Introducing . . . French Maison, an Expat’s Adventure in Vintage

As promised last post, I’m excited to share with you an interview with a friend I’ve “met” through social media, a woman whose recent  bold lifestyle change has intrigued me (and, let’s be honest, triggered a bit of envy). Especially, I want to tell you about hernew Etsy business because I know that many of you are also francophiles, that many of you might want to own a little bit of French vintage for your home or  give it as a gift at Christmas or throughout the year.  For the past several months, Joanna has been visiting flea markets and vintage shops in Lyon, collecting pieces that she then refurbishes, where necessary, and sells and ships from her Etsy shop. It’s the kind of project I want to support because it accords so well with the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” mantra we’re all trying to pay more attention to. 

Be sure to note the 20% off Code that Joanna has offered Materfamilias readers — that’s you! (no, I’m not being remunerated for this post; you’re the only ones benefiting from Joanna’s generosity here) 

I “met” Joanna through Instagram a few years ago, I think after a visit to Seattle. I’d probably posted a few photos from that city, and as a shop owner in Pioneer Square she’d reached out. I always appreciated the way she maintained contact without unduly pushing her own commercial product (beautiful artisan jewelry that the Canada-US exchange rate kept slightly out of my budget). I followed her through some European travels, and she followed mine — I remember an exchange, for example, about the Polish bookstore in Paris, its wonderful Christmas window display on Boulevard Saint Germain.

So when Joanna began traveling earlier this year, I followed to see where she’d go — and my, oh my, this trip grabbed my interest and didn’t let go. I’ll let you read about it in her words in an “interview” we conducted by email this last week. . . 

Could you tell my readers a bit about what you were doing before you moved to France this year? When we met on social media, you had a jewelry shop in Seattle, if I remember correctly. How long had you lived in Seattle, and how or why did it seem like a good idea to give up that life to try something else?

Yes, we met via Instagram. I think I chimed in with a comment or two.  At that time I had a jewelry studio in Seattle, in Pioneer Square.  My husband and I lived in Seattle for about 11 years.  We moved there from New York.  And now we live – in France!  Which was planned for a long time.  So no, it was not a rush decision, we did not wake up one morning and said – “honey, I feel like packing everything up, selling our condo, and spending my retirement in France”.  

Choosing a life as an expat was not the first time for me.  I emigrated to the USA from Poland about 30 years ago.  But this time it was different.  I was moving with my husband, a dog, and a household of belongings.  But we we both determined to pursue a life rich that’s a bit different, no matter how difficult the process was going to be.

In the USA I was working in banking for a long time.  First in New York, and then in Seattle.  But art was in my blood, many of my family members are and were artists, so I had to answer that “call” at some point.  

I have always been a creative person.  I had an idea of creating a jewelry line, and that dream became reality in 2010.  I started a jewelry line called “Joanna Morgan Designs”. After a few years I opened a jewelry studio in the historic Pioneer Square in Seattle.  I loved working there, among other artists, and yes, it was hard to close it up, and leave.  But as I said, we had a plan.  A plan to move to France and try to live there for a while.  We had been coming to this beautiful country over the years, first time it was right after we got married (a loooong time ago!).  We got to know various regions, and always had a really happy time.  We made friends.  We missed France when we got back to the US.  

My next question (okay, questions!) would then be about when you began to think about closing up that business, and why? I will admit that part of me has always dreamed of an ex-pat life, at least for a year, but the dream was never strong enough to overcome the practical objections. So I’m always excited to hear about how others make such a bold move. It must have been at least a bit scary along the way, but also liberating? Was France a part of your plan from the start or did it gradually emerge as a possibility and then firm into reality? And how long were the preparations, transporting belongings, bringing the dog with you. etc.? 

My previous answer addresses the why and when I closed my business.  I think my dream of living in France was stronger.  I know I can make jewelry and set up a new studio anywhere.  And we wanted to make this (very big) change while we’re still young enough to undertake the move of these proportions.  Moving anywhere is stressful and disruptive; moving to a different country is very very stressful.  Logistics took over a year.  We sold, gave away, donated a lot.  We hired movers and shipped a container of belongings.  It was a lot of work, but totally worth it!  We also studied French for a long time.  Difficult to do when you don’t have a lot of contact with the language, but now of course it is much easier (and necessary too) to get up to speed with it.

