Chez Moi, Paris

Chez Moi, Paris is a brand new boutique in the capital's first arrondissement, based upon the concept of an apartment - complete with bathroom, sitting room, dining room and bedroom - in which owner Jean-Baptiste Charpenay-Limon lives, eats and sleeps, and in which everything is for sale. The clean and sleek space, kitted out with a wooden runway leading from the front of the shop to the sleeping quarters, designed by Freek architects, is a backdrop for a sharp selection of artworks, homeware, magazines and journals (including Self Service, Purple, Roven), wine, furniture, clothes, accessories and more. There will also be food and drinks served in the near future, to offer a total homely experience. The idea is that you come and hang out with JB and his friends (and their cute dogs, on our visit), admire the decor, and leave with some of it under your arm. Come on in and make yourself at home.  

Chez Moi, Paris

25 rue Hérold, 75001 Paris

www.chezmoiparis.com

all photos copyright Kim Laidlaw / Unlock Paris

Café Kitsuné

Not content with being a highly covetable clothes brand and super cool record label, Paris-based hipster-favourite Kitsuné has added another string to its bow with the opening of Café Kitsuné just around the corner from its flagship store, in the picturesque Palais Royal Gardens. The small, standing-room only space in this refined square in the capital's first arrondissement - neighbouring luxury brands such as Marc Jacobs and Stella McCartney - is in keeping with the brand's high-quality esthetic: marble counters, moulded ceilings and clean white walls are the stage for a sleek and shiny Marzocco coffee machine and plenty of fox-embellished merchandise ("kitsuné" means fox in Japanese). On the menu are Brazilian coffee roasted by the Workshop Coffee Co. in London - expertly made by the charming baristas in incarnations of espresso, latte, capuccino etc. - a concise selection of top-notch teas, creamy smooth hot chocolate, super-healthy juices from Bob's Cold Press and sweet gluten-free goodies from Noglu. All to be enjoyed standing at the counter with it's superb view onto the square or to takeaway for a stroll through the charming 17th century Palais Royal gardens and a spot of decadent window shopping. 

Café Kitsuné

51 Galerie de Montpensier

75001 Paris

Open Mon-Sun, 8.30am-6.30pm

all photos copyright Kim Laidlaw

COLETTE x NOEL x THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT

(photo Linus Ricard)

Quirky creative team The House That Jack Built will be working their magic this Saturday in Paris at concept store par excellence, Colette. In collaboration with Santa Claus himself, and his giant Christmas tree ornaments, they invite you to join in the fun and frolics of their glittering, larger-than-life photo booth. The supremely inventive duo behind The House That Jack Built will dress you up in Christmas accessories so that you can have your photo taken by Fuji and walk away with instant, seasonal (but also super-cool) memories. There will also be real-life drummer boys on hand to create a festive, fairy tale mood. 

Saturday 21st December, 2-6pm

Colette, 213 rue St Honoré, 75001 Paris 

Avril Gau Opens 2nd Paris Shop

One of the best designers in Paris to go to for high quality, subtly chic, contemporary-yet-timeless shoes and accessories is Avril Gau, and we're thrilled that she has just opened her second store in the capital, in the 1st arrondissement (46 rue Croix des Petits Champs, 75001). 

Gau opened her first store, on the Left Bank, two years ago, having set up her eponymous brand in 2002 after years of working for big names in fashion such as Chanel, Loewe and Robert Clergerie. So it's somewhat poetic that the site of her second own-name boutique in the capital was formerly a Robert Clergerie boutique - a sign that Gau is fast becoming an established name in the world of Paris fashion in her own right. 

As with the original Left Bank store, the new shop on rue Croix des Petits Champs is painted in Gau's favourite shade of intense blue, while other walls are covered in the curlicues of a modern-baroque wallpaper. You will find the excellent quality flats, ankle boots, heels, shoulder bags and totes in Gau's signature refined palette, all made to a very high standard in Europe, and all for an exceptionally reasonable price for this level of design and craftsmanship. There aren't many high-end boutiques in Paris' 1st arrondissement where you can pick up a pair of shoes from €215 or a bag from €330 - you'd pay twice or thrice that for something Made in China, and here you get bonafide Parisian design made in France, Italy or Portugal. This is a boutique that should be firmly on everyone's list of where to go in Paris for super stylish, affordable bags and shoes - it's definitely on ours. 

Avril Gau

46 rue Croix des Petits Champs 

75001 Paris

www.avrilgau.com

Mandarin Oriental Paris

The two-floored Royal Mandarin Suite

Mandarin Oriental Paris, the first French outpost of this luxury Asian hotel brand, has just celebrated its first birthday. Situated on the luxury shopping destination of the rue Saint-Honoré in the first arrondissement right in the centre of Paris, the listed 1930s building is flanked by the fine jewellery heaven of Place Vendome on one side, and the grandeur of the Louvre and the Tuilerie Gardens on the other.

