Your key to the city's hidden doors

Photos of atelier by Nicholas Calcott for Paris By Appointment Only™

Erik Halley’s business card should have weekend and weekday descriptions. From Mon-Fri, this adorable Frenchie can be found at his Parisian atelier handcrafting statement-making accessories for the best names in fashion such as Lagerfeld, Yohji, Givenchy and Mugler (to name but a few). But come the weekend, he trades his tools for the turntables as resident DJ of Club Sandwich, the most glamorous and decadent dance party in Paris.

The two jobs go hand in hand, however. The club is not only his front-row seat to the most inspired and eccentric sartorialists in the city, it’s also a stage to test drive his fabulous new concepts and designs.

Halley has been pushing accoutrements out of the fringes and into the fore of fashion for the last fifteen years. Not only has his wearable art been featured in exhibitions, he was the first designer to ever stage an accessories runway show during fashion week in Paris (see video at end of post).

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The last place you’d expect to find a master milliner is on a small Parisian street best known for its delicious udon noodles and bento box lunches. But authentic Japanese cuisine is just as rare as handmade hats in Paris, so their co-habitation on the rue Sainte Anne is not so odd after all.

Up a winding set of stairs behind a cobblestone courtyard is the discreet home of the renowned Maison Michel where for a price not more than some designer jeans, you could own a timeless, one-of-a-kind accessory that is guaranteed to turn heads.

Striking in its small, cozy configuration, the multi-room showroom and atelier hums with the sounds of straw weaving machines, seamstresses chattering, the shuffling of hand-written orders and the hissing of heaters baking fabric atop wooden hat molds.

Occupying the same space since its inception in 1936, Maison Michel was rescued from oblivion by Chanel’s Paraffection division in 1996 on their mission to save the heritage of struggling haute couture ateliers

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It’s only my fourth post but I already have a confession to make (and no, it’s not about the cutie above).

One of the reasons why I’m doing this project is to satisfy my longstanding curiosity for people who pursue unusual professional paths. I have never been blessed (or cursed, perhaps?) with a burning career calling, but I am fascinated with those who are—especially when their shtick is super obscure.

Working as a journalist has served me well in this department. Interviewing someone is like having a giant question pass printed on your forehead. From challenging and quirky to just plain personal, you can ask your subject just about anything.

For me, the ultimate “jackpot conversation” is when I walk out of the experience with a juicy slice into someone’s life and a completely new window into the world.

That’s how I felt after my visit to Avenel L, a year-old workshop and design firm dedicated to the art of woodworking.

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