For designers working at the high end of residential and commercial interiors, sourcing is half strategy and half instinct — the ability to walk into a space and know exactly which 18th-century console will anchor the entry, which unique decorative objects will make a room unforgettable, which European suppliers deserve your trust and your ongoing business.
Paris offers all of this, but only if you know where the real inventory is, who controls access to it, and how to navigate the city's trade culture with fluency and credibility. This twelve-day journey is designed exclusively for interior design professionals who want both: the timeless excellence of Paris's antiques trade and the forward-looking energy of Europe's most influential design fair, all timed to coincide with Paris Design Week when the entire city becomes a showcase for global creativity.
You will leave with pieces for your projects. You will also leave with relationships.
Paris Antiquing for the Design Professional
We begin with a full week of Paris antiquing structured specifically around the needs of working designers. This is not browsing for pleasure — though there is plenty of that. This is strategic sourcing for multiple client projects simultaneously, with trade pricing, dealer access, and the kind of inventory diversity that lets you acquire statement furniture, unique decorative objects, lighting, textiles, and architectural elements all in the same trip.
Our long-standing relationships within France's decorative arts community grant you access to sources typically reserved for European trade professionals. Private showroom appointments where specialists open their inventory specifically for our group. Dealer pricing that reflects genuine trade relationships, not retail markup adjusted downward as a courtesy. Introductions to sources who work almost exclusively with the design trade and rarely with individual buyers, even affluent ones.
The difference is real, and designers notice it immediately. The inventory is deeper. The conversations are more substantive. The pricing reflects the fact that you are a professional buyer who will return, who will refer colleagues, who understands the value of a long-term supplier relationship. We facilitate all of it, in French, with the ease of people who have been navigating this world since 2002.
We spend days at Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, moving through the market's specialist dealers with precision. We visit neighborhood markets and established Left Bank galleries where the aesthetic runs toward refined rather than rustic. We arrange private appointments at sources known for 18th-century statement pieces, for exceptional decorative objects, for the inventory categories most valuable to designers working with discerning clients. And we provide full logistical support for shipping multiple acquisitions — a service that becomes essential when you are sourcing for more than one project at a time.
Maison & Objet: The Fair That Defines European Design
Maison & Objet stands as Europe's most influential interior design fair, and the September edition — held during Paris Design Week — is the one that matters most. This is when the city's design showrooms, galleries, and special installations are all open simultaneously, creating an unparalleled concentration of creativity, commerce, and professional networking that exists nowhere else on the calendar.
The fair itself, held at Paris Nord Villepinte, draws more than 60,000 design professionals from across the globe. International buyers, emerging designers, industry leaders, and specialty suppliers gather for four days of curated innovation in every category: furniture, lighting, textiles, tabletop, decorative objects, outdoor furnishings, fragrance, and more. The exhibitors range from legacy European manufacturers to cutting-edge independents launching their first collections. The trends you see here will shape the market for the next eighteen months.
For design professionals, this is not simply inspiration — though it is that. This is where you establish European supply relationships. Where you discover manufacturers willing to work on custom projects. Where you source distinctive pieces that will set your work apart from every other designer sourcing domestically. Where you meet the representatives who can facilitate container shipments, who understand trade pricing structures, who know how to work with American design professionals navigating European logistics for the first time.
We attend the fair together with full trade access, and we are there to facilitate introductions, translate when needed, and provide context on which exhibitors are worth your time. Paris Design Week runs concurrently, and we build in time to visit the city's showrooms, pop-up installations, and gallery exhibitions that open specifically during this period. The entire city is activated around design, and we move through it with the same fluency we bring to the antiques markets.
The Professional Advantage
This journey exists because design professionals need something most luxury travel cannot provide: genuine trade access, not simply upscale tourism with a professional veneer. The difference shows up in every element.
Trade Pricing
Our dealer relationships grant you access to professional buyer pricing — the pricing reserved for repeat clients, for people who work within the trade, for buyers who understand the difference between a retail transaction and an ongoing supply relationship.
