Balouga is a new, sweet-looking gallery of children's design, from the small to the major, which just got added to my shortlist for our next visit to Paris. I mean, just look at that wall of chairs hanging there, people.
It has an amazing collection of vintage modern kid's furniture, including designs from Thonet to Prouve and beyond, as well as pieces like the Eames molded ply kid's chairs which are still/back in production by Vitra.
In addition, there's clothing, books, toys, too. One line, Uni & Vintage, is awesome; I saw it at Bubble New York last month. All the pieces are contemporary, but made with vintage fabric, so they're extremely limited runs. The designer was supremely nice, gave the kid a balloon, even, and apologized for not having a website or anything for me to point to. It's funny to say this on a blog, but there's much to be said for something great that's handmade, that isn't everywhere, and that you can't get with a "buy it now!" click.
Anyway, Balouga is near Oberkampf in the Haut Marais, sort of the Silverlake of Paris. Hope that doesn't spoil it for you. Check it out. [balouga.com, thanks to veronique for the heads up]
I don't think I've ever seen something so pretentious (and I am French!).
[lol, you should see me when I'm in France, I'm insufferable. -ed.]
Sweet is right. I wonder what the prices are like. Greg, any pictures from the Uni & Vintage booth you can share?
{I wouldn't go to Paris for a Bertoia chair, that's for sure. I'm sure it is pricey, though. I'll dig around for some Uni&Vintage photos somewhere. stay tuned -ed.]
I once stumbled upon a child-sized Pantone chair at a thrift/junk/antique shop in Antwerp. It was so cute but at 50 euros I thought it was expensive--now I'm kicking myself.