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"Julia Long sits at her desk and crumples another sheet of paper. It joins the growing pile at her feet. The ideas just aren&amp;#039;t coming. Long, who has created designs for Homart for six years, shuts her sketchbook and opens her laptop. Her thoughts turn to Paris where the antiques, food, architecture and fashion have always romanced her into designing. She needs a French fix. She logs on to Ortbitz and books a trip with an eye toward finding new inspiration for her next collection. Enter Braderie de Lille. &amp;quot;What? You&amp;#039;re coming to France during the weekend of Braderie de Lille and you aren&amp;#039;t going?&amp;quot; asks a French friend. Long has never heard of the Braderie, a large annual flea market that draws millions to the small northern town of Lille, France. But with a reaction like that, she has to see what all the fuss is about. The train from Paris to Lille is packed as are its streets, which teem with people heading in only one direction, Long follows the throng, occasionally looking up to observe a skyline of 17th-century Flemish architecture incongruously crisscrossed with laundry lines. She finally sights some vendors, but is disappointed to see they&amp;#039;re selling tennis shoes, board games, cleaning supplies, and other unidentifiable sundries. Not exactly inspiring material. She turns a corner and stops abruptly. Ahead are streets filled with vintage wonders: 19th-century paintings piled on tables, old church gates leaning against walls, and Limoges porcelain towering in stacks. She excitedly makes her way through the various stalls when suddenly a thick dusty canvas book catches her eye.  She opens it. The spine creaks and the pages separate with a crack. Names and numbers swirl in calligraphic script. It&amp;#039;s a family ledger, detailing every purchase the Coquelle household made during 1869. &amp;quot;23 francs to tailor, Marie Van Dame . . . 124 francs to gardener, Francois DesChamps . . . 51 francs to cobbler, Laurent Mailliard . . .&amp;quot; It&amp;#039;s perfect. Long asks the vendor: &amp;quot;Monsieur, how much for this?&amp;quot; Too excited to haggle, she hands over the 45 Euros and walks away with her new inspiration. Sitting down at a quiet caf\u00E9 away from the hustle and bustle of the main square, Long sips a glass of Bordeaux as she slowly turns the pages. She is mesmerized by the stylized French script and a pattern begins to form in her mind. With a bit of embellishment and color, the 19th-century calligraphy could be applied to ceramics, textiles, and other home goods. She&amp;#039;s found next season&amp;#039;s Homart pattern. Once home, Long digitally scans pages of the book and designs a framework for the handwriting. The flow of the cursive letters brings to mind a creeping vine pattern, and she draws leaves around the script. The Braderie de Lille takes place in early fall so she makes a note: print the leaves in orange. Since the family could afford a bookkeeper, she guesses they must have been nobility. She adds a crown. The pattern complete, Long sits back and admires her handiwork before passing it on to the production team.  Homart&amp;#039;s Royal Ledger Collection and the memories of Lille make their way to market.  Julia Long&amp;#039;s Lille Insights Stay:L&amp;#039;Hermitage Gantois Hotel The city&amp;#039;s most acclaimed hotel was once a 15th-century hospice.  Eat: Meert Sweet Shop Everyone who comes to Lille should taste the vanilla cr\u00E8me waffles from Meert, a renowned pastry shop. Former President de Gaulle loved them so much that he always welcomed guests with a box of their pastries.  Visit: Palais de Beaux Arts This museum has a wonderful collection of 17th-19th century art and antiquities. Shop: The Braderie de Lille  The flea market always takes place on the first Saturday in September, with the next one occurring September 6-7, 2008.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/a3794/designer-diaries-julia-long-a-45431/>