connections
Real connection - sharing food and conversation
The illusion of connection!
We scroll, watch and absorb the world’s noise, our reach has never been wider, yet so many of us are feeling disconnected, stressed and fatigued. Constant connectivity has dulled our attention, numbed empathy and left little room for reflection or imagination.
And this is why La Source exists, to create journeys that slow the pace, invite conversation, and restore space to think, to breathe, and to feel again. Our experiences are about real connection, to people, to place, and to ourselves. They remind us of what truly nourishes creativity: quiet moments, shared stories, and the joy of simply being present.
from strangers to friends
It often begins with something small, a smile, a shared glance, a question asked in passing. But sometimes that moment opens a door. A conversation begins, a story unfolds, and a stranger becomes something more.
In recent weeks, there have been two encounters that reminded me how naturally connection can blossom when we’re open to it. None were planned, yet each carried warmth, laughter, and a sense of recognition. They were moments that made travel feel alive, proof that friendship can arrive in the most unexpected ways, if only we allow the space for it.
A Table at the Grand Palais
In a quiet café at the Grand Palais, a woman at the next table studied her map, tracing routes across Paris. We offered to help, a small gesture that opened into conversation. A shared love of theatre, dance, and art soon revealed itself, and the following day she joined us for our trip to Chatou.
What began with a map became a day of laughter, stories, and shared discovery, a reminder of how easily connection finds us when we stay open to it.
The Journey to London
On the Eurostar from Paris to London, a smile became a conversation. The young French woman beside me was travelling to the Albert Hall to hear Agnès Obel, a name I didn’t yet know. As we talked, she shared her love of the music, its quiet intensity, its light and shadow, I loved it, then shared it with all my friends and now YOU … the beauty of random meetings!
Her name was Olive Ka , a filmmaker and writer, beautiful, warm, and generous. By the time we reached London, I had discovered both a new artist and a new friend. The journey felt touched by grace, proof that connection can bloom anywhere, even between two strangers on a train.
Design Meets Provenance!
At La Source, we’ve always believed that the French design houses and the world of antiques share the same values — craftsmanship, heritage, and a deep respect for provenance.
Recently, we were invited by Hermès to take thirty of their employees on a discovery trip to the Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen. Designed as part of their corporate training programme, the experience encouraged them to look beyond the atelier, to see how creativity is rooted in material, story, the past, and have some fun!
At this year’s annual Puces party, we were delighted to meet Cordelia de Castellane, Creative Director of Dior Maison & Baby. Her flower-filled café on Rue du Bac, is one of our favourite café haunts where we can indulge in floral workshops while eating scrummy pastries and we Love the décor, English garden meets Parisian delights, unexpected and original, a charming surprise.
From Hermès to Dior, the thread is the same: the finest design and the humblest flea-market find are both expressions of imagination, integrity, and a reverence for things made to last.
Quiet Minds, Creative Souls
Creativity rarely thrives amid the noise. It stirs instead in stillness, in the pause before conversation, in the silence of a sun-dappled courtyard, in the rhythm of shared meals and unhurried walks. When we slow down, the mind breathes again. Thoughts unfurl, ideas connect, and imagination returns.
Reconnection in Provence
And so we come full circle, from virtual connections to real encounters. In June 2026, we’ll gather once more in Provence: meeting new faces, sharing stories, broadening our shared experience. We’ll talk, listen, wander, and rediscover the richness of human connection.
Because it’s in those quiet, spontaneous moments — a conversation with a stranger, the laughter shared over a table, a glimpse of beauty in an ancient stone hilltop village, that life feels most vivid. These are the memories that endure.
Join us in Provence — to step away from the noise, reconnect with yourself, and let real life awaken your spirit.
- Susie & Aliné
Cordelia’s divine flower & coffee shop, Paris
Sun dappled terrace at La Bastide du Mourre, Provence
Relax, Restore, Reconnect with La Source in Provence!
