22nd & Jackson

Ajiri Aki is author of JOIE: A Parisian's Guide to Celebrating the Good Life and founder of the online boutique Madame de la Maison. Ajiri is a creative talent both in design and antiquing. She is a source of inspiration for everything needed to set a divine tabletop to enjoying all the treasures and magic of Paris.

Q&A with Ajiri Aki

What is your favorite part about entertaining?

The people, the laughs, the storytelling, and the moments when guests get kind of loud. 

Favorite antique find.

Antique Christofle champagne bucket with grand swans for handles.

Favorite Paris flea market / antique store. 

Marché Vernaison at the Puces de Saint Ouen

Favorite vintage clothing store in Paris.

Thanx God I’m A V.I.P. and Clara’s Vintage

Three things needed to create a chic tablescape.

Linens, knife rests, and name card holders

Favorite item in the Madame de la Maison store right now.

Embroidered cocktail napkins

If you had to pick just one - your favorite French cheese.

Hands down it is Epoisses!

The one thing that makes an excellent dinner party.

A relaxed host and a welcoming vibe!

A perfect fall day in Paris includes….

A walk through the Tuileries or the Jardin du Luxembourg.

Favorite Paris restaurant.

I have so many but Le Square Trousseau is one that comes to mind right now.

Entertaining hack that works when you’re down to the wire and guests are arriving in 10 mins. 

Get dressed, put on red lipstick and turn the music on.

One word to describe how the French “parent”

Apéro (Hahhaha but must explain: We have a cafe/bar next to our school and the parents love improptu apéros while the kids run free). 

Piece of advice for someone desperately trying to learn to speak French.

Get comfortable making a fool of yourself and errors daily.

Lipstick or lipgloss.

Matte lipstick

Early to rise or Night Owl.

Early to rise…but honestly a little bit of both sometimes. 

Guilty pleasure.

I don’t like to feel guilty about anything that brings me pleasure.

Favorite TV binge.

The Bear

Go to cocktail.

Margarita 

Favorite homemade meal.

Oxtail Stew

Email, text or snap.

Text 

Dream dinner date.

Living: Trevor Noah, Passed on: Maya Angelou

Hardest part of starting your own business.

Finding and keeping people who truly want to work.

Best part of starting your own business.

Coming up with ideas, finding ways to bring them to life, and then watching them be useful and bring joy to other people’s lives. 

Who is your current fashion or lifestyle inspiration/muse.

Lifestyle inspiration: Cindy Mackintosh from Domaine de la Recolte Experiences. She built a beautiful home and garden in the Lourmarin, welcomes people to join her for cooking experiences, she travels and explores the world, and don’t get me started on her home deco! She truly knows how to find antiques and layer them into her home and life. 

If you could go back in time, what decade would you live in and why.

The Roaring Twenties in France when everyone was having loads of fun hosting grand parties, horseraces, car shows, traveling by trains, listening to jazz, dancing at amazing clubs, and having a real damn good time. 

Jeep or sports car.

Jeep

Flats or heels.

Always flats

Chore you loathe / Pet peeve

Laundry

Secretly obsessed with ….

Miniatures

A piece of jewelry you treasure.

My mother’s silver Jamaican bangles

Favorite elementary teacher / class

I barely remember elementary school but for middle school it was Mrs. Gilles and her Life Skills Class. I signed up for that class not knowing I would need it so badly 2 weeks after my mother died.

Last book you read.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Most important thing your mother taught you.

When I used to get really worried and anxious she used to sing “Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be…the future’s not ours to see…Que sera sera.”

Favorite New York restaurant.

Miss Lily’s in New York

If you weren’t in your current profession what would you be doing.

Making architecture miniatures or running a little shop with paper goods, gifts and books.