I’ve procrastinated long enough. Time to get back to my Paris blog, knowing for certain that my dear friends in town are rallying  back to their daily routines.

Taking you to the 10th makes me a little queasy, but I have a story to share. It takes you to a tiny atelier on rue des Vinagniers, number 49, where Evelyne Lohier “brodeur a Paris depuis 1923” creates one-of-kind embroidered pieces.

The official name of Evelyne’s shop is “Tete de Linotte.” Linotte in English is Linnet, a seed-eating European finch of the family Fringillidae, sometimes referred to as a house finch in the United States. “Linotte” is also a French idiom for birdbrain, featherhead, airhead, flibbertigibbet, pea brain, big goof. It wasn’t until that evening when I was looking at her business card that I fully got the play on words. However, I found Evelyne quite the opposite: commited, passionate, and focused.

The shop is small. But step inside and you’ll find a room to converse and look at a wide array of fabric brooches, embroidered purses, gloves, scarves. A small metal industrial embroidery machine, once belonging to Evelyne’s grandmother, commands the corner along with bobbins of thread and fabric.

Passion for her craft fueled our two-hour conversation. We are on the floor as she pulled out sample after sample of various techniques. Elaborate tissue patterns two generations old, still with blue powdered pin tracks, were pulled out of large ancienne cardboard jackets.

A binder of her work for haute couture and ready-to-wear  demonstrated Eveylyne is not some artsy crafty hobbiest, but a seasoned artist who has carried on her craft professionally in a time-honored tradition.

She graciously was not in a hurry to get back to her work. She knew I would want a photo and quickly neatened up the work area. Her demonstration made it look easy. I looked at her hand as she guided the cloth to write the world “summer” with a sweet flower at the end of the “r” to jazz it up. Voila! The visit ended on a high note as she whisked me away to another artist two doors down who makes the beads she incorporates into her creations. More on that later.

Go to her website and check out the upcoming outdoor shows she shares with other artists. http://www.tetedelinotte/fr.com

Tête de Linotte
, 49 rue des vinaigriers,  
75010 Paris bobinedelinotte@gmail.com,  métro: Gare de l’Est / Jacques Bonsergent