Books are hot topic - and they’re taking over Paris’ left bank department store, Le Bon Marché, in a new pop-up curated by Sarah Andelman, co-founder and creative director of the now-shuttered concept store Colette. Freshly inaugurated, Mise En Page offers everything books: publication, from the act of reading, the art of writing and also printing.
Sarah Andelman curates Mise en Page at Le Bon Marché
'Since the department store has an excellent book store, Mise En Page focuses on the universe of printed matter, not only books ,' says Andelman who, smartly curated the very novel store-exhibition-café pop-up. Andelman's emblematic Parisian concept store Colette lead the fashionable way forward for two decades, with the manifesto 'style design art food'. Following its closing in 2017, her talent for 'mise en relation', or connecting people, was once again pertinent in her consulting agency Just An Idea, based on collaborative projects.
This was followed by Just An Idea Books, a collection of art and culture monography, started with Louis-Géraud Castor of Castor Fleuriste and the New York-based Japanese artist Sho Shibuya. 'It is such a pleasure to meet an artist and develop a book project. I discover and rediscover the work of the artist!' she exclaims. In fact, her enthusiasm and humility come from her fangirl POV. Already in 2021, Andelman held a pop-up store with books, artist-related goods and knick- knacks. Now Paris welcomes her back to retail on much bigger scale with Mise En Page. Imagine an enlarged and updated ground floor and gallery space of Colette, focusing on the book corner and the cash desk stocked with goodies.
Visitors are delighted by the variety and the quantity of items and the artists involvement. As the title suggests (Mise En Page means “page layout” in French), everything is carefully chosen and thoughtfully placed, guiding the viewer along a fluid journey. The ground floor becomes a labyrinth with ranges of products: stationery, book-shaped boxes, mugs and table lamps that provide good company for reading.
Andelman’s playful attitude is recognized in her fragrance selection: Byredo’s Bibliothèque (meaning library), Perfumeur H’s INK, Dyptique’s Eau Papier (meaning paper water), and so on. Officine Universelle Buly had the most unique idea as usual, offering pencil-shaped ceramics to be scented with its perfume evoking Alexandrie’s library.
Andelman also shares her favourite book stores from around the world, such as Cow Books in Tokyo, 7L in Paris, BOOK/SHOP in Oakland and others, offering their merchandising, especially tote bags. Iconic model Liya Kebede’s influential book club Liyabrairie sells her very original book holder along with her personal selection of paperbacks. Jewellery designers like Marie-Hélène de Taillac allow visitors to compose words with gem-made letter charms.
Charlotte Chesnais presents her limited edition of colourful lacquered charms, the spin-off of Alphajewel, a collection of stylistic letters created in collaboration with the art director duo M/M Paris.
The most significant, however, is the first floor, featuring Just An Idea Books and its artist friends. The large concrete sculpture stuffed with books by the architect Aline Asmar d’Amman is breathtaking. Another prolific artist and furniture designer, Jean-Guillaume Mathiaut made a series of bookends in wood, his speciality medium. Inès Mélia, the young DJ/artist, provides her book totem sculptures, a perfect chapter for the story.
Andelman’s steady collaborator, designer Harry Nuriev, came up with a kitchen-inspired funky series of sauce-pan bookends, a typology recurrent across the offer by several brands and artists such as Sacai x Regeneration, Tyrsa and Paperlaria.
Along with the full line-up of Just An Idea Books, Three Star Books is present with their one of a kind object-like monography of artists, lampshades and book shelves. A corner is dedicated to the late photographer Charles Bébert, who photographed people in the French Riviera during 1960’s. His black and white images, edited in one of the latest publications of Just An Idea Books, are hung on the walls.
The itinerary of Mise En Page can be finalized at Café NouNou on the second floor. Conceived by the artist Jean Julien, whose opus has just been published by Just An Idea Books, the space is dotted with his iconic characters Paper People. A giant reading man sculpture occupies the atrium and his show windows catch the attention of passers-by. His illustration of Andelman, featured on the posters, shopping bags and in-store installation, perfectly embodies her strong but deliberately low-profile personality.
Andelman was the precursor of digital communication. The exhibition '1997 Fashion Big Bang at Palais Galliera' last year included Colette, whose doors opened that year. The store's very first website was presented on an iMac, with the nostalgic sound of internet dial-up. Now she encourages us to re-evaluate and return to an authentic way of reading and writing, touching paper and using pen. She knows how to make them coexist in perfect harmony and with much fun. 'I simply want to share my love for books and make people want to read,' she says. If you are lucky, you might see her running around the first floor.
Mise En Page at Le Bon Marché is on view until 21 April 2024
Le Bon Marché
24 Rue de Sèvres
75007 Paris
