From the archives
Wow, somebody actually lured us into a studio for a proper publicity shot. They must have had chocolate!
I think this was taken for a story that appeared in a Sydney newspaper’s colour supplement … and I think it may have been in the mid-nineties. At least, I hope it was.
From the studio
Rafti has been talking with Natasha Silva-Jelly for the Sydney Morning Herald. You can read the full story here …
The photograph was taken by Ben Rushton.
From the studio
Here’s a sneak peak at one of the new collections for summer. This collection features rose quartz and black spinel, and it’s being sampled as we pen this post.
Very exciting … we start showing the two new collections this week.
A celebrity moment
Actually, this is a double-celebrity moment.
Recently, we were fortunate to have two very talented people staying with us in Fes for the Sacred Music Festival.
Maryam Montague, of My Marrakesh fame, and photographer extraordinaire from NYC, Julie Skarratt, were kind enough to mount a mini photo shoot on our terrace as the sun went down over the ancient Fes Medina. Wonderful light … and two wonderful people. Thank you both.
From where I sit – July 4th, 2012
I think it was the kefta tagine. I hadn’t eaten anything else that day that could cause such a violent internal reaction. I religiously wash my paws before every meal … and I only ever drink Evian. So, it had to be the tagine. Three days later and I don’t care what caused it … I’m just glad Elvis has left the building!
Now, where were we? Ah yes, feeling a little better, I thought I might take my afternoon nana-nap on PC’s lap. He was having a nap of his own when I climbed up and snuggled in, only to hear a sickening crack. Was it his lower back again? Much worse! PC’s failing eyesight, coupled with his insatiable thirst for reading books with minuscule type, renders him totally and completely dependent on his reading glasses. I’d just severed that lifeline … I’d sat on his glasses and cracked them in half. Merde!
I galloped out of the house to find the only person who could help me … the local optometrist.
Jeff Chaouen is a delightful man. A quick glass of mint tea and the glasses were fixed in seconds … all was right with the world once more.
I asked Jeff about his very unusual, and English, name. Embarrassed … c’est juste! I’d misheard him and his name was actually Chef. Named after the town of his birth, Chefchaouen, he wore the traditional blue head scarf .
Now, I’d spent some time indoors over the last few days, and while Dar Rafti is an oasis of tranquility deep within the circus of the Fes Medina, it is a little … minimal … lacking in colour … beige … sand … camel … maybe even ‘nude’ in tone. I needed some colour … and fast! I needed to find the source of Jeff’s … sorry, Chef’s blue turban.
We hired a small van … air conditioned going down hill … however, not air-conditioned going up hill … and we trotted off to Chaouen. Sacre Bleu! The whole town was just that … bleu! Blue walls, blue doors, blue shops, blue cats, even blue people!
We met a lovely man standing at the gate to the old medina. I think he may have been a guide, as he offered to show us around town. I politely declined as I’ve learnt to wander aimlessly around these ancient places and make my own discoveries. He raised the middle finger of his left hand into the air to welcome us to his home and to bid us a safe and pleasant journey. His voice did seem a little angry but that must be the local dialect. Quel strange!
In closing, the photo of Chef (Jeff) bears a striking resemblance to a famous photographer from Los Angeles. Unintentional and purely coincidental.
Flying to my homeland tomorrow morning … ahhh, Paris!
Bixi el Fes
From the studio
There’s some exciting news coming out of the Bouvier studio this week. Here’s a glimpse of rafti designing the first collections for our new brand, Bouvier Bride. The shots were taken at Dar Rafti in Fes, during our latest design trip.
The collections will be launched in time for Spring 2012. Stay tuned!
Out and about – June 23rd, 2012
Karl Largerfeld, Anna Wintour, Wynton Marsalis … yes, Julie Skarratt has photographed them all.
A new career high-water mark, Julie was seen (with rafti) learning how to hand make couscous from raw materials in the mountains outside Fes, Morocco.
Handling a new Canon 5D is one thing … but a wicker basket full of loose couscous? Well, that’s a totally different kettle of fish!