Sourcing Efficiency
You are working on multiple client projects, possibly in different styles and price points. We structure the journey to let you source across categories and aesthetic registers efficiently, so that a single trip yields acquisitions for more than one project.
Supplier Relationships
The European dealers and manufacturers you meet on this journey are not one-time sources. These are relationships you can maintain, revisit, and leverage for future projects. We facilitate the introductions that make that possible.
Professional Networking
You will spend twelve days with a small group of fellow design professionals — people working at the same level, facing the same sourcing challenges, navigating the same questions about how to differentiate their work in an increasingly crowded market. The conversations that emerge over dinner are as valuable as anything you will find at the fair.
Logistical Support
Shipping multiple acquisitions from France to the United States is a process most designers have never navigated. We provide full coordination and documentation assistance so that the pieces you acquire actually make it home, properly insured and correctly categorized for customs.
The Itinerary at a Glance
This is a working trip. The days are full, the pace is lively, and the opportunities are real. But we also build in breathing room, because even design professionals benefit from time to wander Paris on their own terms, to follow unexpected leads, to process what they have seen. Our groups are limited to six to eight participants — small enough that everyone receives genuine individual attention, large enough that the professional networking becomes one of the most valuable aspects of the journey.
Days 1–7 | Paris Antiquing
Arrive and settle into your Paris accommodation (arranged independently to suit your preferences — many design professionals prefer short-term apartment rentals for the flexibility and the additional luggage space; we're glad to recommend options). We spend a full week navigating Paris's antiques sources with a specific focus on design-trade needs: Les Puces de Saint-Ouen with specialist dealer access, neighborhood markets, Left Bank galleries, and private showroom appointments arranged specifically for our group. Trade pricing and professional buyer advantages throughout. Two dinners and one lunch included.
Days 8–11 | Maison & Objet and Paris Design Week
We attend Maison & Objet at Paris Nord Villepinte during its September edition, with full trade access to the fair's four days of exhibitors, product launches, and trend forecasting. Concurrently, we visit Paris showrooms, galleries, and installations activated for Paris Design Week. This is where contemporary design, forward-looking innovation, and European supply relationships converge. One group dinner included during this period.
Day 12 | Final Sourcing and Departure
A final morning for any last acquisitions, follow-up appointments, or revisiting sources from earlier in the trip. We assist with shipping coordination and final logistics before evening departures.
What's Included
Included
Two dinners and one lunch at carefully chosen Paris restaurants. Airport limo transfers. Expert French-speaking antiquing guidance throughout the first week. Access to 15+ carefully vetted antiques dealers and specialist sources. Private showroom appointments arranged specifically for our group. Trade-only pricing access at antiques sources. Full trade access to Maison & Objet. Guidance at Paris Design Week showrooms and installations. Shipping coordination and documentation assistance for all acquisitions. Small professional group (6–8 design professionals). Networking opportunities with fellow designers and European suppliers.
Not Included
International airfare, Paris accommodations, personal purchases, additional meals beyond those specified, Maison & Objet registration (handled independently; approximately €60), travel insurance (strongly recommended — see booking information).
This Journey Is For You If…
You are an established interior design professional working with high-end residential or commercial clients. You want access to European sourcing that goes beyond what any showroom representative or domestic supplier can provide. You value trade pricing, genuine dealer relationships, and the kind of inventory diversity that lets you source for multiple projects in a single trip. You want to attend Maison & Objet with professional peers, not as part of a general tourism group. You are ready to establish European supply relationships that will serve your practice for years.
Secure Your Place
$9,800 per person. September 3–14, 2026. A 25% non-refundable deposit per person confirms your reservation. Final payment is due sixty days prior to departure. We accept American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and personal checks. We strongly recommend purchasing comprehensive travel insurance at the time of booking.
Space is limited to six to eight design professionals. Early reservation is strongly advised, as this journey fills quickly among the design community. To ensure the professional focus of this journey, we ask that participants provide their business name, website, and a brief description of their design practice when registering.
www.vintagevoyagersfrance.com | 832-523-2255
