戀戀巴黎之陶盤緣記 une minute á Paris: Astier de Villatte

陶瓷器皿比金屬溫潤, 不若珠寶矜貴, 於我, 真有說不出的親切契合. 學生時代修業過陶瓷工藝, 懂得過程的難處, 愈發珍惜那美態. 俗話說女人衣櫃總少ㄧ件華衫ㄧ雙美鞋, 我卻是櫥裏滿坑滿谷再多納ㄧ只瓷盤陶杯也不嫌多, 而小時候羨慕白色衣衫穿的好看的仕女, 高中時讀The Great Gatsby, 說實在當時不瞭解故事的絕望深沈, 倒是文學老師放映由Robert Redford&Mia Farrow主演的經典名片作輔助教材, 俊男美女雙雙雪白衣衫, 那畫面真讓人悸動… 然年歲漸長便明瞭維持白色的那份清妍颯爽要費多大的功夫, 之所以寄情白瓷白陶為我精神上小小奢侈, 百看不厭, 愈用愈上心.

Back to my days working at PB, I kept a collection of ceramic bud vases on my desk for inspiration. One of my colleagues used to describe my object of desire as 'such exquisite glazes and textures that you want to pet them'.
Yes, she must saw the love(or lust?) in my eyes. I fed on the these beauties like Elizabeth Bathory on the blood of innocent virgins. When I first wandered into Astier de Villatte located at 173 rue Saint-Honore in Paris years ago, I felt coming home at last.


某次遊巴黎撞進ㄧ窄長小店, 四周舊牆斑駁, 成排掉漆木架上疊滿連堆白色陶盤, 每只手工陶盤輕薄, 花樣各異, 透過略見層次的白釉, 呈現陶土本色的浮雕若隱若現… 我像是在外晃盪多年的遊子突然回到家, 這小店原是設計界頗著名的Astier de Villatte! 那回視覺震驚過度空手而歸(當然不菲的要價也是原因之ㄧ :P) 數年後舊地重遊狠下心購入ㄧ只幸運草花樣的盤子, 從此日日盛我午后小點. 今次赴巴黎發現Astier de Villatte於左岸開了家分店, 除卻經典白釉陶器, 還展示各色由古董市集覓得的寶物, 店長是ㄧ位深金色長髪的氣質美女, 很親切的邀我們把玩陶器兼攝影… 東摸摸西看看許久, 我挑了只蕨花小碟依依不捨的繼續當日行程. 誰知道呢? 或許器皿有靈性, 呼喚我讓它們成雙成對也說不定. 倒希望夜深人靜時大盤子生小杯小碗, 這樣我就不必再向Astier de Villatte進貢血汗錢啦 :)

The cliche of 'something is better left unsaid' has a classic twist in white tableware. I can dwell in such reverie of silhouettes after silhouettes in shades of white infinitely.

Astier's Galerie Salon on the left bank is another gem in the mesmerizing neighborhood.

The shop is like walls of Baudelaire's prose solidified yet intense emotion distilled, leaving the words to breathe… in white.

Sometimes I wish people age as gracefully as the objects we interact with daily. Perhaps they neither defy nor deny Time but futilely we do.

I searched the cabinet with hungry eyes in a trance as if multiple drawers of my subconsciousness opened themselves one by one.

Here they are, my humble collection of two proud little plates from Astier de Villatte. Although each arriving at a different date and time, together they join my breakfast, afternoon tea, midnight snack… rain or shine :)