Paris, by Appointment

A new shopping story with extras that didn't make the final cut (and one announcement!)

The average magazine or newspaper reader might think regular correspondents have guaranteed access to the publications they write for but so much of what we do is putting together pitches for stories we think deserve to be told. Then we cast them out like a line, hoping something bites. And then we wait. Sometimes an excessively long time. These pitches require a lot of time, of unpaid labor, on top of the work that has actually been commissioned along with other projects. There’s no certainty an editor will find our ideas as brilliant as we do or perhaps the right fit for their editorial vision of the moment. That’s the game. So when an editor comes to us with a general theme and the desire to work together, it’s an opportunity to seize.

That’s how my latest piece for Virtuoso Magazine came together. The team wanted some kind of shopping story and since I’m very particular about where I shop, how often, and for what purpose, I went back to them with the angle I thought would most feel like me. I also wanted to experience something as a traveler might. Did they have access to someone who could show me a few things I didn’t know? They paired me with Maud Hacker, a fantastic guide and historian whose tours are available via French Side Travel or Les Visites de Maud, who kicked off my morning of exploration. A few other shops/showrooms in the piece came highly recommended by my friend, Erin Allweiss.

But not everything made the cut due to the usual space constraints. Doh! So I thought I’d share two other recommendations that I included in my original draft. Read the piece here (it’s free!) and then come back for the extras.

Note: Speaking of travel plans and opportunities for discovery: there is one last spot available for my literary-culinary retreat with La Gonette at the end of September! Application is back open temporarily, give it a look. We’d love to read your thoughts and meet you!