1993, Moving to the Marais!

After four years of perseverance I was finally able to move to a real shop. On a real street with a nice sidewalk. A street on a bus route! It was in the Marais, between la place des Vosges and la rue Saint-Antoine, at 19 rue de Turenne.

This may sound swanky but in 1993 the Marais was still a little run down (albeit up and coming). The only trendy street was la rue des Francs-Bourgeois. My street was known for its men's wholesale shops further north. My block was rather nondescript.

Signing a lease for a commercial space was somewhat complicated. First of all, a commercial lease is called a 3-6-9, meaning that the lease is for 9 years (although you can break the lease after 3 or 6 years).

However, you can SELL the lease to a new renter at any time. Selling your lease was common practice. Because, as you had most likely purchased the lease yourself, you wanted to get your investment back!

I purchased my lease from a woman who had a jewelry store. And I negotiated a new lease with the landlord... so I had 9 years!

The building was dilapidated. A few years later the City of Paris declared it "insalubre" (in unsafe and unsanitary condition).

Before I moved in, my shop was a jewelry store called Art & Ors.

I had the front of the shop and the sign repainted.

In those days, people parked their cars right on the sidewalk!

My new shop was twice as big as the first one but still, it was very very small. Only 15 square meters (160 square feet). But it was a nice space with a big window and it didn't seem as small as it was.