Bienvenue!!

Bonjour! Ajiri Aki here and I created Madame de la Maison because celebration is in my DNA. I am Nigerian and my folks love to party. Their guest list is full of family, friends, and party crashers. As long as there's food, music and good vibes, they’re happy. As a Nigerian girl raised in Austin, Texas I was happily and sometimes begrudgingly shuffled from birthday parties to baptisms, dinner parties, and weekly gatherings. In fact, every Saturday we dressed up and headed to meet other Nigerians. I learned from an early age there is power in gathering around a table and sharing with others.

After university I moved to New York where I worked as a stylist and on fashion exhibitions for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of the City of New York. At this time, I found a group of Mexican girls with a similar DNA. Mexicans love a good celebration too! The ten years I lived in New York were full of wine-filled weekly festivities. Every Thursday no matter what was happening in my life, I met with my latin crew for Juevesitos: food, drinks, dancing, chats and lots of Spanish. Every week a different person in the group volunteered their apartment. The evenings bled into nights and we had such a wonderful time. Some of the happiest and most memorable moments of that decade took place on a Thursday.

I left New York and moved to Paris after getting my masters from Bard College in decorative arts and design history. I co-authored my first book, Where’s Karl? (Random House/Clarkson Potter), a New York Times best seller, and gave birth to two children. Paris brought me many treasures but I have missed that sense of community and joy that I derived from weekly fellowship with others. So I am bringing it back!!

I am putting the spotlight on the table and helping others do the same.  I want to encourage you to gather around the table and celebrate life with beautiful things whenever possible. 

I'm looking forward to this journey and hearing any ideas and suggestions from you. Feel free to reach out to me at ajiri@madamedelamaison.com.