WELCOMING GRIMAUD TO NEW YORK CITY
Sometimes life just delivers you a special gift and when it does, I hope that gift is from Grimaud. That is quite a statement coming from me, I admit, but I am starting to manifest my holiday gift wish list and a set of tarot cards from Grimaud is on the top of that list. Allow me to tell you a little more behind my reasoning. It all began at Shoppe Object, the trade show for gifts and wares that happens twice a year in NYC. I was about to call it a day when I realized that I missed an entire aisle of brands and decided I could squeeze in a few more minutes before it was time to fetch my son from school. Thank goodness I did! As it turns out, I happened upon the most wonderful stand filled with the most beautifully printed playing cards and tarot cards that I have ever seen. They had yet to be seen by many of us stateside, and I felt so lucky to have my hands on one of these gorgeous decks. The printing and the packaging design alone made this graphic design major swoon! And swoon I did all over everything they had! That sure is something given I don’t even know how to play cards very well other than Go Fish! with above mentioned son.
It turns out that Grimaud was not really a new company at all, but a company founded in Paris, France in 1848, officially called Maître Cartier Grimaud, that was repositioning itself in the luxury playing card market, bolstered by 175 years of excellence in Parisian artisanal printing. Grimaud is the oldest and most prestigious card maker, blending artistic tradition with creative craftsmanship to design exquisite playing cards and accessories that made my craft-loving heart skip a beat.
Meeting Guillaume and Lucie, two members of Grimaud’s team, at their stand at Shoppe Object and telling them about Interior Monologue and my obsession with craftsmanship and makers felt like the universe made sure I didn’t skip that aisle. We found ourselves talking about all the details of the printing technique, the history of the company, the illustrations and every detail that has been considered and crafted with so much care. We were speaking each other’s language! (Even though my French is shaky at best!) After a solid thirty minutes of my oohing and ahhhing, we decided we had to continue the conversation. Our continued dialogue resulted in our idea to create a partnership to officially welcome and introduce this amazing company to my hometown of New York City. We filmed this documentary at Printemps NY and around lower Manhattan with Laetitia Barber, a professional tarot reader and teacher, and had a blast doing so. I couldn’t be more excited to share this little film with you and to introduce you to Grimaud! So, without further ado, roll ‘em!