Journal No. 1
I’m not sure where my love of vintage and second hand things came from. It’s just something I have always loved. I remember back in the 90’s (pretty sure) I came across Rachel Ashwell of Shabby Chic. I watched her on TV and bought her books. I’ve read them over and over. I love the patina on older things and the stories they have to tell.
What I do know is that a home feels better when it’s collected rather than bought all at once. Most of us have never set up a home with all brand new things. Even when someone heads off to college or builds a new home, they bring some possessions. Things they’ve collected from travels, had passed down from their family, collected or handmade themselves.
I am an interior designer by trade and my favorite part is layering my clients homes with pieces I’ve found second hand or vintage. There are so many wonderful treasures to be found, that you can’t get online. Hunting for them is more exciting than I can explain.
Paris became part of my story back in 2022. It is somewhere we all dream of going someday. I was fortunate enough to go with a group of other interior designers. I learned a lot by going with people that knew where to go, and how to get around. But as soon as I saw the Eiffel Tower in person, I was hooked. You know it’s big, but you cannot understand how large it is until you see it for yourself. And when it lights up……..four years later it still makes me smile!
The moment Maison & Patina started becoming more than just an idea happened last winter. My design firm was very slow and I thought about what I really wanted to do with my life. This tends to happen to most people as they approach middle age. But I asked AI a question. I asked if it could build a business plan around the idea of going to Paris twice a year, shop at flea markets, and earn a living. And I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
What I hope to bring people through M&P is not just things, but pieces with character and a story. I want you to know that you too can follow your passions. You have permission to go all in on your dreams. And if it doesn’t work out?? You can always go back to what you were doing.
In a few weeks I will be following mine. I’m finally headed back to Paris soon to source the first collection for Maison & Patina! I want to find treasures I love, to help you decorate your home so it feels collected.
~Jamie
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