Vintage wallpaper, c. 1936

Another great find from the Vanves flea market in Paris. Wish I had bought many more of these small sample booklets!

Pascal Parmentier

I found Pascal Parmentier's cut-out cards at Pylones, a fun store in the Marais filled with decorative objects of all kinds. But you can also find the cards at the artist's own website:

www.pascal-p-parmentier.com

Update: I made an error in transcribing the address -- try it now, should work!

Decoupages by Marc Vidal

Found at a toy shop in Paris, and can also be found at:
www.marcvidal.com/accueil_a.htm

Margaret Menamin Eshbaugh

Margaret died this afternoon after a brief illness. She was a paper doll artist, collector and a poet, too. Many of us enjoyed seeing her and husband Bob at the April 4 luncheon in Morgantown, PA hosted by Jayne Keller and Marlene Brenner. You could usually find Margaret and Carol Carey, talking, laughing, poring over paper doll binders, or comparing purchases. They were very close friends.

The paper doll of Margaret was drawn by Bruce Patrick Jones. The one above is a copy of the original drawing, handcolored by Margaret.

Paste-up dolls were one of Margaret's specialties. She had a knack for finding the celebrity face in a magazine to match with an existing paper doll body. She was wildly creative. Margaret's collage paper dolls were featured in issue 82 of Paper Doll Studio (Summer 2005), and she has an excellent article in it about her paper doll art. "The clothing is made from found pieces cut from magazines, catalogs, and other sources," Margaret wrote. "Sometimes the clothing is a combination of found pieces and my own drawing, and I may draw on wallpaper samples, paper bags, colored paper, tissue paper, crepe paper, or any other kind of attractive paper."




Many of Margaret's poems--several published in prestigious literary magazines -- can be found at her website: www.menamin.com/

Margaret created these items, based on actual items in her wardrobe. She jotted down a few details behind each article of clothing.

Cape: "I made this 'fleece' cape in 1969--and am still wearing it!"
Winter hat: "My Australian lamb hat--falling apart now."
Floppy hat: "My floppy old felt hat which I wear with various scarves."
Skirt and blouse: Copy of outfit designed by Margaret Menamin.

She will be missed.

Le chat

Always fun to stumble on a street market with interesting cards...

Prins Patrick

This is the dealer's shop I was browsing in the "arcades" which was actually the Passage des Panoramas. Many stamp dealers located there, too.

Musee de la Poupee

As luck would have it, Samy Odin was in Barcelona the week I was in Paris. Nonetheless, I paid a visit to his doll museum, which is right across the street from the Centre Pompidou.



Here are some postcards from the museum gift shop; photos are not allowed at the museum:


There were quite a few old vintage French dolls on display as part of the permanent collection. But the special exhibit at the museum while I was there was all about Barbie! And I have to say, it was quite excellent. There was a diorama for each decade of Barbie, complete with that era's wardrobe, accessories and friends (Ken, Midge, Skipper, etc., all on hand). Of course, I loved the first decade, with the bubble hair and gold brocade cocktail dress. And that fabulous convertible...

If you plan to be in Paris in Sept., you can check out the following conference:
And Samy can help you identify your doll and its value, of course.