We Moyle sisters come from a family of quirky scientists who spend their whole lives studying things like moss, algae (our grandmother has a magnet on her refrigerator which says "where would we be without algae?" which garners a nerdy chuckle from family members on a regular basis), birds, bugs and fish. Needless to say, we have a special place in our hearts for the natural sciences, especially for the aesthetic of the 19th century naturalist (think bell jars, insect pins, vintage magnifying glasses...). It comes as no surprise, then, that one of our favorite stores in Paris is Deyrolle, a 170-year old quintessential cabinet of curiosities on rue du Bac near the Musée d'Orsay. With creaking floorboards and cabinets chock full of fabulous specimens of all kinds, not to mention a menagerie of taxidermy creatures, it really is a natural history museum masquerading as a shop.
How fabulous is this arrangement of birds?
Much to our dismay, they suffered a fire in February that destroyed part of their historical collections and their entomology room, but they have partially reopened and are planning to continue to restore the rest of the shop. They also have an online shop with a nice stockpile of scientific charts, among other things...