I’m a sucker for the words “Paris flea market” or “Paris café.” Use them in the description of your product and I’m like Pavlov’s dog with measuring tape. Yes, I’m very nostalgic about the several months I spent living in Paris after college (though I don’t miss stepping in Pavlov’s dog’s poo every day as perfectIy dressed and irritatingly smug Parisian women looked on pityingly). Anyway, I love these chairs not only for how they look, but for their associations. The white one, described on the Willow website as “styled after a 1940’s Paris flea market treasure,” caught my eye yesterday while I was checking out Willow’s new offerings online. The galvanized steel chair has been on my radar for a long time. It’s available at DWR and through the Sundance Catalog, where it is described as follows: “First manufactured in 1934, these ever-stylish steel chairs were designed to withstand the wear-and-tear of bistro and brasserie patrons while remaining ever-recherché.” They are still made in France today. Oh charming chairs, take me away!
—Gina Bazer
Photos courtesy of Willow and Sundance