Deja Vu

This art print could be part of some of the dreams I once had and can't remember once awake...it brought back to me a huge déjà vu feeling...a happy elephant (mammoth /mountains) swimming in the sea surrounded by the moonlight and a boat in a distance.. Wow! I love the design with two scenes in one..
This may not be my exact dream's vision, but It's for sure, an Explosions In The Sky poster. DKNG design studio were asked to create one for their Minneapolis show. The idea behind the poster came from an interview in which the band was described as having a “Mammoth Sound”.

This is pure joy to me!- It is truly beautiful and I love the innocence of it.

Cultural expeditions

Peru.
Benin.
France.

C'est un long voyage!

Benches and flowers

Im dreaming of a whimsical outdoor setting surrounding the shop... Something that will reminds anyone of a French country house kind of idea-Top priority is to bring back nature, then everything will follow: design, art, etcetera.
I want benches and flowers, so people can seat in a beautiful environment facing my windows and simply enjoy the time passing by around a great little corner...

Letter to January

Dear January,

It's time to restock the Closet here in San Francisco. Please say hi to Paris for me and sorry about not making it for Fashion Week. I'll be pretty busy here sewing and making jewelry. Don't get me wrong: I do miss you, Paris and Benin a lot, but I had to change plans this year and stay by The Closet. The Closet really needs me right now. He looks kind of empty...but he said it's a good thing because he's been taking care of people and everyone has been really nice visiting him during the holidays season ! So, it's my turn to take care of him now. I plan to visit February in Benin this year for a couple of weeks. I may have the chance to see March too! I will make sure to stop and say hi to Paris anyway! I'm already super excited! Benin and Paris told me they have tons of treasures they've both been saving for me so I can't wait to bring them back to The Closet in San Francisco! It will be perfect for Spring! January, If you are already gone by the time I'll make it there, forgive me ! By the way, where are you going to?
-You should stop worrying, cause everything will be fine. I will be busy working. Be brave and Lots of Love.

Aline

2012

To celebrate the year 2012, I wish You find your way to Happiness, the one that leads to Joy, Fulfillment, Peace-the same that push away fears and aggressiveness ... I wish you Health, Luck and Prosperity. I wish you to know Love.
Today is the 3rd day of the year and I'll be between mounting wooden treasures, feeding of sweets, cake and chocolate and talking about Aline's Closet 2012 DREAMS. I probably would not be here to open doors at the shop today but it's all about sharing a moment and making tomorrow looks better !

Thank You for making 2011 such a beautiful year! From a distance in thoughts or in person right at my doorsteps: Clients, Friends and Family, You've all brought me a piece of joy in 2011. Thank You.
May those moments of pleasure and complicity follow the track of 2011, in new 2012!

-Very nice and happy new year. See you at Aline's Closet in 2012.
Aline
xoxo

Here comes 2012-Happy New Year!

Alinéa

Alinéa is a French furniture and decor company but I love that my name fits inside...:)

Best of 2011 Customers Comments !

It felt so good to hear that from my customers troughout the year !

As a follow up to 2010, 2011 was a great year, can 2012 be that amazing pleeaasse !? Thank you : )

"Your shop is so cute"  is by far the #1 comment of the year !!

     

Joyeux Noël

I just can't beleive it's already Christmas...

Today I'm spending some time with my sister in California

I hope your soul will be filled with Love, Peace & Joy

Aline, xox

The Hanger X-mas Tree !

The Hanger X-mas tree/ sketch

This will be my Xmas tree.

 All I need is hangers and fabric scraps. Of that, I have plenty.

Will make "The hanger Xmas Tree" comes to life tomorrow. 

Playlist + Poem = Playpoem

Red Blood,

I though I was an Alien.
If you just make love to me, In the grace of your Love: I'm ready.
I wanna be with you again.
I've been thinking San Dimas oasis. Too late, too far ?
Deadbeat Summer, Guys eyes, House of cards...
Nevertheless...New Loved ones! 
Aline

This poem was written based on a playlist, you can listen to the playlist here: Playpoem- Red Blood

I'm always inspired by music ( who isnt?) but I wanted to share the music I love, that makes me happy (or happysad!) not in an usual way by a simple "copy and paste"...

"Red Blood" is the very first poem of a long series of poems based on playlists I will create. I will call them "Playpoem" and they will be published monthly, at least !

Voila ma recette: 

- Pick your favorite songs of the moment, make sure they really talk to you and go well together.

- Create a playlist, mix your song together and listen to them as much as possible, repeat mode is necessary.

- Let it stand for 2 days.

- Take attention to the titles individualy-only now you can focus on the titles' senses.

