Announcing www.theearthlyparadise.com

Hi, everyone!

Earthly Paradise is going to be down overnight tonight (for readers in North America) while I switch to publishing on my own domain (apparently it takes a little while for the servers to update or whatever). The new address will be http://www.theearthlyparadise.com.

I've tried to do this a couple of times, but now I think I've got it all figured out! You will still be able to access this site from http://earthly-paradise.blogspot.com, but be sure to update your browsers as soon as possible. I will be emailing as many people as I can to let them know the new address.

Thanks for your patience, and have a great weekend everyone!

Margaret

The Medieval Mindset

I read a great opinion piece by David Brooks on the Medieval Mind in the New York Times about a month ago that I've been meaning to share. In it, Brooks bemoans the disenchantment that is the hallmark of the modern world. And while modern society has benefited from growing knowledge about the world that surrounds us, we have lost the sense of wonder and magic that seems so pervasive to the medieval worldview.

Brooks notes that, for the premoderns, the night sky was an "intimate and magical place." The heavens, to them, were a ceiling of moving spheres, rippling with signs and symbols, and moved by the love of God." C.S. Lewis once noted that the medieval world “was tingling with anthropomorphic life, dancing, ceremonial, a festival not a machine.” For us moderns, it is an expanse of "black, cold, mostly empty vastness, with planets and stars propelled by gravitational and other forces."

Brooks closes his article by reflecting on writers like C. S. Lewis and John Ruskin who "seized on medieval culture as an antidote to industrialism — to mass manufacturing, secularization and urbanization."

I sometimes wonder if knowledge must lead to disenchantment. I remember when I was a kid and I looked at the stars in the night sky in blissful ignorance. They looked so beautiful and ethereal in the night sky. I loved gazing at them. I even believed they would grant wishes (thank you Disney Pinocchio). Then a loving adult--I think it was my mom--informed me that the stars were actually just balls of gas. This was, um, not quite so romantic. It was like something snapped in my head. I continued to wonder at the beauty of nature, but it was a little depressing and disenchanting.

People often say that familiarity breeds contempt. I don't believe this is necessarily true--some things (and people!) you love even more as you get to know them better. But I also think that one of the reasons I love, say, my husband, even more as I spend more time with him, is because I believe he is more (pardon the expression) than just the some of his parts. I think that is one of the most important lessons that we can bring away from our medieval predecessors: there is more to this world than meets the eye.

Getting Listed in the Open Directory Project

Time to reveal my nerdy side! It's taken several months and I had almost given up, but when I got back from France I realized that The Earthly Paradise is now listed in the Open Directory Project! Unfortunately, this blog's listing is already slightly out of date, since I submitted my application months ago, when I first started this blog. The Earthly Paradise has changed direction somewhat since then (i.e., this blog is listed as an "introduction to the arts and crafts movement" and I'm not that's any longer true, strictly speaking).

According to their website, The Open Directory Project is a "is the most comprehensive human edited directory of the Web, compiled by a vast global community of volunteer editors." Blah, blah, blah. Basically, it's a good website directory, and it's generally accepted that getting your blog or website listed with the ODP is a good thing. The downside is that it can take a while to get your site included (and you'll probably have to submit your blog yourself, unless someone is altruistic enough to do it for you). However, many claim that it's worth it in the long run. I, for one, can personally attest that I have noticed a slight increase in Google search traffic since getting listed, but nothing extraordinary.

What are your experiences with the ODP? I know some people hate it because they've had a hard time getting in. It does seem like a useful resource, though there are drawbacks as well. For example, since editors aren't paid, people speculate that competitors are often in charge editing the categories and purposefully exclude others. I didn't experience this, but that is probably because art weblogs aren't exactly a highly competitive niche at the moment! My experience might have been quite different were I, say, someone who blogged about SEO (search engine optimization, for those of you who aren't nerd wannabes, like me).

Any thoughts? Do any of you harbour closet nerdy tendencies, or am I the only one? I always figure most bloggers must have some interest in these sorts of things, since it takes a little bit of tech savvy to blog in the first place (but not much--I knew virtually zilch before I started this blog). I guess I'm just naturally curious, so I'm easily fascinated by these sorts of things. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Medieval-Inspired Umbrella Stand from Musee D'Orsay

More from the Musee D'Orsay! (Can you tell I liked this place?).

This umbrella stand was in the same room as the pictures from yesterday's post. When I looked at the picture again today, I realized that the wrought iron designs on the bottom of this early 20th century stand were copied almost directly from iron works on display at the cluny museum from the 15th century. Do you see the resemblance?





Pretty neat, eh? One of my favourite things about art is how symbols and designs are picked up and re-used over time. It just shows that if you create something of lasting value, people will continue to be inspired by it for years to come (now, where can I find an umbrella stand like that?).

Decorative Arts at the Musee D'Orsay

As I continue chronicling my visit to Paris earlier this month, I thought I'd take a moment to revisit the Musee D'Orsay and tell you a bit about their great collection of decorative arts.

I guess you can tell I've swallowed William Morris' philosophy hook, line and sinker because whenever I get to a museum, I instantly make a beeline for whatever decorative arts are on display. Of course I still love paintings and sculpture, but I've developed a special place in my heart for beautiful (and useful!) household objects.

