Judging a Book By...

Pia Jane Bijkerk has been a stylist her whole life—it just took her a while to realize it. Or so she says on her charming blog called Enhance the Everyday.

Growing up in Australia, she spent days rearranging her bedroom, shaping tableware sets out of backyard clay and "clicking away at the world" with a secondhand camera. In 1998 she graduated with a degree in photo and film and opened a boutique filled with global treasures—organic sheets, soaps, teak furniture from Indonesia. She sold the shop in 2003, contemplating her life’s true calling. Film? Photography? More retail? When a friend turned said to her: “You should be a stylist,” Pia replied: “What’s that?”

The rest, as they say, is history. She quickly made a name for herself, styling internationally for everyone from Vogue Entertaining + Travel and Real Simple to Saatchi and Saatchi and Tommy Hilfiger. Today, she uses her homes as her workshops--she splits her time between Sydney, Paris and a houseboat in Amsterdam--and her travels as inspiration.

Last month, Pia published her first book. In Paris: Made by Hand, she picks up on the trend among the young designers and decorators of Paris--who have embraced an aesthetic called fait main which means, literally, “made by hand”--and presents more than 50 of her favorite sources for the unique and the one-of-a-kind...new items made by hand, vintage objects, found objects that have been reworked. Included are a designer who makes glass jewelry, a couturier who sells fabric remainders, a vintage-housewares boutique set up like a home. One shop features furniture and home décor by young European designers; another showcases paper and stationery made by French craftsmen. Some are even shops owned by professional chineurs, people who hunt out objects specifically for decorators, designers and stylists.

She also lists cafés, bakeries, cheese shops and tearooms with artisanal foods that reflect the spirit of “made by hand.”

I haven't seen the book. I do love the cover, though, and how it captures the one-of-a-kind vibe. Depending on where you live, it costs around $12. You can read more about it here.

Ready to buy? They have it online at The Little Bookroom and at Amazon.