Spring Cleaning

image; arts menagers roses, francis bernard, c 1950's; michelle belle for galerie montmartre

Oh yes, that would be me; Femme de M to the rescue, saving the ensuite (that's master bath for my American beauties) from becoming another storage space, saving under the sink from becoming a mass of unused products and saving the bathroom from the clutter of out of date moisturisers and make up that hasn't seen the light of day since the 90's.

I am a woman on a mission, people - dusting, wiping, lifting, sorting, disposing, reusing. This mood doesn't strike often, but when it does, no one is safe; even vacuumed the fluff off Petit-Petit's knees this morning...

A Family Update

image; l'homme & petit-petit, sept 5 2010

I thought it was time to update you all on the lives of the T-Tribe since that fateful June day when L'Homme suffered a massive brain bleed and hung on for dear life - if you are new to Femme De M and unsure what I am talking about, you can get a clearer picture here and here and here.

The most wonderful development is that L'Homme buzzed through the doors of Galerie Montmartre last week and it was one big cry-fest!! Even our beautiful neighbours, Rachel and Pat, the talented architectural duo who head up KennedyNolan - ran over from across the road to join in the celebration. I am trying really hard not to be sentimental, so you have to just trust me when I say he was ultra happy to be back. As I looked at ST sitting in his wheelchair in the middle of our vast retail space, taking in everything he has dreamed up and created, I realised that the time having him back working at Galmont isn't really that far away. In all honesty, he could start doing a few bits and pieces next week...but of course, that won't happen, because regaining his mental and physical strength at rehab is so much more important.

Having said that, L'Homme is now walking....with one assistant and a walking stick; he cooked our family dinner on Friday night (welcome back Stef the Chef, I say!); he is well ahead of schedule in relation to when he comes home; he now has movement in every previously paralysed part of his body and the words are tumbling out of his mouth. His mannerisms, intelligence and humour are all intact. In other words, he is an absolute miracle, and there is nothing to do but be grateful that although L'Homme was born with this hideous unknown ticking time bomb in his brain, he was also born with a stronger will to live. I know he will do whatever it takes to make a full recovery.

I'm usually fairly private when it comes to personal images on the blog, but I have made an exception here. This was taken a week ago, on Father's Day, somehow - despite my pathetic, haphazard ways with a camera - I captured a tender moment. I tear up everytime I look at it, because I know our story could've - actually, according to statistics, should've - been so different. I have no idea what 'the end' will look like, the beginning was certainly very ordinary, but this middle bit of the story is pretty exciting.

I'll be taking a week's blog break, as I take a couple of days out for myself (hello NSW coastline!) and then prepare our home for L'Homme's imminent arrival!!

Thanks again for your love and support, means so much. x

Michelle Belle Tumbles 6 - The Orange Vote

image; bally dancer by fix-masseau, c.1980's; stephan t for galerie montmartre

So, our country finally has a Prime Minister due to a hung parliament.....after two weeks speculation and political negotiating. As us Aussies were all wondering who our leader was going to be, Michelle Belle decides to dedicate a week's worth of posts to that most divisive of colours, Orange. I chose this, as it seems the most pertinent picture given Australia's flame-haired PM.

Over to Galmont's Asst Extraordinaire;

What would an ‘orange’ week be without an ode to the carrot top? I don’t know how I could have made it to Thursday without mentioning it! Especially as our current prime minister/maybe next prime minister/maybe leader of the opposition/maybe-who-knows-what-she’ll-be-next is a ginger herself.
But surely there is no better looking auburn beauty than this, our very own Bally Dancer. Bending down to tie her dancing shoes, this little red is a stunner. Soft colours, graceful stance, legs up-to-there… this little red sure has my vote!

Springing Further into the Week

image; sfgirlbybay

A blossom by any other name would not smell as sweet - God, how I love them. Another Spring image for you to enjoy, while I'm on a roll...

Springing into the Week!

image; the style files

A beautiful image - yes, still cleaning up my computer files! - that reminds me of spring. Is there a human being on the planet who doesn't enjoy this season? Honestly, is there?!

Have a wonderful week. Looking forward to catching up on some blog reading, some further Chez Trbuhovich projects....that is, I plan them and others do them....and a day closer to L'Homme being home.

Hey Dad, it's Friday!

all images; original vintage posters photographed by us & available at galerie montmartre

This post is dedicated to L'Homme in honour of Father's Day which Australians celebrate on Sunday.

The Petits have one heck of a role model when it comes to how to be a man, how to be a loving citizen, how to face every challenge head on with humour, grace and bare-knuckled tenacity. He doesn't always get it right but isn't too proud to admit his wrongs. He can't build a thing to save himself, knows nothing about mechanical matters and tidiness or organisation are not high on his list of priorities.

