a fading sign from times gone by, I would love to restore this beautiful old building ... and keep the signs! (épicerie = grocery shop)
Bonjour à tous! I thought it would be fun to share some snapshots of signs from Laon, a city near where I have been this winter.
Driving around most parts of France, you can find signs from so many periods ... and their accompanying styles and fonts. So often, I find myself wishing I had my camera to grab ... I get a lot of inspiration and ideas from all sorts of things, not just looking at other furniture but nature, cars, rooftops ... and yes, signs. They can put you in a mood, send you to review another era, display colors gone by and generally just get you thinking in another way about something you see every day.
Here, most signs are 'eries ... as in Boulangerie (bakery), Poissonerie (fish shop), Boucherie (butcher) etc. Signs are more often focused on the activity vs the name of the shop ... well at least it is the activity that is emphasized.
Neat as a pin Boulangerie (bakery).
Above, the emblems regarding the bread and flour.
Cordonnerie (shoe repair).
Close-up ... It reads "teinturerie blancherie"
the little painting gives it away ... it is a Laundry shop, 'teinturerie is dyeing and blancherie is bleaching' ... they also iron clothes and launder by the kilo!
LOVE Love love that green ...
easier to guess this one ... but here he uses his name 'Nourry' on his butcher shop. He specializes in pork and sausages, could you tell!!
love the shades of grey and aging on that metal pig.
speaking of metal, I adore the sleek, industrial look of this sign, very modern!
Horloger (Watches) and Bijoutier (jeweller)
not a big fan of their clothing, but their sign is terrific ...
love that Déco font.
another butcher!
(we were making the rounds on Sunday which is why the shops are all closed!)
Bar à Manger (rough translation "eat at the bar!") ... this has that early 70s feel, kind of ugly cute! digging that 70s orange too!
Another painted on stone, La Crèperie is a sign of good things to come!
kind of crappy picture, but you get the drift ... it is american (like) stuff! how about them stars on the As? lol
my post would not be complete without the Texas News ... made us smile because there is the good old flag of ... wait, what? Britain!? ha ha
this is actually a beautiful, older but not SO old shop with a very mod sign and cool black tile. wish that car wasn't there!
another beautiful example of a flashy tiled storefront in black ... this one is a print shop (imprimerie) with a déco flair!
finally, one of my faves. now I can tell myself (get thee to a rhumerie ...hee hee ... and do it! slurp!) Music AND rum, how could you go wrong?
See you next time!
*all images courtesy of Kimberlee Mancha
Our guest correspondent for The French Connection is Kimberlee Mancha, mother of Johnelle and co-founder of Mignonne Décor. Now living in France, Kimberlee started our sister shop "The Bohemians" in 2009. She will be providing live updates for all you Francophiles and lovers of beautiful European inspirations.
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