Solli in Paris

Me sitting on a armchair/bed from Sweden

Leaving Paris also means leaving the job I had at Quintessence Playground. I worked there since 2010, it was a job I loved, it was very diverse, creative and I enjoyed working with antiques.
Ever since I was a child I loved spending hours on flea markets, always brought home old things…. I was a collector already back then ;-) My biological father was an architect and in my early ages  I used to play with the house models he built…I thought that was much more fun than dressing up the Barbie dolls ;-) When I was studying Engineering I took many courses in 3d-modelling and when I bought my apartment in Stockholm I made all the plans and drawing before the total renovation of the entire apartment.  Working at Quintessence Playground was therefore a natural step for me to discover and learn more about my interests.

There are many of you who have been asking exactly what I have been doing in the gallery and now I will explain my love-story with the job I was passionated about…

Quintessence Playground, me sitting next to the Eiffel Tower

Quintessence Playground is a 650 square meters concept store, the space is designed as a loft and features a selection of industrial furnitures and elements, exclusive antiques and unique curiosities. Some of the details that creates the unique ambience is the feature wall on the groundfloor that is covered with wallpaper created by the French designer Vincent Darré and the lightship installation made by the designer Alexandre de Betak that could be seen in the vitrina last February (2011).

I was involved in creating their website, I made a blog (Quintessence Lifestyle Blog for the owner Ludovic Messager) and a fanpage on Facebook. From time to time I also assisted in the decoration of the gallery and I also went on buying trips, throughout in France (south of France and some marché Antiquités Brocante on other places in France, and also to Antwerp in Belgium (two times in 2010 and 4-5 times in 2011), Sweden and Denmark for antiques digging.
I also did my own sourcing trips, went to Maison & Objét (a big international fair within interior) and to other flea markets in Paris.

Quintessence Playground, a bag we bought on one of our buying trips in Antwerp, Belgium. On the bed you can see a beautiful ancient dress that we bought in the flea market in 2010.

Since the concept-store is very big and constructed as a loft it is the perfect ambiance for photo shootings for designers making their lookbooks. I was involved in that work assisting in most of the parts. Just before I left I was also involved in the first process of a hotel-project and a very exciting restaurant project.

Most of Quintessence Playgrounds clients were designers, interior-designers and architects and celebrities, among them Philippe Starck, Paula Navone, Gisele Bündchen Madonna, Liv Tyler, Donna Karan, and Renzo Rosso. My work in the concept-store made me meet people I would have never met before and I was learning incredibly many things and at the same time I brought my knowledge and experience to improve the activities of the company.

Quintessence Playground

I loved going to work every day. Being a part of a job where giving new life to old things was like doing magic and that was the best part, taking care of and working in an environment filled up with beautiful objects and furnitures that had a past, a history.

Quintessence Playground, a beautiful mermaid with wings that we bought on Ile de Ré in the Spring of 2011

The gallery was like a second home for me, just like it was designed to be to match a lifestyle concept-store. I loved the rock’n’roll ambiance that was created with Gustavian furniture’s from Sweden, Louis XVI furniture’s from France, combined with industrial furnitures and objects…..enhanced with details such as skulls and fashion books completed the ambiance of Quintessence Playground.

Quintessence Playground, plates we bought in Antwerp, Belgium

It was not an easy decision quitting the work that I loved so much. I remember when the owner just had bought the big space, the walls we’re not painted yet and it was hard to imagine the result. I went along buying loads of color buckets for the painters to paint the walls, the ceiling etc….that was in the end of the summer of 2010…and I remember that Woody Allen was there on the same street at the same time with his film crew doing his movie “Midnight in Paris”, those of you who have seen it will recognize the flea market in some of the scenes.

Being there from the beginning of the birth of the new space of Quintessence Playground, being involved in the process and see how the owner gave life to his dreams and visions was an amazing experience and a journey I will never forget.

