrondissement, but it's their location in the 3rd that I love to visit most. Part 19th century apothecary, part elegant coffee bar, it makes for a lovely afternoon stop to get off your feet, choose some of the highest quality, beautifully packaged lotions and potions on the market and finish with a coffee and cake.
While the bath oils, fragrances, incense, and combs are all things to write home about, my favorite gift to give is their lip balm, which is unscented,100% natural, and organic. It comes packaged in a chic case, available in your choice of four colors. But it gets better. Once you've chosen the case, you also get to select from a rainbow of papers that have been letter-pressed to look like leather, which are then embossed with your gift recipient's initials. The final product is placed in a velvet pouch for travel and safe keeping. If you purchase the item in person, the concierges will even add a seal to the package personalized with gorgeous calligraphy done in sepia ink.
I chose the turquoise case with royal blue paper because it felt a little bit Marie Antoinette a la Sofia Coppola!
PS- Once your lips are perfectly conditioned, you can apply the ubiquitous French it girl red lip. Might I suggest Violette's Petal Bouche Matte in Amour Fou?
Buy: Here
En Vrac Paris Robe-Chemise N°439
Lifetime hunter of treasures, collector, and artist Marine Nallet Barrabes' loves taking tried and true luxury wares and giving them a second lifetime of wear. She gathers shirts made by Dior, Lanvin, Charvet, and the like, and by choosing this caliber of designer, ensures that they have been constructed to exacting standards and built to last. She puts her stamp on them by adding her original screen prints taken from an expansive catalogue of her drawings. Voila, the shirt or shirt dress is ready to tell the story of its previous owner to its new one and begin again. I love this piece with writing instruments screen printed on court pajama maker Derek Rose's striped shirt dress.
Also, keep a watchful eye on Marine's site. On occasion, she offers her ceramic work for sale, playful everyday objects rendered in brightly glazed porcelain, to stage your very own home brocante.
Buy: Here
Parle Moi de Parfum Saffron Wood / 91
Until the day arrives (and it will most likely never arrive ,) that I can have my dream fragrance made through the bespoke service at Guerlain (price tag closely guarded, but rumored to be $45K,) I will be seeking out the most interesting parfums and eau de toilettes. I love to wear perfume and though I like to share my finds when it comes to most things, my scent is one of the only things I like to keep a fairly guarded secret.
While I'm not prepared to tell you exactly what I'm currently wearing, I will let you in on where it comes from and share one of my other favorites. Started by Michel Almairac and run together with his two sons and wife, Parle Moi de Parfum offers nearly two dozen fragrances. They are created by Michel, one of the most well-known (yet mostly anonymous,) noses in the world, making it quite possible that you already have an Almairac creation in your home. Saffron Wood/91 is a blend of cedarwood, rose, and saffron. Leathery, masculine, feminine, and a touch spicy make this a unique and complex construction. It also makes it difficult to describe or place, which is perfect for those of us who like to be a tad mysterious.
Buy: Here