Thank you very much to Michele and Gail at Plan-It-Fez for arranging the trip and to Hadija and Fatima for teaching us so much.
Out and about – June 19th, 2012
We were lucky enough to see Bjork in concert at the Fes Sacred Music festival.
What can we say … she was amazing … backed by two guys (drums and electronics) and a girls choir from Iceland. The sound … well, it got every part of the body moving. Bouvier had goose bumps all night. One member was even seen pushing to the front of the stage to do a bit of moshing. Please, no names!
And then there was the after-party. Bouvier wasn’t so much invited as crashed it … but the friendly journalists from Le Figaro smoothed the way for us. Somehow, PC had his picture taken with a few of the girls from the choir … and he was interviewed by French TV. Hmmm, not sure what to say about that. Details »
From where I sit – June 16th, 2012
I’d like to introduce you to my new soul-mate, Gaspard.
After the previous debacle of the BBQ’d coffee, Gaspard found me wandering the streets, thirsty, dazed and very confused. In true Medina fashion, he offered his hand and asked me if he would be able to help me find my way around the labyrinth. I shrugged him off as just another young street tout. Then he mentioned that his family owned a cafe.
Alors, what was there to lose?
The coffee … Mon Dieu, the coffee … was worse than the last lot I had to swallow. And the name, Cafe Cat … where did they get that from? But there was something different about this cafe. I felt safe, I felt the honest love of a family … I felt like I was home.
Gaspard is the eldest son of a family of nine. Very poor, his parents work from dawn till dusk, and then some more. At night, they go out foraging for food scraps from the back doors of restaurants. And yet, they seem to have everything they need. Gaspard manages his younger siblings with a fist of iron, although he’s the biggest softie I’ve ever met. Antoinette, the youngest, will be a handful when she grows up. But, for now, they’re all content to run around the back alleys of the medina, beating their toy drums and playing their version of ‘soccer’.
I sit with Gaspard for hours and regale him with stories from outside the medina walls … a place he’s never seen. He’s had no schooling yet he can speak in five different languages, and he can read well enough to adore the classics of the ancient world. Ah, to have the enquiring mind of a youth again … eh bien, c’est la vie!
I’d like to thank my oldest and dearest friend, Mademoiselle Julie Skarratt, for taking the photos of Gaspard and Antoinette. Their parents were so excited, they had the photos framed, and they take pride of place above the family basket. Details »
From where I sit – June 8th, 2012
Dear friends, my heart is close to bursting. After waiting for close on fifteen minutes for a cup of coffee, I decided to steal around behind the counter in an attempt to expedite our afternoon tea. This is what I found. The little pots of coffee are sitting on a fire set beneath the grill. Yes, that’s right … BBQ’d coffee!
What am I to do? I’ve travelled almost halfway around the globe. I’ve suffered the indignity of airport security searches (no, I will not offend your sensibilities with the details), scowling immigration officers, obsequious taxi drivers … and I’ve smiled and maintained my countenance with the lot.
But this … BBQ’d coffee … indeed! What would the baristas at the Boat House at Palm Beach say if they knew I was drinking that?
Truthfully, it’s not even the coffee. Le Patron at the cafe had the nerve to chase me away shouting, in the local dialect, “Get that dog out”. Moi? A dog? Are they all blind here?
So, it is with a leaden heart that I limp back to our little house and put on the bialetti.
The positive … yes, there is one. As the eternal entrepreneur, I’ve started designing a très chic, hole-in-the-wall cafe in Fes. I’m looking for investors … are you interested?
Until next time … n’shufuk.
Bixi el Fes
From where I sit – May 25th, 2012
Just as I get comfortable for the onset of winter in my hand-knitted, roll-neck jumper (yes, I’m channelling Ernest Hemingway in his famous portrait by Yousef Karsh), I find out that I’m being whisked away to North Africa … to the desert … in summer! I don’t have a thing to wear!
Well, at least I get to communicate with the northeners in my native tongue … and I can regale you with my adventures via this electronic post card.
