I received a small little book from a beloved friend and student of the fibers department while here in France. In this small fibers book you can find a collection of favorite shops found around France. The small book has been designed just for this trip. Before we went to Nimes, Pamela had told us about the small ribbon and trim shop in Nimes. The small shop was included on important places to visit in the fibers book. This special ribbon shop is called "La Mercerie". We were planning on a rainy day but were surprised to be greeted by clear blue skies. After visiting the collisieum, the contemporary art museum and Maison Carree (where we saw a very interesting 3D movie..) we headed straight for the trim store, only to find it was closed for lunch. Since we had to leave around 2:30 and the shop opened at 2:00 we had to plan the rest of the day around having our 15 or so minutes of bliss in the ribbon and trim store. After a day of exploring and having a quick lunch, 2:00 rolled around. We quickly made our way to the shop and the anticipation built as we reached our destination. I was particularly intrigued by the display in the window. Small wooden boxes with windows in them let the small bobbins of thread and ribbon become precious objects. The display in the window was very imaginitive with its ribbons and trims hanging from the ceiling in its unique way.
As I walked into the shop i discovered many colors of trims. I could not come to a decision on the trims and in the end only ended up purchased two, but as i checked out i discovered the wall of buttons! Time was running out and I had to make decisions, quickly. As I checked out and came to a decision, the woman behind the counter threw a few extra buttons in for free. When the last of us left she ran downstairs quickly to bring us a bag of extra ribbons and trims, which was very kind of her. I have noticed that they do this in lace and trim stores here in France more often then I have seen in America. The gesture is so kind. The attention that is paid to detail in the store fronts is very inspiring. Every little element has its place. It is so much more looser in France then in America, you can see a flair of someone else's imagination and not just a plan that was told to be done by corporate. This is something that I will miss when I return to the states.