We’re living in a world where almost everything is changing in a fast speed. We’re living in a throwaway and high consuming society where many things are fake and the real and true things are the most sought after…and they’re rare. Remember when I wrote how I would like to decorate my home in one of my earlier blogpost? I wanted to fill my home with objects and furnitures that had a story to tell……old, broken…with beautiful patina, traces that showed they had been living. Not furnitures and objects that are newly produced with fake patina, those things looks dead to me. Many companies that are producing furnitures and decoration for homes are catching up on the trends that are inspired of vintage, industrial and colonial style. I’ve seen many products that have been newly produced with fake patina and I’ve been fairly impressed. It is so easy to see they’re newly produced and instead of bringing the charming ambiance it looks more cheap and dead.

I would rather go to flea markets and antique galleries to dig for the real things with true aging and with their own unique story to tell…

So how does my dream home looks like? Well, the way Marie Olsson Nylander, a Swedish Interior Designer, decorated her house is more or less how I would like my home to look like. White floors and walls is the optimal color to highlight and bring out the interior in a home. The colours of the furnitures and objects are given their own voices without beeing distracted by other overtaking colors in the background. When decorating a home it’s important to know how to combine colors, patterns and textures in a way that doesn’t hurt the eye, everything has to be in balance with each other and I believe Marie Olsson Nylander did a great job in that perspective. Check the photos below and create your own opinion:

I like the big planter on the table, its made by fibrated cement and it reminds me of the “elephant ears” designed by Willy Guhl. The fiberglass chairs are designed by Charles Eames.

Perfect working table in wood and the industrial factory lamp in zinc with washed patina hanging down from the ceiling.

The circular worn iron staircase is a perfect match for the interior in this home.

Beautiful worn out leather club arm chair, nice kelim floor cushion and wooden table. Very ethnic goes vintage-style!

Shutters with beautiful patina are perfect for decoration.

Giving new life to an old worn out leather gym bench.

All the photos have been taken by Sara Svenningrud and they’ve been published

in the Swedish Interior Design magazine Residence Magazine.

Cinepuce (image source )

 Cinépuce (a weekend with outdoor cinema, galleries that are open during the evening and parties etc..) in the flea market of St Ouen, took place on the weekend of October 15-16th and on the Friday before there was a big party in the flea market. We were invited to Ship Antiques party, it’s one of the shipping companies we work with. Had a great time, the whole team from Ship Antiques were there and they invited us for champagne, snacks and lot’s of sweets and bowls of candies that I almost finished by the end of the night! After some glasses of champagne at Ship Antiques we decided to have an after-party at Quintessence Playground, just 3 minutes away from Ship Antiques office. We invited everyone at the party to come with us….and it turned out to be a great after-party and people were dancing around in our big concept-store until 4 in the morning…

Ludovic Messager and me DJ-ing at the after-party at Quintessence Playground

old beautiful things with stories to tell (photo taken in the flea market in St Ouen outside Paris)

Recently a friend of mine asked me what kind of things I would decorate and furnish my home with? A home for me is a place that should be filled up with a welcoming ambiance, a peaceful spirit and also a place where love would be growing. To make that ambiance possible I would put lot’s of light, flowers and plants, candles…and books! I want my home to reflect me and the people living there.

Ever since I was a child I loved to stroll around in the fleamarkets…I came home with things that in my parents opinion was “trash” but for me it was things with history…beautiful things. New things are nothing for me, unless its a technical product. Antiques, different objects and curiosities are things I would dig for in the flea market and put in my home. I would rather put a cover on an old canapé than buying a new one. Giving new life to old things are more charming and would give more life and spirit to my home. And it’s also environment friendly not to throw away things and re-use them! Here are some photos on beautiful things in the flea market in St Ouen outside Paris:

old beautiful things with stories to tell (photo taken in the flea market in St Ouen outside Paris)

old beautiful things with stories to tell (photo taken in the flea market in St Ouen outside Paris)

old beautiful things with stories to tell (photo taken in the flea market in St Ouen outside Paris)

old beautiful things with stories to tell (photo taken in the flea market in St Ouen outside Paris)

