The Paris We Love, a limited edition bag by Kasia Dietz for Storie

Kasia Dietz is an American designer and writer who has made Paris her home, and now writes an award winning travel blog from the city, as well as running her own successful handmade brand. This summer the young designer has made a tote especially and exclusively for Storie.

Kasia warmly welcomes me to her home in the haut Marias here in Paris, enthusiastically showing me a gorgeous selection of craft and art, collected on travels across the globe: a passion we share. Before we start looking at her spring summer collection for Storie, we find ourselves tracing family histories in travels, and Kasia explains that her mother and father first came to Paris in the 1960s, we also seem to share the love of a good story. 

On one of her shelves, close to a beautiful image of a young couple in sepia, is an old book bound in a faded red canvas, “The Paris we love.” Kasia explains “ This was my father’s book”, the guide’s cover has a charming illustration by Jean Cocteau on the front, and the writer takes us from quartier to quartier in the Paris of the 1950’s. I flick first to Montparnasse. “Montparnasse, has had it’s day. It lasted no longer than 15 years, but that was enough to secure for this quarter a world wide renoun”, it makes me giggle, it’s a comment that could be heard today, but I feel the need to rigorously defend my neighbourhood to the sophisticated American in front of me. 

There is some truth in the review, even today, but for me this is what makes Montparnasse so special. We live in a beautiful neighbourhood which in many ways is unchanged for generations. Our brasseries are Parisian institutions, standing proud on the Boulevard since the start of the century before us. Around every corner there is an artist’s atelier, Giacometti, Cartier-Bresson, Bourdelle to name a few. 

Montparnasse is not just a place, it is a people in this place. There is a generation here, strolling our streets who have memories and sentiments of world changing political and cultural movements. Montparnasse is alive. We know this well at Storie because so many clients share their stories with us. 

I can’t say this hood is hip, in the modern sense of the word. If ever I see a man with a beard, I tend to presume he’s from the other side of the river and is lost. A coffee in Montparnasse is short and black. I’m not sure there any vegans here. If you ask about the gluten content of the plate your comment will be met with a blank stare, and I’ve never seen quinoa on the menu; but despite the guidebooks assertions, this is a beautiful quartier, rich in history and culture; and if you stop, watch, listen and explore you will surely find this too.

Kasia shows me her latest collection and I take note for a future order, she tells me that she could also make something especially for Storie and shows me some of the lovely bags she’s custom-made, as well as creations from the workshops she runs. Our meeting ends; full of inspiration, I jump on my bicycle and start cycling back across Paris to the shop. Not five minutes from Kasia’s flat I have to stop: I know the bag we need to make together, it’s a bag inspired by The Paris We Love, her father’s book. I scribble down an idea on a piece of paper and send it to Kasia, and she immediately says she will develop the idea for Storie. 

Kasia hand makes everything in her collections in Paris. For the collaboration with Storie, Kasia has adapted the original illustration by Jean Cocteau, she has hand painted each one of the limited edition bags, adding her own touch of chic, to the bags made by artisans here in Paris. 

The totes are lined, with a zip pocket inside, and soft , strong leather handles ... et voilà, The Paris We Love by Kasia Dietz for Storie available now on www.storieshop.com