We have a dog we brought with us.  Bringing Mandy was always part of the plan, and yes, created more complications (the paperwork to “export” an animal is onerous to say the least), but also gave us an excuse to be (even) more adventurous  –  we drove cross country to New York and took a cruise ship to Southampton, UK!  The Atlantic crossing was something I dreamed about, it was an unforgettable experience, and I was happy my dog didn’t have to fly in a cage under the plane.  She was in a dog kennel area for the whole time, but we spent lots of time with her every day.  We couldn’t have her with us all the time, but though not ideal, it was still a lot less stressful for all of us, and all in all a better solution.

How difficult was it to let go and leave behind? Is there anything you really miss?

The most difficult thing was saying goodbyes.  I know I will see my friends again, when they come to visit me, but…  So one thing I really miss is the people close to me.  We stay connected via email and phone as much as possible.  The time difference…

Yes, that time difference requires some thinking, doesn’t it? We usually try to make our FaceTime calls with our granddaughter about 10 a.m. — after her dinner but before bedtime. That would be much tougher to do if we weren’t retired!

And now tell us about how this idea for your Vintage Shop came about? Had you had this idea from the time you began planning to leave Seattle? Or did it present itself more spontaneously? I’ve watched on Instagram (enviously, I must admit) as you and your partner looked for an apartment and then began furnishing it. I know you shipped some of your belongings (including furniture?), but I also began to notice you bringing home great finds from the flea markets in Lyon, refinishing chairs, furnishing your new home with treasures, setting your table with silverware and linens that you’d brought home and polished or laundered. Is part of the reason for your online shop simply that you can’t resist the hunt but have no more room for all the treasures you find?

So we landed in France, with some belongings, but still lacking many necessities.  And a man/woman can’t live by IKEA alone.  So I started going to the flea market.  I got “the flea bug”.  Opening a business was not on my mind.  I have just moved.  I was refinishing chairs.  For a while we did not have silverware, we had two forks between us, and two spoons.  It was a bit like being newlyweds again. We brought some furniture with us (come to think of it, all of it is either vintage, antique, or inherited/aka old or antique).  We didn’t have a bed.  We slept on the floor for a month.

In New York and in Seattle I was always looking for items that would bring more personality to our space.  I sewed, I gardened, refinished furniture, scavenged estate sales, antique malls, painted walls, collected linens, china, pottery…  So the inner need to make a new space my own was not a new feeling to me. Since I always loved browsing vintage stores, flea markets, estate sales, I looked up if there is something like that in our new area, in Lyon.  As it turns out, Les Puces in Lyon is one of the best “fleas” in France, second to probably only Parisian flea markets. However this time I found myself in a place just ripe with possibilities. 

My husband went only twice with me.  It really is not his thing.  He looked into a couple of stalls, and then wanted lunch. So I started going by myself.  I loved talking with the vendors.  How?  No idea, my French is still “in a development stage”.  But we talked, I bought things, I posted pics on Instagram, and some friends started commenting: you should open a shop!  your finds are beautiful!  And I thought, hmmm, I am not ready to dive back into the jewelry biz, but this flea market treasure hunting is really up my alley.  I was really enjoying myself going to the markets, chatting with people, researching what I found, and then seeing the beautiful objects adding the character to our new place, making it feel like home.

So making it more of an occupation was a natural progression (and with an encouragement of friends too).   

I was fascinated with the variety of beautiful objects available at the marché,  their history, how they enhanced my new living space, and how happy they made me.  Often their quality surpasses a quality of anything else you can get nowadays.  With them you can escape the uniformity and vanilla blandness of so many interiors we see everywhere.  The vintage objects let you unleash the creativity, make a space your own, help you express yourself and show your personality.  

Going to a store and buying what you need is OK.  But bringing the older objects back to life, giving them another chance, is something else.  And, when your friends ask you – where did you get that, it’s fantastic!  You can answer – in France!  And it is one of a kind.  How cool is that?

Bringing the past to the present, re-use, re-love older things, things with history, to enhance our modern lives – this is what I’m passionate about. Yes, there is some “save the environment” consciousness philosophy for me.  Eclectic furnishings, mixing patterns, including old among the new, appreciating beauty and function, finding new uses for objects that may have outlived their usefulness in the modern world. I feel these objects have a soul, someone loved making them, and loved using them.  Whereas what I see in malls, chain stores, well, it’s a quite different feeling.  

