Thursday
Apr082010
Shared Treasure
Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 9:25 PM 
Florence was so lavish in all she gave me that I wanted to share her goodness with you. So I sought out Giannini e Figlio.
Housed in a small shop in the Piazza Pitti, this venerable family firm of bookbinders provides a treasure trove for stationery addicts. In their upstairs workshop, the artisans create gorgeous marbled papers which they then use to decorate all manner of lovely things, selling them in the old shop below.
I went wild. And put together not just one, but two bumper packs of marvellous marbled magic! My gift sets each contain a hand-made notebook, bound with a leather tie; five marbled paper hearts; a tasselled bookmark; a satisfyingly chunky pencil (that makes you feel like a proper scribe); and a postcard showing the shop as it looked in 1904 (though the company was founded in 1856). I’m also including a small Tuscan jigsaw, found elsewhere in the city. And, to top it all, as I passed through Zurich airport on the way home, there was a celebratory chocolate-tasting weekend in full swing; so I purchased two exquisite little boxes of very upmarket Swiss pralines, one for each goodie bag.
So there you have it! My magnificent Florentine give-away! All you have to do to be in with a chance of having these delights drop through your letterbox (or into your mailbox) is to leave a comment telling me which is your favourite city. Nothing fancy required - a one-word answer will do!
If you’re unsure how to post a comment, there are instructions below. This fun is open to everyone, so don’t be shy. I’ll draw two winners at random on my birthday next Friday (16th).
To post a comment:
1) Click on the word Comments in the bar below
2) Fill in Your Name (first name will do)
3) If you have a website of your own you want to link to, then enter that
4) Type the letters and numbers in the blue box into the space that says Security Code
5) Tell me which is your favourite city in the Your Comments box
6) Click Submit
Reader Comments (12)
Oh Helen, these are beautiful giveaways. This is very thoughtful. Hoping they find their way to my door.
My favorite city/town would have to be Gothenburg, Nebraska. I was born and raised there and my grandmother is still there. I have seen some beautiful places, but nothing beats a place like home. The people are kind and welcoming and visiting this place can make eveything else go away.
hello, i love Florence too but i'm afraid Rome will just clinch it. I am actually writing your birthday card now but as to posting it..........fingers crossed.
love Tess
I have two favorite cities. I really love Brussels, Belgium. I visited there with one of my dear sisters, and it's like the whole trip was a dream. From the decision to go there, to the chance meetings, to the $250 we spent on candy. We could not have been happier, and the city could not be more beautiful
the second is Basel, Switzerland. They have the most incredible museums, and the MOST incredible Paper Museum... but it works as a functioning paperie and print house. Incredible
I hope you have such a wonderful Birthday
My favorite city would have to be Ottawa! I love it there... city by day, empty at night.
I'll go you one better: City: Paris, District: 6eme arrondisement, Tighter Still: right around l'Eglise St Germaine Des Pres, Streets: Rue du Bac, Rue de Seine, L'Universite', Rue de Rennes, Rue St Germain des Pres, rue du dragon, place de Furstenberg, luxembourg gardens, rue st sulpice.....
Don't need to go or see anything else in paris as far as I'm concerned.
TERRIFIC giveaway Miss Helen, I don't know if you are more generous or more nuts to give it away. Of course I do, you are THE most loyal, giving, gifted, generous, gentle soul I know. And that will still hold true if two other lucky women receive the goody bag and not me. LOL. If I do get it, you may use it until my next visit. Save on postage. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY Dear One. mary
WOW Helen...what an incredibly generous giveaway! And how perfect that it coincides with your birthday...too fun!
My favorite city...Alden, Michigan. The tiniest town ever, set on the shores of Torch Lake in Northern Michigan. I spent every summer here as a child, and my husband and I were married here. It is my favorite place to be in the entire world!
Could not resist your generous competition. As always you have such lovely ideas., My favourite city has to be St, Petersburg for its Grand palaces with such oppulent interiors,
Ponte in Valtellina, Italy is my fav if I can pick only one.
These sets are very beautiful.
Oh, my goodness, Helen... This has to be about the most beautiful & generous giveaway I have ever seen... such richness & gorgeousness...*swoon*... I would be delighted to be include in all this fun. My most favorite city is London, England. It holds a very special place in my heart as it is where my dear husband & I had our honeymoon (we just celebrated 10 years last month!) and have since made several trips there. We're huge anglophiles, so it's our favorite big city in the UK. Thanks for the fun... And hoping you're getting the party started with celebrating your birthday--Happy Day ! :o)
Dear Nell, (I bet some people wonder why you are called by such a name!)
I have been looking forward to visiting your blog because I know you'll have wonderful posts and pictures of your Italian trip. And you absolutely delivered!
I love the piece your wrote about the frescos in your palatial bedroom. And what traditional to light up a cart outside a Duomo!! And of course I would have posted even without your giftbag enticement! (And just to let you know, the Swiss pralne is the most attractive part of the giftbag, even tho that must hurt the feelings of a papercraft addict! :) )
As for my fav city, now, that is an awfully difficult question.... I have to cheat and name more than one.
Istanbul,
Petra (tho that's not a "living" city anymore...),
Copenhagen,
Venice, and
Stamsund (a hamlet really) on the Lofoten Island of Norway, each for very different reasons.
What a beautiful and generous gift to give away! Count me in. My favorite city: Paris. No points for originality, but there you go.
Such amazing generosity and what a beautiful collage. You really set me thinking and,like Rosanna, I have to name several.
Vienna - for its treasured memories
Jerusalem - so special and so different
Reykjavik - we visited it on a beautiful day and had a wonderful time
St. Petersburg - for its grandeur and palaces
Venice - for its romance
Bergen - for the spectacular scenery.
I think in the end I choose Salzburg for its olde-worlde charm and its delightful scenery.