WHITE - QUINTESSENCE PLAYGROUND

Last weekend I worked in the gallery where I use to work on the weekends (Quintessence Playground 14 rue Paul Bert)  but during my stay in Sweden the owner, Ludovic Messager, had turned the black gallery into white…all the walls where painted in white and on one of the walls the definition of white was written in calligraphy with golden letters….. I loved the changes and it felt much better working in a white and light ambiance than the black and dark ;-)

WHITE - QUINTESSENCE PLAYGROUND

WHITE - QUINTESSENCE PLAYGROUND

WHITE - QUINTESSENCE PLAYGROUND

WHITE - QUINTESSENCE PLAYGROUND

vintage metal chairs

We buy many beautiful things to the gallery where I work at, Quintessence Playground, but it’s not often I share the photos on them with my readers but this time I will! Not long ago we bought a large lot of vintage metal chairs in many different colors. I can imagine they have been used in outdoor restaurants and café‘s in Bali where they originally come from. I like the way they have been “aging” by color that partly have faded away and the bumps on each chair that makes them unique and charming. My preferable ones are the chairs in turquoise because the color reminds me of oceans with crystal clear water :-)

vintage metal chairs

vintage metal chairs

vintage metal chairs

vintage metal chairs

Industrial Furnitures

I have just created a page on my site where I have chosen some exclusive selected industrial furnitures and antiques from the gallery where I work, Quintessence Playground. On the page you will find a photo-gallery with all the objects, click on each photo for specific details, information and price.

If you are interested to buy contact me at solli@sollis.se to get a special discount and for information on how to proceed in the buying process. If you have other questions mail me for more information.

Click here to get to the page.

Mr Boney @ Quintessence Playground

Have been working @ Quintessence Playground during the whole weekend. Have had +20 degrees…really beautiful weather!! Anyway, what I was going to say…take a look at the skull in the photo, mr Boney. After have been playing with him for a while, Ludo (who owns Quintessence Playground ) made an amazing creation using it. After a couple of hours I got to see the result and I was really amazed. No photos yet, but perhaps later…

Working @ Quintessence Playground

For the moment I’m working only on Saturday’s and Sunday’s @ the concept-store Quintessence Playground. Last week we recieved plenty of new objects and filled up our small gallery aswell so from now on I’m working on my own in the small gallery at 14 rue Paul Bert, just in front of our other concept-store. Working two days a week isn’t that much….but those two days in the Flea Market of St-Ouen feels like a week….yesterday it was big drama..can’t go into details…..I thought I was used to it but I never stop getting surprised…it’s like being a part of a soap-opera…

Le marché aux Puces de St-Ouen

Yesterday (read Sunday) I met up my friend Ellinor at the fleamarket of St-Ouen. The fleamarket in St-Ouen is Paris most famous one and it’s one of the worlds largest. Strolling around and watching the beautiful objects that collectors have in their galleries and stands feels like beeing taken to another world. I never go there with the intension to buy things I just love to see all the beautiful and unique things in their environment and to take photos to share them with you ;-) Yesterday I discovered this hidden garden (see the photos) filled up with beautiful objects. That’s the best part strolling around in the fleamarket, discovering new places….

Le marché aux Puces de St-Ouen

Yesterday afternoon I spent in the fleamarkets in Saint-Ouen (closest metro-station: Porte de Clignancourt). I visited a friends gallery and also strolled through the Marché Serpette and Marché Paul Bert. The sun was shining, it was crowded with tourists from all over the world and Parisian families and while taking some of these photos I met Lenny Kravitz ;-)

I saw lot’s of beautiful objects and met some very intresting people and I’m happy I’m living in the same city as one of Europe’s largest flea market :-) It’s definately a good way of spending a Sunday afternoon strolling and watching antiques.

The photos published in this post are taken from: Michèle Perceval‘s stand in Marché Serpette (stand 26, Allée 5) and Stéphanie‘s stand in Marché Paul Bert (stand 109, Allée 2).