Giving Thanks......

Have you ever been to one of those shops where you know before you even enter it that you are going to love it, you spend hours there selecting items you can't live without and walk out and say to your friend that is the most interesting shop i have been to in a long time........do we ever actually tell the shop owner how we feel about their shop, imagine how thrilled they would be to know that all their hard work and their vision for something amazing has paid off........this shop brought alive all of my senses so much so that i was compelled to write to the owner and tell her how much visiting this shop moved me........this is what i had to write......

From the moment i stepped from the car picking up a fallen oak leaf and catching a glimpse across the road of your shop i knew i was in for something special.
I loosened the cords of my dreams and let them surround me as i stepped through your shop door and i was transported to another time and place.
I was so thankful that my friend had found this shop and that it was with her that i got to experience it all because i knew that this was a shop that one needed to take their time and explore and savour the delights surrounding me as i walked around......



I was captivated from the first step inside, drawn to a tin cheese pot i had much admired in magazines and wondered where i could get one, immediately i visualized a jar inside with spring flowers gently draped over the edges the old and the new coming together to create a feast for the eyes and the heart.
Strong manilla tags with numbers caught my eye, my latest obsession with anything numbered or initialed and i couldn't believe my eyes to have these in my hand.
I realized that this was a shop where every nook and cranny deserved to be explored and touched and admired, the wonderful displayed items in old bags, the rusty and the layered and the soft and the flowing caught my eyes as i floated around as if in a dream.


The childrens corner quickly brought to mind my two new grandchildren, one to be born soon and one later in the year, i took note of all there was to offer with a promise to return to purchase that special gift for someone so small and precious, i marvelled at the wonderful range of items that would delight any child.

I admired the velvet edged curtains that i imaged wafting in the breeze of the open French doors, admired the beauty of both the scent and packaging of the Tokyo Milk range, books that i myself owned and loved I saw here and some that i knew about but hadn't actually seen i was able to flick through to get a sense of the essence of them as music danced around my head.

By this time I knew the owner had such good taste and a creativity for purchasing items that reached out and pulled you in. I let the sights, sounds and smells wash over me, admired the wire bird cages as i am sure many have before me had and was told it was a prop as were other bits that i was drawn to.
I was introduced to the delightful shop assistant with the beautiful name with the unusual pronouncation .... Melisa....she told me that people called her Melissa instead, and her smile and how helpful and friendly she was to us...

I loved how everything was not in neat little rows but creatively displayed so it was journey of discovery where you had to get on your hands and knees and sift through all the treasures you uncovered one after the other, adding them to the ever growing bundle to take home to keep the memories alive.
I lost myself amongst everything that i had not seen before, that was new to me, that i had to have and knew that at long last i had arrived at the place of my dreams and seen it for the first time, i came away experiencing something magical.


I wanted to take the time to write to Andrea to thank her because far too often we think these things as we leave but we never actually tell the person responsible how we feel, the shop evokes such emotion inside that goes way beyond just going into a nice shop, it is an experience of the mind and soul and the best shop i have been in for years, it is like a breath of fresh air that swirls around inside you and leaves you with pure joy in your heart, a spring in your step and a feeling that life is good after all.......as Emily Bronte would say.....it went through me and through me like wine through water and changed the colour of my mind.............


If you are ever in Auckland go to Devonport to Cosi Fan Tutte at 2 Calliope Road and experience for yourself what i did.......you won't be disappointed.......oh and remember to tell Andrea and Melisa how much you enjoyed the experience ...........
If you are into french nordic interior design and love that clean white look or just like a great magazine...... be sure to pick up a copy of the swedish magazine called Jeanne d'arc which they now stock.......the most amazing magazine with no ads.........


I would like to thank Shane of
roselaceandbrocante.blogspot.com
for allowing me to use her photos, please visit her lovely blog......

I would also like to thank Andrea of Cosi Fan Tutte for allowing me to use her photos as well.........