The Musee D'Orsay is a paradise for anyone who loves Art Nouveau style. They have several rooms at the Musee D'Orsay entirely devoted to Art Nouveau art objects. My favourite was the room pictured below, which was a recreation of a sort of "Haute Art Nouveau" living space. It's breathtakingly beautiful. The nature-inspired designs are so fluid that the walls feel like they are alive. It's incredible how the intricate, delicate carvings and the stunning grain of the wood combine to create such a spectacular effect.

I'm in love with the built-in shelves!



I really loved this vase and table and the carvings on the wall behind. Doesn't the entire room look like it came from the "Rivendell" set from Lord of the Rings? (by the way, if you aren't familiar with Art Nouveau, but you're familiar with the Peter Jackson film version of Lord of the Rings, the set for Rivendell was inspired by Art Nouveau style).

Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Lustre

I'm forever moaning about the demise of luxury--true luxury--which to me means hand crafted products made by people who are passionate about their art. And so, when I saw Dana Thomas being interviewed on Canada's Fashion Television about her new book Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Lustre, I knew I had to read it! I bought it for the trip home from Paris and finished it in one sitting.

In the book, Thomas takes her readers on a tour behind the scenes of the world's best-known luxury brands. In the process, she reveals that many of the brands we associate with luxury and quality are actually anything but. Thomas details how luxury manufacturers cut corners to fatten up their bottom line through techniques like using cheap thread (Prada), shortening the sleeves on their suits, manufacturing goods in third world countries and then tearing out the labels and replacing them with ones that read "made in Italy" (Valentino) and making the uppers of their shoes in one country and the bottoms in Italy so that their products can legally read "made in Italy"(Prada again).

While Deluxe is critical of cost-cutting measures like having goods made in China, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) mastermind Jean Arnault comes across as the villain of the book for his aggressive business tactics (he routinely engages in hostile takeovers of family-owned businesses) and his way of re-invisioning luxury as focused on branding, rather than quality.

Thomas is particularly harsh on Louis Vuitton, Valentino and Georgio Armani , although very few luxury brands escape her critique. The one brand that seems to escape relatively unscathed is Hermes: their products may be overpriced, but they have held fast to their commitment to creating quality handcrafted objets d'art.

Dana Thomas also explores the world of fake luxury goods. In a world where brands are more prized than true quality, fakes are inevitable. People want a piece of the image they feel wearing a certain brand creates. Unfortunately, there is a real price for buying fakes--money from the sale of counterfeit goods supports organized crime and terrorist organizations like FARC in Colombia. Moreover, conditions in the factories where these goods are produced are MUCH, MUCH worse than in legal factories--since manufacturers are already breaking the law, there isn't much incentive for them to provide their workers with clean, safe working conditions. There was one truly horrific account of a counterfeit luxury manufacturer in Thailand who had broken the legs of his young workers when they said they wanted to go outside to play.

Deluxe is a must read for anyone who has ever wondered whether $700 shoes are really worth it or not (they aren't--and they probably aren't even really made in Italy). Her book proves that very few so-called "luxury products" deserve their exorbitant price tags. So, next time you are wishing you could afford couture clothes, pick up this book--you'll be glad you did.

cover image courtesy amazon.com

Shopping in Paris at La Duree

La Duree's rose macaroons--my favourite flavour!

On Wednesday the 14th my mom and I spent the day shopping for hostess gifts at Printemps and Galleries Lafayette. We were leaving for Rennes the next day to visit some wonderful friends my mom had made on her last trip. In the end, we came back with some AMAZING macaroons from La Duree. They made a great hostess gift--I think Monique was rather pleased, and I think everyone enjoyed eating the cookies!

I have to say that in spite of the jaw dropping cost of La Duree's desserts, they are definitely worth it. Each one is a little work of art! While we were there, we couldn't resist having some tea and cookies! I sampled their celebrated macaroons, while my mom had a spectacular confection--the Ipsahan--created by taking a rose macaroon, filling the center with rose cream and lychees, and decorating the entire thing with fresh raberries. Both were delicious (she graciously let me sample hers!). Mom's dessert was crowned with a fresh rose petal.

For tea I had "Marie Antoinette" tea (of course) and a sampler of four of their mini macaroons--violet cassis, pistachio, lemon and cherry. Each and ever one was a dream, but my favourite was the violet. After all, how often do you get to eat a violet-flavoured desserts? And it was not just interesting, it tasted spectacular and not at all weird. My other favourite was the rose, which my mom had (again, extremely tasty and strangely unstrange). The French seem to love not only having their flowers, but eating them, too--and they have certainly perfected the art!

This picture of us was taken at the La Duree Tea Room at Printemps by our extremely congenial waiter. It's a little blurry, but I'm glad to have it, since you aren't supposed to take pictures at La Duree!(I'm not sure why).



Afterwards we got stuck in a torrential downpour at a charming little cafe. Here you can see the Parisians dashing about madly in an attempt to escape the rain! I was really impressed at how many of them had umbrellas--it has been extremely hot for days and the rain came from nowhere. Parisians are well-prepared for whatever comes their way!



After we got back from Rennes, I decided to get my husband a box of macroons. They seemed like the perfect gift. I wasn't completely sure whether he would really appreciate them or not (after all, he's not a girl and I've never heard a guy gushing about La Duree). We sampled several of the macaroons on thursday and he LOVED them! (Of course, who wouldn't?).

Photo of rose macaroons courtesy of La Duree.

This post has been featured in Heather on Her Travels' Carnival of Europe.