But he cooks like a pro, throws himself into parenting and housework, loves participating in sports, runs a business with integrity and he dances like....ummm, well, he dances. He has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. He is a great storyteller, loves a joke, wine, fine dining or hanging at the local cafe. He could mix it with the pauper or the Queen - possessing that rare combination of street smarts and academic know-how. He has created a great community of friends who are as loyal as any people could be.

This is to all the good guys out there - and especially to our good guy, Stephan T.

The man's a champion and that's all there is to it.

Michelle Belle Tumbles 5 - Spring

image; bundesbahn, andrian, 1961; michelle belle for galerie montmartre

On the first day of Spring in the Southern Hemisphere, this post from our tumbling assistant, Michelle Belle, seems quite fitting. Not so much a lesson in vintage poster art, more an ode to this wonderful, wonderful season. New beginnings and all that, makes sense given the Galmont story over the past two months with L'Homme taken so very ill....but now on his way back home in a month or so to start life afresh with us all - Welcome Spring!

With a beautiful image like this, who wouldn’t want to “Travel in the Springtime with the German Federal Railroad”. All the signs of Spring are here. Blue skies, blossoming flowers, tweeting birdies. Which reminds me of a little ditty my dad loves to sing at this time of year….
The spring has sprung, the grass is riz
I wonder where the birdies is?
The bird is on the wing
But that’s absurd
I always thought the wing was on the bird!

And That was the Week That Was...

image; unknown...sorry...

....Good Grief, where did it go?!

Pardon my sporadic blogging nature of late, there have been many positive developments in rehab-land which has meant that I have been needed at the hospital far more.

Today L'Homme's occupational therapist comes to look at Chez Trbuhovich to see what modifications will be needed before he comes home. A very exciting step indeed. Yes, it is a long road, but I can't help thinking how different this story could've been...

Kate James, who we have worked with in the past and has since become a dear friend (don't you love when that happens?) wrote a beautiful blog post over the weekend regarding our situation - her take on it. You can read it here.

Wishing you a wonderful week, thanks for your love and support; I feel surrounded by it.

So fortunate.

Guest Post; Michelle Belle Tumbles 4

Derouet and Fromentier, Jus D’Orange, printed c. 1960; stephan t for galerie montmartre
So, MB has decided that the colour orange is the focus on our tumblr blog this week. She thinks it's a little indecisive....just like our country's voting efforts, where we all dashed off to the polls this last Saturday and still don't know who will be leading our country!

Time for some vitamin C to get us moving....take it over from here Ms. Belle...

An orange juice in the morning… a day full of spirit and vigour. Yes please! This fellow springs straight from his bed to his Jus D’Orange, no time to even change from his striped pyjamas.
Edgard Derouet (1905-2001) and Paul Fromentier (1914-1981) teamed up to create a number of poster designs in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. And what a team they made! The contrast in colour, the movement, and the ORANGE-ness of the juicy orange…. BEAUTIFUL!

Group Hug

I am currently cleaning up my laptop, freeing it from the virtual pictures I gather. I don't know what your criteria is for saving an image, mine is simple, if I look twice and swoon a little then 'bang', into the files it goes. So, as a result, I have stacks of pictures completely unrelated.

However, I have noticed that I love images of similar things grouped together. Everytime I'd come across a picture of like-items in a group - during my 'clean up' session - I'd let out a deep sigh! I'm a bit nuts like that...here is a tiny sample.

images; 1. galmont; 2. here; 3. here; 4. here; 5. here; 6. here; 7. here; 8. here; 9. here; 10. here

Marvellous Monday!

image; jeunesse au plein air - la sauterelle by herve morvan, 1973; michelle belle for galmont

What a difference a sleep-in and a sunny morning can make....also rereading beautiful birthday facebook messages and putting away birthday gifts can't hurt....
I think spring is on it's way in old Melbourne town. So exciting!
How beautiful is this vintage poster, one of a series we have at Galerie Montmartre, encouraging children to get out in the fresh air? Hope you get a chance to do this today, wherever you are - have a great week. x

ZZZzzzzz....Party is Over

image; une nuit by bernard villemot, 1973; stephan t for galerie montmartre

It's sleepy Friday, people! This old girl kicked up her heels yesterday to celebrate another year of life and is feeling a tiny bit lethargic as a result.
I overindulged. I was spoilt rotten. I ate and drank like I was never going to do either again! I partied with friends. I got home very late to find chocolate cupcakes, flowers and cards waiting for me. I really felt like a very fortunate woman.
An extra lovely surprise came early in the morning - L'Homme sang to me over the phone, word-perfect, and in a completely recognisable voice. That was my birthday gift right there; a perfect way to start the day.....so obviously I needed to get out and celebrate and I did it in style, you would've been proud!!
So not much happening here, but Michelle Belle our Assistant Extraordinaire has posted my favourite (and final) of her guest blogging posts over at The Design Files - do have a look, it's all about the French obsession with advertising and how many of their products are depicted in our vintage posters. The photos are magnifique!

