Fabrics heaven in Paris : Marché St Pierre

Many Parisiens (or maybe French) are into home/interior decoration.  It's big business here. Many also like to decorate their home themselves. My friends actually go to fabric stores either to make their own curtains, cover their aging sofa or chairs (or have them done by a professional after choosing the fabric) etc. So, I got the bug too. When my sofa started looking rather tired, I decided that rather than buying a standard sofa cover I would get one that is my own. So, off I went to the most known place to get fabrics and other things I imagine one needs for sewing (there are stores on zippers, ribbons, buttons etc !). This area is located just next to the park at the foot of Sacré Cœurs.

But the most known and the biggest fabric store is le Marché Saint Pierre.  You may bump here into people (men and women) who just like sewing or decorating, interior designers or stylists alike. This shop is huge and has six stories and is supposedly the biggest fabric store in the world.  You could find any kind of fabrics that catch your fancy here (A floor for curtains, another for interior decorating, another for your sofas and chairs etc. Silk, velvet, cotton you name it). The building is old and it looks ancient. When you enter the store, don't expect a spanking interior...everything looks kind of old and the wooden floor creaks loudly as you walk. Even the people working there seem to belong to a diferent and more ancient era. But you would probably end up spending hours here admiring the different fabrics whose prices may surprise you (from extremely cheap to extremely expensive, never knew that fabric could be that expensive !). The people working there are also experts in their trade. They can give you really great advice when asked. I learn to appreciate the sensuality, the feel of fabrics ! I love watching how they cut fabric after you tell them how many meters you want: they make a tiny cut and then like godzila rip the fabric starting from the cut. And the results are perfect, exactly the x meters you want and cut totally straight. This store has been here (and probably has not changed, except for the fabrics they sell) for half a century already. Around le Marché Saint Pierre, you see other fabric stores, some selling what's called 'coupons' or left over or cut pieces of fabric for a price.