An enchanting escape...

Winter blues anyone? I certainly am suffering a rather serious case of winter blues, laying in bed for the past three days with strep throat, bronchitis, a torn ligament and a slight fracture on my heel ... the joy of having to sport a cast for the next 2 months! What will I wear? Sorry, I am indeed whining, not very becoming I agree.


This last October, I found an enchanting island, somewhere in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Zanzibar, Pemba Island.

Arriving at the dock

The only hotel/resort on the island, Fundu Lagoon, is designed to be totally integrated with nature, a  jewel among a lush vegetation. Walking barefoot on fine sand is such a luxury, the service is superb, the staff very friendly, the food absolutely delicious, a relaxed atmosphere, the guests are pampered, sunset sails on the traditional dow, snorkeling or scuba diving on a deserted island. I was in paradise!

Our "hut"...

Our tented suite with mahogany floors and bath

monkey keeping guard (or waiting to steal some food)

While his friends were doing some serious "monkey business"

The timber construction is all done by the locals

Beach combing at low tide

An evening sail on a traditional dhow

A pleasant hot trek to the village

... and the beautiful sweet children

Back for a refreshing long swim, shower and ready for an evening cocktail

Holding on to the moment

saying goodbye to the precious day

with promises to return

Are you planning a honeymoon, wedding anniversary, an adventure in Africa or simply wanting to escape for a while... check out Fundu Lagoon


From New York, fly to Amsterdam, from Amsterdam to Dar El Salaam, from Dar El Salaam to Zanzibar, from Zanzibar hop over a couple of islands in a Cessna 4 seater, arrive at Pemba drive through Pemba to the resort dock, feel the sun, breath in the sea air, a boat ride away, the manage and his team will welcome you with smile and cocktail in hand... after 30 some hours traveling, you will deserve this piece of Paradise.

 A bientot,

Francine

Perfect Imperfections: The doors of Zanzibar

Welcome to Stone Town, Zanzibar

In writing for my  blog, I need to dig deep into my own persona: who am I, what do I really like and dislike, how do I live this passage of time that is life? A while ago, I worked with Sean Low who helped me define the process of running a creative business. This exercise was very personal as I needed to really understand and assess the core of my creative mind. In the end, it became evident that my design aesthetics are not about the expected perfection of an object, a piece of furniture or a space but quite the opposite. I need to feel a space, touch an object, to see and feel a piece of fabric, the texture of a chair or a table needs to stand on its own. The design of a piece of furniture or the inspiration for a new collection always comes to me from a part of the past, a discarded object or material, or even a few lines from a book.


It all came so clearly to me, what speaks to me, what I strive for in design and in my personal life is perfect imperfections. The essence of beauty seen, felt, breathed, touched... from this I  will be writing a small series of jottings on perfect imperfections.

Hidden in the corner, I am indeed the lady in black

I will start with the doors of Zanzibar. I travelled all the way to Zanzibar, a rather small island off the coast of Tanzania to see its famous entry doors. The splendor of Oman's influence and its wealth is long gone, but what remains is a richness in history, texture, display of wealth, tortuous narrow streets, decayed gardens, ancient palaces and  one's imaginations can go wild with visual stories of exotic days gone by.


For hours, I walked under tremendous heat in Stone Town's narrow streets, admiring, touching, watching the inhabitants of these houses go in and out via these magnificent doors. These doors are mute witnesses to the richness of the ancient Omani culture, beautifully sculpted in rare woods or sometimes just simple doors that evoke the terrible human suffering during the sordid times of slavery and far too often, death.

The doors with a chain design belonged to the slave traders. Zanzibar was once the main center for arab slave trading. The inhumanity of such men is almost palpable as one walks through the narrow street and enter some of the holding cells for enslaved men and women.

My imagination was running wild while looking at these remnants  of past splendors

Very tempted to ship this one home!

More to come on fascinating Zanzibar, its culture, people,architectural heritage and its famous beaches and hotels.

A bientot,

Francine

Inspiration: African

Interieurs Showroom: photo by Jeff Cate

I am fascinated by artists and the creative process. Is a designer an artist? not quite, I would never be conceded to the point of viewing myself as an artist. However, I feel that the source of great design comes from the core of one's creativity and emotions.

My approach to design is not a calculated one, it comes from pure instinct. Indeed, my training was in finance, I cannot draw, sketch, nor use CAD... but I have an innate sense for form, color, proportions, texture, and space.

I do not sit at a desk and start drawing a furniture collection, rather I may be reading a novel, looking at an art book, observing nature or be in a foreign land, and it suddenly hits me....this is it!
This is exactly what happened last fall. I was reading a marvelous book, Cutting for Stone, whose story took place in Ethiopia. I felt transported to a beautiful harsh world full of contrasts. I was reading in my Living Room, and started to look closely at an antique Ethiopian Tombom I had acquired years ago, and for the first time  noticed all the intricacies in its rough carvings. That was it... my next collection would be inspired by this one artifact.

Today, I cannot look at a fashion magazine without noticing that African style is in!!

Saturday, I will be flying off to Africa for close to a month. My friend Judy and I will be hiking up the African sacred mountain Kilimanjaro with a guide and a couple of porters, sleeping in tents for 10 days as we are taking the long route to the summit. My husband will then meet me for a "safari'' through various Tanzanian parks, and finally off to Zanzibar where I hope to find small interesting artifacts and furniture for my showroom Interieurs, and finally to Pemba Island for some rest and swimming. As I am reading "Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar", I feel transported to a vision of Oman and Zanzibar . I hope to capture some of the scents, traditions, architecture of these times gone by.

 Hopefully, my Interieurs team will keep the blog going with (I hope) a few guest posts.
 A few African inspired images to illustrate a classic ethnic style that has inspired designers, painters, musicians for generations.

 

The Ethiopian Tombon  as an inspiration for the Interieurs Amara collection

 

African meets Industrial

 

African fashion style 

 

Interieurs Showroom: Modern Eclectic

 

Morocan  Lounge for a music industry client

 

 

My Living Room and kid's playroom published by Robb Report

 

Hope you are inspired!

A Bientot,