Wish us all luck. Oh dear, I hope the camels are a little easier to get along with than those damn tigers in Borneo … eh what !!!
Until next time,
Bixi Hemingway
A celebrity moment
Our latest wedding! A beautiful photograph from Emma Gayfer looking stunning in her NINA earrings.
Congratulations Emma and Mike … we wish you a long and happy life together.
From the archives
OK, let’s talk about hair! This little gem was taken way back in 1998.
Bix, yes that’s Bix on the left, was just about to have her first hair cut … so, that’s her excuse.
Rafti, on the other hand … well, to be fair, it was the 90′s! Details »
A celebrity moment
We were lucky to snaffle this shot of Toni Collette looking fabulous in her BUBBLES necklace.
Blue jeans, a tee-shirt and Bouvier … spectacular combo. Of course, having a wonderful actor like Toni wearing it all, how could it be anything else ??
From where I sit – April 23rd, 2012
You may have been asking, “Where’s Bixi?”. Well, PC returned from a photographic workshop in Palm Springs with a very chesty cold. Of course, being the caring and somewhat sharing person that he is, he wasted no time in passing it on to moi. Merci beaucoup, PC.
So, from my sickbed, and carefully balancing a bowl of piping hot ‘soup du jour’ (chicken today – thank you rafti), I thought I might carry on the theme from my last column – The Milanese.
It was a beautiful Spring morning and I was sitting in a cafe just outside the Duomo in Milan. The cyclists were out in force. The first thing I noticed was that everybody, in true Milanese style, was just that … stylish. Can any of you imagine PC putting on a suit for his morning pedal? Just between you and me, I don’t think he even owns a suit.
I’ve assembled a little photo essay for your enjoyment, which I hope you do. I’ve called it “Pedal your way to style”. And to save some trees, just email your get well wishes to bixi@bouvier.com.au
Until next week.
From the studio
Passing by Rafti’s desk, we noticed that her sketch book was open. Could this be a sneaky peek at one of the new Summer Collections?
We’ll have to wait and see!
A celebrity moment
Now, this handsome couple was snapped at the Blue Coyote Grill in Palm Springs, California.
Laura Morton - on the left - is a famous, award-winning landscape designer based in LA, and looks gorgeous in her CARA earrings.
Jeff Dunas – on the right – as you can tell from his beret and hairy chin, must be a famous photographer (and Director of the Palm Springs Photo Festival).
This image proves, once and for all, the Inverse Sharpness Law which states, “the stronger the cocktail, the less sharp the photograph”. As you can plainly see, this particular Margarita must have been a doosy!
From where I sit – March 30th, 2012
I must say, I find the whole Easter chocolate egg spectacle a bit bewildering… every man and his dog knows that chocolate wreaks havoc on a canine’s fine complexion and delicate constitution.
However, I am partial to the Hot Cross Bun, with a cup of restorative Lady Grey on an Easter weekend afternoon.
With Easter just around the corner, I thought I’d share one of my fondest Easter memories…
I remember well my last visit to Milan. Nose to the ground, I happened upon the most delightful fresco. This strange tile, the finest shade of cornflower blue, cemented into the pavement and showing, it seems, a hot cross bun being picked up by a Milanese baker ready to pop into the oven, a strange Italian practice.
Those Milanese Hot Cross Buns were some of the finest I can recall, you must try one should the opportunity present itself…. On that delicious note, may I wish a Joyeuses Pâques to all my lovely Bouvier friends.
A celebrity moment
Bouvier has been seen in Marrakesh! This is a shot of Maryam Montague, designer, published writer, humanitarian aid worker and the creator of the inspiring and award winning African Blog of 2012 - My Marrakesh, wearing a whole pile of Bouvier.
Exotic? … Oooooh yes, I think so.
From the archives
Having graduated from the Bond’s School of Advanced Cuteness, Rafti went on to be crowned Queen of the cruise-liner Fair Star on her voyage to England.
In this Royal Photo she’s being ably assisted by her younger brother, Alexis. Thank goodness her mum was a wizz with crepe paper and sharp scissors.
