Today I was at Maison & Objet, an amazing trade show with the best of the best from the world of home decor (and the reason of my visit to Paris). It was quite the slog since not only is it jam packed with just the most amazingly inspirational and, well, cool stuff ever (like jellyfish chandeliers, hand-painted wallpapers and covetable accessories) it's also massive - Each hall is at least the size of a couple of football pitches and there are, ummm, seven plus to zig-zag through, lugging more and more catalogues as you go. I'm now physically and visually exhausted - so much to see and so far to walk!

Of course walking in Paris is the key thing to do, since you never know what you might discover. Meandering along rue Saint-Honoré we came across what looked like a store right out of the late 19th Century, with old wood shop fittings, cracked plaster walls and the smell of beeswax. Of course, nothing was as it seems, since this was the retail location for Astier de Villatte, and the shelves were piled with some of the most gorgeous and unusual handmade white dishware I've ever laid eyes on. Take a look below (I just can't get over those star plates...), and in Toronto check out French Country for the line.