“Traveling to different places is always an opportunity to find unique and vernacular mementos to bring home. When abroad, I always ask the questions, ‘Is this made here?’ or ‘Can I find this in the States?’ If the item is unique to the locale and different enough to warrant the schlep home, I am interested! Recently, on a trip to Paris, I was walking along the banks of the Seine, checking out all the vendors who had set up shops in makeshift huts. A collection of Japanese watercolor prints caught my eye, and after a bit of negotiating, I scored five of them for 25 Euro each. This series is now framed and ready to hang in my client’s living room.” —Designer Kristina Phillips, founder of Kristina Phillips Interior Design in Ridgewood, New Jersey