A million thank yous for my birthday greetings; I say it time and again, I love this blogging life.

Have a great weekend, friends, I'll see you next week. x

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's my birthday today! Being a feisty Leo means birthdays are usually week long celebrations, but of course, this year is slightly different. I'm not entirely sure what to expect...


....usually there is the opening of gifts, of which the Petits are very able and enthusiastic assistants. Then I take the day off and do whatever I want (ie. wandering Melbourne CBD alone and indulging my taste for the finer things in life - ahem, supposedly another Leo trait) meeting L'Homme at a fancy restaurant for dinner and one champagne too many. Oh yes, I love me a birthday, even though I'm racking up the years!

Obviously there is a chance the day could be a bit sad, because L'Homme is fighting his way out of rehab and is unable to join in the festivities. But I am doing what I can to celebrate - that's what we both want. It's important to me that I don't try anything new, I'd rather wait for l'Homme to get better.

So, one of my BFF's is taking half a day from her extremely important job to join me for lunch at Bistro Vue (we had our work Christmas party there last year and I've snuck back for lunch one other time!) ....and then she'll accompany me on indulging in a couple of new birthday purchases (not sure what I'll buy myself yet), before we head to the hospital and get l'Homme to sing Happy Birthday!

Then my gorgeous Brother who happens to be one of my favourite people to spend time with and L'Homme's BFF - they knew each other before I knew him - will join me for dinner (after I've spent some time with the Petits) at the phenomenal Collingwood eatery Gigibaba. The food is exquisite and I have had a hankering for the pommegranite salad and peppered steak since the first time I had it sometime last year.

Then I'm inviting all the lovely women in my life to head to Panama Dining Room in my beloved Fitzroy for a drink or nine before hobbling home.

All things considered, it sounds pretty perfect to me.

images found; 1. unknown...sorry 2. here 3. here 4. here 5. here 6. here

Michelle Belle's Guest Posterama!

image; galerie fricker, paul colin (hand signed), 1971; stephan t for galerie montmartre

Not only is Michelle Belle, our assistant extraordinaire, guest blogging on The Design Files all week - be sure to check out her out over there today...it's a tiny taste of vicarious retail therapy - but every Wednesday I include one of her posts from our Tumblr site. Quite frankly, this blog has turned into way too much of what la Femme is into, so we started another one that is authored by the Gen Y Wonder which is totally vintage poster focused and I love it!

Today's post is about two creative talents in two very different fields, both divinely determined and talented during one of my favourite eras.


One of the masters of Art Deco graphic design, Paul Colin (1892-1985) produced over 1900 posters, plus hundreds of book covers, theater sets and costumes. Inspired by Cubism and Surrealism, his designs were perfectly suited to the Jazz Age. Bold colours, geometric shapes and caricatured figures practically dance of the page.
Colin is best known for his work for La Revue Negre, a French troupe of musicians and performers, including the then little known Josephine Baker. Together they took Paris by storm, Josephine with her sensational ‘banana dance’, Colin with his colourful lithographic posters celebrating the energy and allure of this bewitching woman.
Using an image designed for La Revue Negre in 1925, this exhibition poster is seductive, sexy and simply irresistible. Jazz singers in the front, Baker swinging those famous hips up the back, we can only imagine the visual impact of a room of such designs. And oh to be there, among the glitz and glamor of the Jazz Age. I can tell you, I would be dancing the Charleston till the wee hours on the streets of gay 1920s Paris.

Serge Bloch Genius

image found here

image found boston.com

image found amazon books

muddy photo one taken on the i-phone late at night (!) but too important for me to leave out;

the text that accompanies it says 'i can't wait....to play with my kids'

muddy photo number two says 'i can't wait....to show them the world' - you'll get there l'homme

When Petit-Petit was born 2 and a half years ago, he was given a book which I fell crazy in love with. It was the kind of thing I wished I'd written such was its simplicity, creativity and power. Over the last eight weeks, I have been drawn to books, texts and illustrations that inspire me and leave me feeling that there is hope. So, of course, I turned to my little friend 'I Can't Wait' by Serge Bloch and Davide Cali. Each page has one line of text, a pen illustration and a red tapestry thread used in a variety of ways - a bow, an umbilical cord, a frilly collar, blood in an IV drip, a scarf; you get the picture. This little book had me smiling, crying and knowing that everything is OK with the world. So I was so thrilled that this talented illustrator has a blog that can feed me beautiful images on a regular basis and help me feel good about the world and the way it turns.

