Location
Romantic, festive, and trendy, Le Marais seduces with cobbled streets, historical places, and small stores. The concept store Merci is located in central Paris in Le Marais, a village-like district built on former marshes, from which the neighborhood takes its name. Popular with walkers and Parisians, it invites you to relax and shop!
111 boulevard Beaumarchais, in the 3rd district. Between République and Bastille, but closer to République than to Bastille, the brand Merci has awakened the upper Marais. At first glance, this is a specific address in a regular neighborhood where people are accustomed to passing through, unaware of the beauty of the architecture and the characteristic Pre-Haussman style at first sight only. Once past the paved courtyard, its customized Fiat 500 and the 1,200-square-meter showroom reveal the unique spirit of the place. We are at Merci, the solidarity concept store.
Merci was created in 2009. It was one of the first concept stores in Paris at the time, which claimed to be fair trade. It’s the committed couple Marie-France and Bernard Cohen who launched the project. They had imagined a large fashion and decoration bazaar where a portion of the profits from sales would be partly donated to associations to protect women and children in Madagascar.
Installed in a courtyard, Merci has established itself as a place to live in. Today, the store flourished, and people of all ages come to eat and discover new designers and objects.
Ambiance
Designed to be welcoming and revolving around conviviality and pleasure, Merci is more than just a concept store. It is a place where people decide to go for its unique atmosphere. An eclectic place that will make you discover new forms and new creations. Merci covers all aesthetic grounds and inspires you with designers’ conceptions!
The Red Fiat 500 parked in the courtyard is one of Merci’s strong and iconic symbols. It is decorated and customized according to the season. The canteen in the basement has fresh produce from the garden. As well as the two cafés, one dedicated to the cinema with silent projections in a loop. If you are into second-hand books, you should visit the second café, where you can discover books and read while drinking coffee on the terrace in the summer.
The shop is in a 19th-century building formerly occupied by a furniture and wallpaper company. The building hosts the Used Book and the Ciné Café. From the ground floor to the second floor, where you can find furniture, lighting, stationery, bath, household linen, and fashion, one feels almost at home. Some impressive spaces, such as the entrance dome and the main exhibition area, are flooded with light through its large glass roof. And, of course, the paved courtyard and its famous red Fiat 500.
Inspiration
Merci is a concept store that carries objects in the mix in fashion, homes, or restaurants. They host many trending designers and brands like : Bon Parfumeur, KN Industrie, Adidas, Taschen, Bose, IZIPIZI, Isabelle Marrant, etc.
The Duralex glass meets a Jars Céramistes plate created by Pierre Cazenove, the plastic crate meets with a vintage rolling table by Mathieu Mategot. Its uniqueness and beauty are in the association and the opposition of vintage vs. contemporary, artisanal vs. industrial, or expensive vs. cheaper. And this mainly can be found on all three floors of Merci. Furniture, household linen, fashion, restaurants, objects of use, and art of living are all cleverly combined. Their prices, too, since here, the wise and the exceptional, are mixed.
