The mission was something out of Alice in Wonderland: take a train to a hamlet in the south of the city, walk along cobblestone streets past tempting little shops, turn left on a street called “hope,” look for a window filled with fine linens and warm light and if the adjacent door is propped open, come on in.

My destination was just as dreamlike and quaint as the journey it took to get there. Located in La Butte aux Calles, an adorable, totally remote neighborhood dense with lovely little treasures, La Clarière is a wonderland of hand-printed linens produced in limited series on site.

But if you’re looking for precious chichi motifs with elaborate affect you’ve got the wrong address, La Clarière’s linens are clean compositions of color, shape and weave that blend romance and rusticity. Be they elegant arabesques on rough-hewn army linen, or austere silver moons on buttery-soft cotton, unexpected juxtapositions of material and motif give a light, modern freshness to the designs. Would you expect any less from an interior designer mentored by Andrée Putman?

“The overall effect is unmannered because of the contrast between the patterns and fabric,” says Canadian-born owner Sharon Macdonald who worked for twenty years creating interiors for big-name architecture agencies in Paris before launching La Clarière in 1997. “When I do my work, I cut the fabric into individual pieces and then stamp it as a composition. It’s like its own little world,” says Sharon.

“The idea is to create an atmosphere that if you framed and magnified would becomes like a work of architecture.”

From bed lines and children’s bibs to tote bags and nightgowns, Sharon prints everything on site using a special supply of hand-made stamps crafted out of un-precious materials such as corks and potatoes. It’s a technique she first discovered as a precocious and crafty kid that she’s perfected over the years.

Since most of the fabric Sharon uses is found at the nearby flea market at Vanves, all of her designs are either unique, or available in limited edition. So if you fall in love with that hand-dyed pillow with the green cloverleaf print, or the A-frame nightgown with the rustic red pattern, you should probably pick it up on the spot. Sharon retires colors and patterns until she finds that right support for it again.

But if that’s not special enough, Sharon also does bespoke creations on demand.

Atelier/shop: 8 rue de L’Epérance, 75013, open Wed & Sat from 2:30pm-7pm, or by appointment
Prices: From 12E sachets to 250E duvet covers

Photos by Fabrice Fortin and Nicholas Calcott for Paris By Appointment Only™

It’s funny how a deep childhood frustration can become a creative manifesto later in life. Case in point: Maïa, the Paris-based porcelain painter. As a kid, she tried every night to decorate the table with her family’s finest, only to be told to return it to the cupboard for the everyday stuff.

Now, not only does Maïa set the table with beautiful, eye-popping designs whenever she likes, she’s made it her business to make sure that others do too!

“It’s a democratic way of bringing art into the home and a touch of fantasy to the table,” says the first-name-only artist who found a way to bridge the dishware divide between fabulous and functional by fusing the two in one.

Maïa started ten years ago with a teacup, and now hand paints everything from jars and dishes to bowls, vases and tea sets on porcelain made by one of the last remaining artisanal factories in Limoges, France.

Each made-to-measure creation is the result of a two-hour coffee klatch between artist and customer. “I need muses to create, and my clients are my muses,” says Maïa who meets her word-of-mouth clientele at her beautiful, porcelain-packed flat to find out about their preferred shapes, colors, pastimes, and even vacation destinations before crafting an original design

She not only creates entire services, but one-off compliments to your heirloom China as well. So if you have a vintage series that needs a modern centerpiece or an antique set that’s missing a few pieces, she can match everything from Puiforcat to Fornasetti.

Once you’ve agreed on your color, shape and motif, Maia then makes a sample free of charge (with no obligation to buy). If you give the okay, she returns to her atelier to seal colors in place in an 1200° C oven, then numbers and signs the designs with a fingerprint.

In addition to painting porcelain, Maïa is also a classical pianist (she’s giving a free, private concert on Nov 15 in Paris, and you’re invited to come, by the way). Unlike her musical performances, which are beautiful, but fleeting, porcelain allows Maïa to express her creativity in a much more tangible way.

It’s not hard to spot a melody in her artwork as well.  Inspired by the paintings of Vuillard, Miró and Chagall, Maia uses colors and shapes to create a timeless visual rhythm. Expressive yet classical, fluid yet structured, it’s all about complementing contrasts for Maïa, be it on piano or porcelain.

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Prices: Vases (60-300€), Tea Sets (75-120€), Plates (18-50€), Candy Dishes (98€)
Concert: contact me to reserve a place at Maïa’s free concert on November 15th.
Shops: You can also find a selection of Maïa’s designs at Galeries Lafayette Maison (Paris) and Living with Art (New York)