Having dropped off my children at school, I decided to amble down the road instead of running back home to fulfill the usual daily rituals that make up the schedule of a freelancing mum. A certain shop had already caught my eye on another occasion and I had always assumed it was a sort of DIY -bric-a brac -bazaar type entity, much like many of the uncategorizable concept stores that seem to pop up everywhere in Paris like space dust did on your palette in the 80s. And what a bazaar it was. Fleux lured me into its vortex from which I “successfully” emerged an hour later. And then I went into the surrounding flagship shops ; with an emphasis on furniture, design and wacky gift selections. Since then, almost every friend I have introduced to this store has become an avid fan. The creativity and selection behind their stuff is irresistibly eye catching and enthralling in ergonomic design terms. There’s also a lot of utterly useless stuff too. It was from the latter category, that I chose something that I knew my kids would love. What’s more, a friend who is an incredibly talented furniture upholsterer was mesmerized by the array of  « distressed” tables and chairs and finding inspiration for her own designs, proceeded to organize the shipment of a few key pieces to her Bordeaux base on the spot. This is the art of Fleux, one which we hope, will continue for a long while to come. The Fleux shops, with their capacity to inspire, digress from the retail frenzy of « ready-made » shopping meccas, simply because a lot of the articles on show tempt the customer to use their own slant on furnishing based around a few “key” purchases. Thought provoking. Wallpaper samples, (not quite affordable enough to decorate a whole room), actually become wonderful just as a hanging framed graphic on a drab wall. A vintage chest that marries so well with the ubiquitous modern meridian sofa at home. AND with grandmas custom-made cushions thrown on top. It’s about combining unique pieces with what we already have. Quirky articles from all sorts of corners of the earth coexist quite slickly. The “gadgety” displays by the counter will invariably find themselves lodged at the top of your bag before exiting. That’s Fleux for you.

52 Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie, 75004 Paris