Her Royal Majesty Launches Issue 12

Tonight, international literary and arts journal Her Royal Majesty celebrates the launch of its 12th issue - featuring the first short story ever written by contemporary literary heavyweight Alice Munro - with seven simultaneous parties across the world. As well as events in London, New York and Berlin, a night of literary and art-based revelry will be held in our very own capital Paris, the city in which the magazine is based. The fun will include performances, readings, live music, live painting and a themed photo shoot taken by world-class photographers. Each issue is curated around a particular theme (for number 12 it is the Exotic) and features new work from emerging talent alongside work by more established artists and writers. Her Royal Majesty is a printed edition - a real, tangible object you can hold and treasure and indeed gather round and coo over tonight at the party. And if you don't manage to pick one up tonight, you can also get your copy from Paris' iconic Left Bank bookshop, Shakespeare and Company and the bookshop of contemporary private gallery par excellence, Yvon Lambert.

See you tonight!

Her Royal Majesty Launch of Issue 12 

59 Rivoli

59 rue de Rivoli, 75001

From 6pm-11pm

More info here: Her Royal Majesty Facebook Event 

Télescope Café

Sandwiched between Paris' Japanese quarter and the exclusive shops of the Palais Royal is Télescope, a bright new cafe bringing a breath of fresh - and delicately coffee scented - air to the area.

Specialists in superior coffee, owners Nicolas and David aim to bring high-quality brew to Paris - a city more traditionally renowned for its weak yet acrid cups of sock-juice espresso. Here the concise menu proposes espresso, filter coffee, noisette or white coffee - and each is prepared with care using excellent ingredients and specialist equipment.

The clean and pure esthetic of Télescope seems in line with the simple concept of focusing on just one product and indeed the purity of the product itself - glass jugs showcase the aroma and the colour of a filter coffee to be poured in to a simple and charming coffee glass on a pretty blue saucer, at a round wooden table. There is something refined, charming and almost Scandinavian in the decor - fresh flowers in the corner, patterned cushions on seats, tin plates, cakes under vintage-looking glass bell jars - it feels homely and cosy, yet fresh and clean. And indeed regulars - tapping away at their Macbooks or reading whilst catching a ray of sun on the bench in front of the shop - have already made this place their own, drinking a filter coffee with home-made granola in the morning, or pairing a robust espresso with a slice of cake in the afternoon.

In additional to the excellent coffee, juice, tea and herbal infusions are also on the menu - and we look forward to going back regularly to try each and every drink and cake at what is quite possibly our new favourite café in Paris.

Télescope Café

5 rue Villedo, 75001 Paris

Open Mon-Sat, 8.30am-6.30pm

Photos: all rights reserved Kim Laidlaw Adrey 2012

Le Ballroom du Beef Club

Le Ballroom du Beef Club, the latest venture from the guys arguably responsible for the revolution in the Paris cocktail scene, opened this week in the capital. 

Combining a street level restaurant and a basement cocktail bar and club, this is the fifth address in Paris for the trio who are behind Experimental Cocktail Club, Prescription and Curio Parlor, and who also have a cocktail bar in London and a new bar opening soon in New York. In the same vein as their other venues, the underground bar part of the Beef Club, called The Ballroom, has a speakeasy vibe - accessible currently only by an unmarked black door, the hidden away bar is dimly lit and decorated with dark colours, luxurious velvets and vintage-looking wallpaper. 

The concise drinks menu offers eight cocktails (from €12-14), as well as champagne, soft drinks, virgin cocktails and beer from Paris-based brewers Demory. As you would expect from this team, cocktails are interesting - there's not a Mojito or Cosmopolitan in sight - with options such as the delicious Salers Smash featuring long-forgotten old ladies' tipple Gentiane mixed with Champagne, Absinthe, sugar, mint and lime. The refreshing yet spicy Cucumber Fumant is also a winner. 

The Beef Club restaurant is set to open soon and will serve, as its name would suggest, a steak-based menu. Smaller snacks will potentially also be available at the bar once the kitchen is up and running. 

Le Ballroom du Beef Club

52 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 75001 Paris

(accessible by the black door to the left of the Beef Club restaurant)

Open 7.30pm - 2am

All photos copyright Kim Laidlaw Adrey 2012

For a more detailed review of the cocktails, check out Four Years Later: Beef Club Ballroom on 52 Martinis

Verjus Wine Bar

The couple behind the private supper club Hidden Kitchen has opened up a no-reservation wine bar, Verjus, with a separate restaurant with a different menu upstairs.