- Start to pair, mix and match the titles together to create short sentenses.

- Add punctuation marks to your liking...

Bonne appetit!

Now you can Listen and/or Read it all, or Save it for tomorrow. You have Options. 

Au pres de mon arbre je vivais heureux- I was happy next to my tree

When I first encountered my shop location- 101 Pierce Street- right in the Lower Haight, one of the many reasons why I felt in love with the location- was the fact that it was a litlle corner store, a bit hidden from busy Haight Street, with two gorgeous windows!  One facing Pierce  Street and the other one facing Waller Street. Yes, I found the windows great : not for all the beautiful pieces I could display in, but cause I could see, right from my desk, wonderful green leaves and birds swinging by their home sweet home- inside the Trees!
The trees were inspiring and the first time I sat by my desk it felt like being in a tree house. I could even hear the birds singing! Heaven!  They gave a cozy and welcoming atmosphere to the shop and because they were close enough to each other, they were kind of making a nice natural arch. Unfortunately, this whimsical setting will no longer be in front of Aline's Closet from today...

Both trees has to be cut down because the city has diagnosticed them sick, about five months ago.
By the city request, Lemon DeGoerge Tree Care (a company that cut trees owned by super friendly Lemon !) came by the shop today and cut dowm "Waller" tree. To be honest, I felt a bit "naked", suddenly so exposed! I realised this tree was a real natural curtain- Now I can see everyone coming from Duboce park and I guess everyone can see me too!

Around June 2010,  " Waller " started to loose its leaves. I though it was just its time of the year to loose and regrow leaves later on...but the leaves never came back and exactly a year after the same thing happened to the other tree on Pierce Street...something was obviously not going well and a lot of people stopped by the shop to ask me about it..For me, they looks really old and dry,  it's just maybe their time...I guess trees can get really old, sick and then die, just like us. 

The thing is that for trees, if We don't cut Them before they die, they can loose their branches and eventually fall...needless to describe it can be dangerous...I'm happy when I think they will be sent out to Green Waste and turned into fertilizer.

"Pierce" is  scheduled to be cut down tomorrow morning.
It's always sad to see a tree cut..You should stop by right after!!  Aline's Closet will be open: first day with no trees around/  Friday November 18th 2011/Noon to 7pm :)

If what people say is right, if  it  really "opens up " the visibility of the store, then I'm happy to  get more exposure and "sunlight"! I'm not sure if the city is planting back new trees, but I pray "something great" will replace them. Something birds and butterflies like to hang out by...
                    

                          

Skype me, Google me, Yelp me, Like me! Not necessarily in that order...

Aline 08:05 
hey Jean Pascal, I'll be on TV in the US today!

Jean Pascal 08:05 
ah ouaiii !!!?? / hooo for real  !!!??
08:05
raconte!/ tell me!

Aline 08:05 
dommage que tu sois en Inde et que tu ne puisses pas me voir a la télé.../ Too bad you're in India and that you won't be able to see me on TV...

08:06
jai ete interviewe par une chaine et une radio cette semaine sur l'ampleur de ma boutique et mon expérience dans la mode/ I've been interviewed this week by a radio and a TV about the extent of my shop and my experience in fashion

Jean Pascal 08:06 
oph cool/ oohhh cool
08:06
montres-moi ta boutique/ show me your shop

Aline 08:06 
hey, you should follow me on my facebook page!

Jean Pascal 08:06 
envoi/ send it out
08:06
jai pas facebook au fait.../ I do not have facebook by the way...

Aline 08:07 
ok- look for aline's closet in google.
08:08
im in bed...jaurai mis la camera si jetais a ma boutique./ In my bed...I would have put the camera on if I was at the shop


Aline 08:10
Envoi de fichier à Jean Pascal. / Sending file to Jean Pascal. 08:10
IMG1262.jpg
1,2 Mo

Aline 08:11
Envoi de fichier à  Jean Pascal./Sending file to Jean Pascal. 08:11
IMG2130.jpg
1,1 Mo
Transfert terminé à Jean Pascal/ Download completed to Jean Pascal

Aline 08:11 
outside and inside view

Jean Pascal 08:12 
c'est situe ou ?/ where is it located ?
08:12
envoi ta facebook page/ send me your facebook page

Aline 08:12 
http://www.yelp.com/biz/alines-closet-san-francisco
08:13
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alines-Closet/120381104665713?sk=wall
08:14
at least now, you'll have a a good reason to be on facebook...

Upcoming Broadcasts! Listen to the Radio and watch TV !

