PODIUM 1

I need to be here. This boutique will be the jumping off point for so many things.

Jewelry. Paris. Podium 1.

The big box pro-outlet mall mentality of North America does not leave much room for hidden, or in this case not-so-hidden, *gems* to emerge and take over the market. Enter the neue school. There has been a fairly recent backlash to the WalMarts and Deca-tiered shopping Shangri-las in the form of concept stores, (mom and) pop up shops and experiential environments dedicated to arousing the senses. It is pretty stellar that boutiques like Podium 1, a space where Objets d′art of the wearable variety call home, exist.

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The Moscow-based Podium Fashion Groupl is involved in numerous fashion ventures, but what caught our eye is the Podium 1 jewelry store in Paris (at 334, rue St.-Honore, Paris 1er, right across from Colette). The tiny shop (50 square metres) oozes glamour and old money, patina and luxury.

The rich feel is created through textured wallpaper, dark antique or aged wood furnishings, curved vitrines, thick-glass cabinets with hand-tooled iron pulls, plus a massive armoire standing on curled legs and sporting Gothic arches. The slightly mad and eccentric, yet visually cohesive neogothic interior and furnishings are by Moscow-based Artbureau I/1 (“one over one”) whose eight principals create both private and commercial interiors and architecture.

Podium’s Paris store is a space for one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted pieces created with rare or antique techniques by jewelry names such as Loree Rodkin whose pieces recently adorned Michelle Obama at the inauguration ball and Cher on the cover of Architectural Digest.
Tuija Seipell via CoolHunter

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Next steps: Familiarize myself with the French language once more (nevermind that the extent of my conversational knowledge ended in High School...I can make it work). Hitchhike my way to France avec 2 large suitcases of opulent jewelry. Appointments. Appointments. And so many more appointments.