Personal Shopper

In the home of designer Virginie Manivet, an original 19th-century tiled-floor kitchen in a blue by French paint company Tollens features a folding metal garden table and toile de jouy curtains. Chairs in black lacquer stand under a Piero Fornasetti plate, and a clay bust from Saint-Tropez divides the cookbooks. opposite page: seashells and a bronze candlestick are arranged on an 18th-century Swedish chest of drawers, found at the MarchÊ aux Puces de Saint-Ouen market in Paris. Behind is an oil painting of the seaside town of Collioure, a gift from Manivet’s father.

Details, last pages.

eclectic

blue

In the Paris home of designer Virginie Manivet, vignettes created as odes to the south of France are nestled amongst the antiques. photographer: Eric Morin writer: Susan Owens

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“Decorating is transforming; you have a space but it’s what you make of that”

A hallstand with ceramic vase (front) from the Saint Clément pottery in Lunéville in north-eastern France alongside a bowl found in Morocco, this page. Continuing the colour thread, the chair beneath the 1960s raffia sun mirror (one of a collection) is painted in a green Tollens shade. The raw linen curtains are from Caravane in Paris. opposite page: a sofa from Merci is scattered with handmade cushions from Lindell & Co. The floor lamp by Paris designer Philippe Xerri is made from olive wood with a raffia shade. Nearby is an antique glove mould.

The circa 1962 colour lithography Corrida

by Jean Cocteau hangs on the far right wall.

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The walls are painted a coral-orange colour from Tollens.

The decorative plates were handmade by Manivet, from a series called Adam et Eve. “I have always loved the strong colours and the ceramics typical of the south of France,” she says. opposite page: a view of the bedroom door shows Manivet’s love of shapes and texture. To the right of the doorframe, from top: porcelain object and porcelain plate, both made by Manivet; a CD player; a porcelain stoup (basin for holy water); and a Mexican ex-voto (religious offering). On the wall (to the right) is a rudimentary iron lingerie display stand, from a market in the south of France.

ask virginie manivet why she chose her 19th-century Paris apartment in the heart of the historic Le Marais district and the indefatigable personal shopper and designer says, “Because I have eclectic taste and the souvenirs of a lifetime are all at home here.”

She’s the in-demand custom shopper with the little black book that details the names of elite artisans, antiques and 20th-century furniture dealers, restorers, bespoke carpet or glass makers and galleries. This ‘who’s who’ is the envy of anyone seeking the secrets of Paris, out of reach to all but her clients, who are both professional decorators and private individuals. “For 20 years I have gone out every day with my pencil and notebook,” Manivet says. “I have so much fun. There’s rarely a day when I have not made a new discovery. I take particulars; write everything down and file it away. I have amassed hundreds of addresses — and cartons of style secrets only Paris yields.”

You don’t need to live in Paris to enjoy Manivet’s charm and, more importantly, her insider knowledge. She works with clients all around the world, particularly Australia where, in 2005, she spent six months in Sydney and has returned on visits.

“Typically, I get a phone call and a voice says, ‘I’m arriving in two weeks, help me choose, time is short.’” Manivet asks her clients to send pictures of rooms and a ‘wish list’ before she tailors an itinerary that might include an early morning trip to a market and private appointments with specialist dealers. >

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< And if you just happen to want a visit to one of the world’s best vintage clothing boutiques, she’ll slide in a side trip to Didier Ludot near the Palais Royal.

No stone is left unturned.

“I’m rather like a detective who constructs an itinerary and a client joins my treasure hunt. I like the contact with antiques dealers and artisans, it’s a journey of discovery. In most cases you can’t go in to a dealer and say, ‘I want this.’ Well, not when you’re looking for specialist pieces.

When clients aren’t sure, I become a sort of psychologist. An interview brings out the person, then I reflect on the city they live in and the cultural backdrop. We typically start at 8am and don’t stop; we use every hour of the day.”

Her own apartment reflects her love of the south of France.

“I need energy, light and a mix of materials. In the south, the sunlight intensifies the colour. I have a lot of pieces that originate in the south, like the sun mirrors, and ceramics by Cocteau and Picasso, who both worked there. The sensation of this collection is softer in the Paris light and in a city where interiors are more classic. The sunlight, for many, is outside, in public gardens.”

Manivet talks of these collectables like old friends. “In any interior, there’s a conversation between the objects in a room. Each piece has its own story and a relationship to the others. I find nonconformity is liberating and expressive.”

Tall, blonde and willowy, Manivet relentlessly revamps and overhauls her apartment but her imprint is unmistakable: based on

bold colours and a love of form, structure and textures. “I started my career as an artist and I’m constantly transforming my apartment — even in the smallest way.

“For me, luxury is a new piece. I have the eye of a child; I marvel at objects because they’re so expressive. I love knowing their story. Finding a new piece in a flea market is not a game, but it’s not too serious, either. When I find something new I make my stamp, make little changes to the fabric on a stool or I’ll paint a piece of furniture. It’s what you make of it.

I’m an artist and love using my hands.

Decorating is transforming; you have a space but it’s what you make of that.”

Manivet, who loves to shop at the antiques and secondhand market Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen in Paris (as well as in Avignon, Montpelier, Aix-en-Provence and Belgium “for industrial pieces”), also routinely visits the prestigious antiques dealers around the Rue du Bac in Saint Germain, revealing the insider tip: “Each is the place to be.”

“I need to create,” she says of her latest projects, collaborating with artisans on new designs for carpets, tables, glass, ceramics and even jewellery. “I like new concepts. This is my outlet. And when a client wants a custom-made table or sofa, or even a dinner service, I oversee that and ship it.” She finds she is commissioning ever more custom-made pieces of furniture, “for people who want something special, who see that so much is copied now and want something they can’t find elsewhere”. VL

opposite page :

Manivet’s bed, dressed with white linen from Caravane, hand-embroidered cushions from Lindell & Co and a Mongolian lamb throw. She found the 1960s sun mirrors at antiques markets in the south of France. below: a 1940s painting on linen by French artist Jean Lurçat rests atop a chest of drawers, its top coated in blackboard paint by Manivet (pictured above). Iron lingerie display stands, from a market in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in the south of France, hang on the wall. An antique papier-mâché wall mirror is laid flat on the chest. Details, last pages.

“In any interior, there’s a conversation between the objects in a room. Each piece has its own story and a relationship to the others. I find nonconformity is liberating and expressive”

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