Vanessa Grall, aka Messy Nessy Chic, is selling the Seine. Or at least little bottles of it. Quadruple filtered and ready to go. And you can find them in her new boutique Messy Nessy’s Cabinet in the fifth arrondissement of Paris.
When she announced the idea, social media went wild. People loved it. People hated it. People wanted it. People wanted to shout. Me, I had to know more. So I went down to Vanessa’s new boutique and asked her all about it for this week’s episode of The Earful Tower. We also chatted about Paris and her wildly popular world, Messy Nessy Chic.
Listen to the episode below (or wherever you get your podcasts) and scroll down for some quotes from Vanessa about the Seine idea.
Why sell the Seine?
Vanessa: “I’m always trying to be a bit more imaginative with the basic things that we see every day. And in the case of a shop in Paris, you know, along the Seine, we wanted to sell something to the passing tourists, so souvenirs.
“A souvenir means, to me, like picking up something from the place that you’ve been. I’m also a stone’s throw from the Seine. So when I was thinking about what I want in my shop, I thought about the Seine.
“The Seine is kind of like a highway of Paris. It’s like its main artery, it’s a highway of activity. And it has so much history. The idea just kind of popped in my head. I didn’t ask myself if it was legal. But I don’t know if I care. They’re such small batches and it’s all in good humour. I see the reactions of locals when they’re walking by and stop in the window. And they’re definitely amused. And I think they appreciate that it’s something different.”
For the full conversation, listen to the podcast. It’s free and we have new episodes every Monday.
Find more about Vanessa on her website here. You can visit her boutique at 19 Rue de Bievre and you can read more about it here. Address: 19 Rue de Bièvre, 75005 Paris, open Monday to Friday, 11am – 7pm, and on Saturdays from 2pm to 7pm (closed on Sundays).
As well as Seine water, the shop stocks antiques, books, and Parisian nostalgia. You can even find The Earful Tower’s own children’s books on the shelves – and we signed them all.
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C’est une idée merveilleuse! I cannot wait to stop by on my next trip overseas!