Michelle Belle continues to guest post over at The Design Files, please go and check it out. Today we are seeing the tiny arrondisement known as Montmartre through the eyes of our Gen Y wonder.

Delightful Monday - Michelle Belle on The Design Files

image; the lipton, anon, c1960's; michelle belle for galerie montmartre

Another week is upon us, what better way to spoil yourself than grabbing a cuppa, heading across to The Design Files to read the guest posts that Michelle Belle, our assistant extraordinaire has written? You will gain an insight into her recent trip with L'Homme to Paris; every day this week Michelle Belle's excitement as she discovers a new city and more about the magical world of vintage poster collecting will be on offer. 'Delightful' was the first term that came to mind when reading her musings, I'm sure you'll find the same.

I welcome every day at the moment, as that brings us one day closer to L'Homme's homecoming! So, have a great week everyone, be sure to pop back and see what this Femme is up to. x

PS. Lucy's intro and account of our situation is beautiful, I'd encourage you to read it here...

Walk Right Into This Mess

images; shelley t and stephan t

-pls note, the letters m-e-s-s are the first letters of our names...i love that it spells the word 'mess', cause that's life to a 't', wouldn't you say?!

If there's one thing that L'Homme is brilliant at, it is returning from trips away (whether it be a day one or an overseas extravaganza) with gifts for all. This particular Paris trip - yes, the poor doll....off to Paris every single year in search of beautiful paper goodness (!) - he was soooo excited to bring these pedestrian lights home. L'Homme thinks that the French pedestrian lights have attitude! As I can't take them to his current digs ie. rehab ward, I thought he'd want us to enjoy them at home, so I put them in our living room along with some other sentimental bits.

It was only as I was downloading the photos I'd taken (not particularly well, I might add, still getting used to the new i-phone, another gift from L'Homme; btw, he has intimated that he'd like to have his with him at hospital, despite not yet having the ability to say or text much!) that I discovered some photos he had taken back in 2006 of the French pedestrian lights to show me how cool he thought they were. Uncanny...

The little vignette needed some colour, so I grabbed one of my fave vintage vases which hold some vintage fabric flowers handmade made by the wonderful Pene Durston (I pass by her beautiful store every day on my way to and from the rehab unit) and given to me by a very dear friend when we were in the throes of 'will-l'Homme-make-it-through?' mode back in June.

Here's a little close-up so you can see how clever Pen is, I love her creativity. I love that these live in Chez Trbuhovich and remind me of a significant life event for our family.

And here am I trying to get artistic with my photography and failing miserably...

It should be noted that the little green 'go-bloke' was leaning on the wall temporarily, cause he is a bit unsteady on his feet...which is tempting for a 2 year old Petit...but I actually like him being back there, so that's where he'll stay. In other words, he's not going anywhere - boom, boom!

Guest Post; Michelle Belle Tumbles 3

image; Michel Quarez, Quarez Affiches printed 2009

I'm so proud of our little assistant extraordinaire, this blog she is writing is exceptional in it's content, knowledge and personality. Today Michelle Belle tells us about a posterist who we adore at Galerie Montmartre; he's a true contemporary poster artist.

Ahem, while the French continue to respect this medium, then I will always have a job...

Read on to learn of the modern master;

Just to prove to you this whole poster thing ain’t a thing of the past, today I want to show you a newie. The French still take great pleasure in the the design, production and practice of great poster art. Le Boss always bangs on about how even today there are posters all over Paris, and a recent trip there proved him right. In the metro, on bus shelters, in specially designed light boxes on the street, on walls, on buses, small format pamphlets etc, etc, etc. EVERYWHERE. The French still respect the poster. And the French still love their own poster artists.
Case in point: Michel Quarez. His style is unmistakably modern. Graffiti-style lines, bright fluro colours, kids in backwards caps and high-top sneakers. From gay rights to football, tourism to theater, Quarez has applied his unmistakable brush to it all. With posters from the 1990s to today, this is a thoroughly modern poster artist.
This poster was created for the 2009-10 retrospective exhibition at the Bibliotheque Forney in Paris. Another gallery devoted to posters, you can check out the exhibition on you tube. Damn lucky those Parisians are. Beautiful posters everywhere!

Oversize Art

When it comes to oversized art, I am a total convert; the larger the work the wider my smile! Nice big, whopping, brash artworks make such a statement, in my opinion - check out this tiny sample of oversize art-loving rooms which have caught my eye in blogland over the past couple of weeks.

images; (1) delikatissen; (2) la maison boheme; (3) a perfect grey; (4) the design files