One Small Purchase In Paris

I did make one purchase in Paris. Two oven mitts and a dish towel. Or, as my best friend calls them, a tea towel. Her parents are British. Many terms linger.

That first night, as we wandered waiting for Les Mauvais Garcons to let us in, (never to be but nevermind), we stumbled upon an Olivier Des Forges store on Rue Rivoli.

We were lured by a knit linen throw. I know, doesn't it sound fabulous? All rough texture and nubbly bliss. But it cost something like 200 euros and the fading family fortune wasn't up for an expensive blanket.

The saleswoman pressed on, however, giving us an amazingly convincing spiel about how these tea towels were the best in the whole universe. For 8 euros we decided to suspend disbelief.

My friend bought the multi-colored version. I went with black and white. As it turned out, they were, of course, Swedish. Linum. Nobody does home goods like people from the Far North. I hypothesize that it's because they are inside so much of the year. Nothing like a pretty textile to keep you from clobbering your nearest and dearest.

Tea towels and oven mitts make good souvenirs. Why?

1. Cheap
2. Used often, thereby evincing many happy smiles of remembrance
3. Usually replace disgusting old tea towels and oven mitts, thus providing large bang for proverbial buck

I will spare you a photo of my old oven mitt. Let's just say it had served me well, and my kitchen environment is quite improved by the new ones. Three cheers for good salespeople, all around the world.

Linum doesn't appear to have its own e-commerce. Here's a site for various Scandinavian home goods.