Prêt-à-Promener: Pierre Hardy Takes Us for a Walk in His Paris Inline
Photo: Courtesy of Pierre Hardy1/14Go figure, bookstores are called librairies in French. This one, Comme un Roman, is closest to Hardy’s apartment and the owner was his former neighbor.
Photo: Courtesy of Pierre Hardy2/14Empreintes is an ambitious new arrival to the North Marais that has caught Hardy’s eye. The retail concept showcases a diverse array of handcrafted work by French artisans as mini shop-in-shops, spread throughout an airy four-story space that would be more common in Nolita or Shoreditch than Paris. Conceived by the leading national syndicate of artisans and artists, the shop also features a library and a café run by Seasons, a nearby healthy-minded restaurant.
Photo: Courtesy of Pierre Hardy3/14Anyone walking along the Rue de Bretagne can’t miss—and perhaps can’t resist—Fromagerie Jouannault with its impressive variety of cheese. Consider it Hardy-approved.
Photo: Courtesy of Pierre Hardy4/14It would be easy enough to pass by this retail gallery, obliquely named P4-LMD (Parts of Four + LMD/Studio Gallery), without feeling drawn in. But Hardy stops to point out the Rick Owens furniture in addition to a compelling aesthetic he describes as “dark, slightly tribal, Brutalist.”
Photo: Courtesy of Pierre Hardy5/14After marveling at this 17th-century building, which backs onto Hardy’s street, we note how most construction in the area is intended to keep things looking old, just freshened up. Etablissements Richard is the main manufacturer of the tarps that cover the outdoor markets and more upscale fabric canopies.
