I first met Catherine Fouchard, créatrice behind Cocobohème, at Maison et Objet 4 years ago. Her innovative designs and truly ecological production were cutting edge then and still are now. I was so inspired by all of the new products this season that I ordered practically the whole collection, some of which has arrived at BF and some of which will be arriving in the weeks before summer. Let me know what you think!
Retro butcher paper place mat
Here is how Cocobohème describes themselves {and they couldn't be more basic French}:
"We specialize in decoration and accessories, that we create and edit. Cocobohème is a soft mixture of craftiness, whim, aesthetics, and poetry with a practical side, accessible, and a strong ethics, with a large range of eco-design products 100% made in France.
Our added value is the exploration of innovative materials, in particular sustainable materials. Cocobohème was the first one to create chalkboard stickers and eco-design bibs made of potato starch, waterproof, reusable and biodegradable; we conceived the first static decals for windows; we produced the first poetic creatures on adhesive textile – these are reflective, so that you can be seen at night; we reinvented the garlands of flags with phosphorescent inks"
Doggie hangar, on corrugated cardboard
eco-design lobster bib, of potato starch
Beechwood tray printed with white doily {much cooler in person than in photo}
I am really trying not to be a workaholic. Recently (that means since I got back from New York) I have been feeling as though I was on "the rack," being pulled in so many directions that I want to scream, but not being able to move. Saturday morning I was paralyzed by all the "work" I had to do. I couldn't do anything but look at my list and freak out.
So, I packed up a folder, my computer (ugh, the main culprit,) a night gown, my toiletries kit, the girls the dogs, and fled to les monts du lyonnais. Along the way, at a rond point (traffic circle—something France is famous for!) we stopped at Uniferme, a country collective of local organic farm products, all produced by small farms in the country outside of Lyon.
It was so great when we got to our house. It was quiet. I could hear all the unique sounds that make up the country symphony—the crickets' chirp, the waving hay, the random bee buzzing by, the lizard slither, the sweet birds. The separation of the sound was amazing, soothing and I felt I could even hear myself again. The whir and whirl of city life, my own burn-out since my return from the states, coupled with the ridiculous schedule that I alone have committed to, had gotten the best of me.
Dinner on the grass terrace looking out at a thousamd acres of unspoiled farm land, a rousing game of progressive rummy and a good night's sleep, changed my perspective on everything.
I have asked myself, "why am I doing this? Why have I always worked so hard and rested so little?" It is literally impossible for me to sit down and read a book for an hour. I feel too guilty, like I am not entitled, am wasting time.
Solutions
1) write down 3 most important things to do the next day before I go to bed. Do ONLY those three things, nothing else before those are accomplished
2) cancel all extraneous plans until further notice
3) hug my dogs and children more (I already do this a lot!)
4) go to the country on the weekends
5) stay connected to the people I really love, get disconnected from those I don't
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