Today I'll be the guest of Daniel Everett, the host of the KUSF legal advice show “Folk Law” . I'll be taped and video-recorded at the KUSF studio in San Francisco, as there will be a Radio + Television version of my interview!

Needless to say -Next week everyone should listen to the Radio and Watch TV ! 

I'll be updating you with more info on the exact day and time of my 30 mins on air talking about Aline's Closet: my one and only "Fashion based business Love story" in San Francisco. Stay tuned! xoxo

Meet Mitch Alfus, Leather King. A Selby Movie

I heart Vintage !

Papergirl SF rocks !

Sitting in my litlle chair outside the shop and soaking up the the sun when... bam!-A blue paper roll just fall in my hands! I've just catch my first edition of Papergirl San Francisco. So what's this about ?

It's about fresh artwork rolled and delivered in style and for free at your door- 

 -Papergirl SF collects artworks from all over the world and annualy spreads it out freely by bicycle in the streets of San Francisco. I'm glad the Roll n Ride Route passes right in front of Aline's Closet!  I think this is an awesome art project and the fact that this only happens once a year makes it cooler !! It felt like receiving a special gift ! and from a handsome paperboy waving and smiling at you from his bike...why not grabing it !? I love the old school American paperboys style ! Needless to say that when I opened my roll and looked at what was inside, the artwork was great, signed and in limited edition, and makes me want to frame n hang on my walls!

This kind of sums up what the city is to me :

- Artistic, Fun, Eco-counscious, Open to the World, Free, Bikes friendly- And ho yes, San Francisco is also So Surprising !  Always be prepared for a great catch! You never knows what can fall in your hands... 

Find out more of the artists and project here: http://papergirl-sf.com/

Trouille trouille trouille, Citrouille ! Pumpkin !...Halloween is at the corner!

Saturday Night-6pm to 9pm!! Get together at Aline's Closet for a Scary Halloween Party ! This promises to be a funny night with already pretty cool costumes on the guest list !- Witches, Ghosts, Skelletons, Super Heroes, Sexy Cops, Napoléon and even a Shark and an Iron Gate! Wow! +Get 10% off on whatever you buy at the shop that night !

                                                    Swing by the Shop on Saturday ! till 9pm, only if You Dare...
                                                            -And now, Should I ? - HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

Litlle man whispering in a little box !

"I'll never make it", "I am ugly", "My hair looks awful today"
Some days... you just need a little bit of consolation. When everything discourage us, we would like to hear a small voice that whispered to our ears some kind and sweet words. Have you heard about The Instant Comfort Pocket Box ?
Kim Welling, a Swedish designer, had the idea to slide some little men in paper into boxes of matches. If you're having a bad day, open it and read what your "man" whispers to you:
"You can do it", "You look beautiful today", "Everything Will Be OK". 

This can switch any bad moods to the right side: It instantly puts a smile on my face like Magic !! And sure will on yours too!

- It's sold out at Aline's Closet at the moment, but do not despair, the little man in a box, will be here for you again soon.

Flowers !!

-What I love most is that flowers are for everyone. Yes, everyone and everything. Their beauty extends to the whole world and anyone who dares to say out loud that they “don’t like flowers” just seems like a horible person...

California Road Trip

I took those pictures on my last Cali-exploration, I'm not quite sure when I will have the time again to go and discover more about California but I know I'm dying for a road trip! 

  I want to go there and watch california poppy grow again, even just for a day...

California Poppies grow wild throughout California from February to September, closing their silky petals at night or in the cold and wind, and opening them again the following morning...  In flower symbolism, poppies are associated with beauty, magic, consolation, fertility, and eternal life...

Dear Vintage Lover

My litlle African print bag gives the right touch to my French stripes.

-A classic outfit poped up by a little touch of colour, perfect for a chilly late summer day out-

I've been trying to incorporate some interesting west african prints -called it Wax- into my designs.

So I'm working on my next pieces and they promise to be colorful and fun!

Have you met Song Preservation Society ?

    Well, I did- After a month spent in Paris, the next day I landed,  it's was time to reconnect with San Francisco again. So I decided to take a walk around the Lower Haight and check what was possibly new around Aline's Closet on this sunny afternoon !

This is how I  stumbled across a wonderful trio playing guitar and singing on an orange couch in  Duboce Park, right a block away from Aline's Closet...I found the scene really cool and it suddenly felt like a warm  " Welcome back to San Francisco, Aline ! "
 – Song Preservation Society  were live recording "Circus", and making a little project with The Living Room Sessions. Please enjoy! There are so talented!  They will be playing again in San Francisco:

 Friday, September 16- 10pm at 50 Mason Social House, 50 Mason St., San Francisco, CA 94102