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Elein Fleiss
Saturday March 2nd 2024
Billions of human beings lived this day in the most diverse ways, happily or tragically, with routine or exceptional events. This is how my day developed.
I woke up a little later than usual, at 9:00. My daughter was at her father’s for the weekend so I was alone in the house with my three cats. The first thing I saw was my cat Mitsu’s face. She was trying to get under the bed quilt but it was time to get out of bed.
I turned my shower on and quickly noticed two things – there was no steam and the bathroom itself was freezing. I soon discovered that the radiator was cold and there was no hot water. The staircase light was not working… not the greatest start. Fortunately I solved the problem quickly, turned the electricity back on and heard different and familiar sounds in the house—fridge, computer, printer, boiler, all starting up again.
Having to wait for the water to heat, I prepared some of the green tea my friend Aya brought me recently, had breakfast— avocado, prosciutto and bread—and after that, a coffee with spices. For the past few years I’ve been adding spices to my coffee (cardamom, cinnamon, nigella, coriander seeds), I grind them every other day so they are strong and fresh.
I went into my very small garden to check if anything new had grown. Spring started a few weeks ago, in February, which is unusually early.
Then I spent time on my phone, searching for vintage clothes, something I do very often, for my shop and for myself. I’ve become passionate, or rather obsessed, always trying to discover some minor forgotten brands. My life is like a permanent treasure hunt these days. I admit it’s addictive but I will probably get tired of it at some point.
I also had a glance at the terrible news of the world, online.
After that I could finally get ready, cleaned. I wore a pair of Cosmic Wonder jeans with a Yohji Yamamoto sweater my mother gave me, and that she customized. Who would dare customize a Yamamoto piece, transforming a cardigan into a sweater? My mother did! But I have to admit the result is interesting.
I went to my store, which is at the corner of my house, to bring in some new clothes. Sunday morning, because it’s market day in my village, is the biggest day in the store, so I needed to have new items.
If I truly listed every little thing I did on this day, this text would be pages and pages long.
At 4:30, I left my home and went to find my car. I rarely remember where it’s parked but this time I found it quickly. I drove to Verfeil, a village 20 minutes from here, where I had an appointment with Flore, a friend of mine and one of the three women I am photographing for my new project which will take place next October in Tokyo. Flore is a beautiful woman, a carpenter and a dancer. A few months ago she gave birth to a second child. When I entered their home, François, her boyfriend, was in the front room and we chatted for a while. I found Flore in the garden. I had brought a white wool coat for her to wear and we left for a walk. She brought a basket and started to pick some wild herbs. The light was grey so I didn’t shoot a lot but it was a good start. In the meantime Flore had filled a basked with wild greens. We went back to her home, had tea and some strange gluten-free chocolate cake. It tasted good.
I drove back to my village, went home to pick a bottle of wine. I arrived a little late at my friend Caroline’s for dinner. Capucine and David were there, the three of them were having beers. Caroline is an architect, her flat is on the top floor of a medieval house that she entirely restored and where she created several flats. On the ground floor, there’s also a good secondhand bookstore. Capucine and David are political activists, so we talked about politics mostly. But they’re funny too, we laughed a lot. Caroline made a vegetable curry, very tasty. We also talked about Studio Mumbai’s exhibition that I had just seen in Paris, following Caroline’s advice. A beautiful exhibition of Caroline’s favorite architect that she couldn’t attend, so I told her what I saw.
Before going to sleep I read some pages from An American childhood by Annie Dillard. I recently discovered this American genius and have been reading several of her books with passion.
Saturday March 2nd 2024 is past.
Elein Fleiss
March, 2024
*Le Batèl, a store that sells vintage clothing, antique objects, tableware, books, etc. that Elein opened with her friend, artist Andy Wilkinson.
Photography by Elein Fleiss
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