I select everything myself.  If you’ve ever been to a flea market, you know how overwhelming it can be.  Some things are charming, rustic,  rare.  Some things are just – junk!  Sometimes it really takes a few visits to find something that can appeal to me, and to my clients.

Is what I sell an overflow of my vintage shopping “addiction”?  Not really.  What I sell is definitely a reflection of my personal style though.  Objects that I sell at My French Maison were specifically selected for the store.    It’s about bringing that je ne sais quoi that we so admire to our surroundings.  It’s about what makes you smile and gives you joie de vivre.  So what you see in my online shop is truly hand selected by me.  And often times cleaned up, and presented in the images I post so you can imagine the objects in a living space.

Another question I’d like to ask: why Lyon? many of us have visited, read of, or seen photos of the flea markets in Paris, but are less familiar with those of Lyon.  Is there one big weekly market you go to or do you have several favourite spots you visits? What range does the flea market cover and what skills have you found yourself honing through these past months of looking? Are you building relationships with some of the vendors? 

I have to reveal that before moving here we had never visited Lyon.  We read about it.  We saw beautiful pictures of it.  But in none of our previous travels had we come to Lyon.

When people think “France,” they usually think “Paris.” Or “Provence.”  The fact that Lyon is not usually on everyone’s travel itinerary was part of what attracted us to it. We wanted to live in a more authentic place, more “French.”  But also we were looking for a larger city (it is third biggest city in France, after Paris and Marseille), with good public transportation, good connections to the rest of the country and Europe (we love train travel!), and lots of things to do.

Being here is magical.  Lyon is a beautiful city, with layers of history.  People are nice, food is excellent (Lyonnaise cuisine is known worldwide).  The climate is mild (albeit with very hot summers).  As I mentioned above, there is a wonderful flea market.  There is an antique book market on the Saone as well.  And there are numerous smaller “fleas” or vide-greniers throughout the city year round.

As one of my friends asked me:  What kind of things can you find at a flea market?  My answer was: Everything and nothing.  It really is up to you.  Furniture, whole and pieces of it, from extremely expensive museum pieces, to insect eaten shaky chairs.  Gorgeous china can sit right next to piles of old books, taxidermied animals, smelly vintage clothes, silver darkened beyond recognition. Many times things are dirty, you have to dig through boxes of stuff, piles of old linen, it can take quite a big imagination to see what you can do with what you’re finding.  Much of the market is under an open sky – hot in summer, cold in winter… It can take some stamina – get up early, rain or shine, and spend a few hours digging through old objects.  But to me, there are very few other things that can get me out of bed at 6AM!

The main skills I learned right away is how to count in French!  After a couple of markets I was fluent.  

Some vendors I frequent have nice little shops set up.  They know their trade and are a mine of information.  There are a few I love – a lady who specializes in old linen, another one that has the mosts amazing little shop with china and pottery, and a few others where I always find most amazing things.  Chatting with them is always a free French lesson, and a delight.

I know you brought your dog to France with you — does s/he accompany you to the flea markets? Might s/he eventually curate a small corner of your French Maison dedicated to dog-related vintage? (I note that Linda Rodin, whose poodle, Winks, shares her celebrity, has recently developed a line of collars and leashes)

Mandy stays home – she opts for getting the full 8 hours of her beauty sleep 🙂  But I like the idea of curating a corner of the shop for dog lovers.  You just gave me an idea 🙂

Best discoveries/ lifestyle changes about this move?

We have found what we came for – a different pace of life.  Being more in the now.  Enjoying more.  

Biggest challenges? 

The language, bien sur!  But our French is improving.  Being surrounded by it, and having to actively use it (not so many French know English here) forces you to overcome quite a few hurdles.  

And favourite finds that you’re now listing in the shop, anything that was especially tough to sell rather than to keep for yourself?

There are definitely some – like the rose shaped inkwell, or lace and textiles.  But, I am happy to think someone see can enjoy them too!

Thanks so much, Joanna, for telling us about your leap into expat life in France and for giving us a peek into your French Maison.  And thanks, especially, for this generous offer you’re extending to my readers.  20% off, between December 3rd to December 18th, with the code MFMCHRISTMAS at your Etsy shop.

And a note to my readers that this interview was not solicited by you, nor am I being remunerated for posting it. I simply admire Joanna’s enterprise and wanted to share it with you because I thought you would like to know about it.