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The shoe shine salon

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Baba Conrad Sarr
“Of the nobility of his aspirations.”
“Ah! How big the world is in the light of the lamps! In the eyes of memory, the world is small!”
It was at the beginning of the 90s that, with the recommendations made by his father, Conrad Sarr set up shop in the small shop on rue Jean Mermoz. There, according to the seasons, he worked, honoring his heritage.
With nobility and humility like his father Babacar, whose first name he will use in homage, Baba shares his know-how and strives with passion.
Rarely has a place been so atypical, because like its owner its virtues are magical, in this veritable barnum created through travels and encounters, shoe lovers follow one another and forget their watches, because here neither distinction of class, ethnicity or religion, we make time pass through good discussions.
1966
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With passion
“Work is the father of fame”
A true cabinet of curiosities, Salon Baba is above all the lair of the best shoe shiner in Paris: patina, glazing, shoe polish, everything is done there with the concern for perfection and the love of shoes, not a shoemaker or a large house that does not know the place or praise its merits, because Baba's passion for shoes is an insatiable ardor, and the more we feed this fire, the more it burns.
1995
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A must for all of Paris
More than a shoe shine salon, a place for exchange, sharing, meeting...
“Friendship requires nothing in exchange, only maintenance”, it is a bit of the leitmotif of the Salon, so friends flock in, new friendships are created, the Salon sometimes takes on the appearance of a passing vaudeville from laughter to tears to the rhythm of shoeshine under the benevolent gaze of the owner…
1996
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Family
Time passes, friends stay
Having a place to go is a home, having people to love is a family, having both is a blessing…
2006
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Friendship
The circle grows...
There are friends, there are family, and then there are friends who become family...
2007
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Time passing
After three years
Having pushed open the narrow, swaying door, I strolled through the small garden which was gently lit by the morning sun, glittering each flower with a moist spark. Nothing has changed. I saw everything again: the humble arbor of crazy vines with the rattan chairs…Le jet d’eau fait toujours son murmure argentin et le vieux tremble sa plainte sempiternelle. Les roses comme avant palpitent ; comme avant, les grands lys orgueilleux se balancent au vent, Chaque alouette qui va et vient m’est connue. Même j’ai retrouvé debout la Velléda, dont le plâtre s’écaille au bout de l’avenue, – Grêle, parmi l’odeur fade du réséda. Paul Verlaine, Poèmes saturniens
2008
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“Please... tame me!”
After three years
What does "tame" mean " ?
“It’s something too forgotten,” said the fox. It means “create connections…”
- Create links ?
– Of course, said the fox. To me you are still just a little boy, just like a hundred thousand little boys. And I don't need you. And you do not need me any more. For you I am only a fox like a hundred thousand foxes. But, if you tame me, we will need each other. You will be unique in the world for me. I will be unique in the world for you...
2009
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On self-esteem and others
The day when...
The day I truly loved myself,
I understood that in all circumstances,
I was in the right place, at the right time.
So what? I was able to relax.
Today I know it's called self-esteem.
2007
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Light
Le succès appelle le succès...
Artists, models, poets, athletes, well-known and unknown, all flock to Salon Baba to enjoy the atmosphere and share their love of their neighbors as well as moments of life, because there is nothing more artistic than loving people and in this small shop on rue Jean Mermoz it is an art in which we excel.
2009
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Art
Artistes et artisan...
“Create to live or live to create: all the difference between the artist and the craftsman, it is perhaps in the craftsman that we must look for the most admirable proofs of the sagacity of the spirit, of his patience and his resources.”
2010
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Notoriety
In the press
“The triumphs of fame are never worth the rest that we sacrifice for them.”, because it is through constant and hard work that we build our fame.
2011
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From a new beginning
The place changes, friends stay...
New address, new Salon, new story..., it was just a few meters from its old brand that on a beautiful summer day, Salon Baba reopened for a place that reflects the hearts of its friends, larger , more beautiful, more illuminated. it’s a page that is turning but a new chapter that has opened on what is before being a shoe shine salon, a family…
2015
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In memoriam
Death is nothing
“Death is nothing: I only passed by, in the next room. I am me. You are you. What I was for you, I still am. Give me the name you always gave me. Speak to me as you always have, don’t use a different tone. Don't look solemn or sad. Keep laughing at what made us laugh together. Pray, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be pronounced at home as it has always been, without emphasis of any kind, without a trace of shadow. Life means all that it ever was. The string is not cut. Why should I be out of your thoughts, just because I am out of your sight? I'm not far away, just on the other side of the path. »
2017
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Loyalty
Loyalty and nobility...
“There is a nobility that surpasses that of rank, a nobility in the heart even beyond blood, Made of moral distinction, and of pure feelings, It is irreproachable and insensitive to time. This nobility of soul given to the father because he was virtuous, left to the children so that they become virtuous, justifies my unwavering loyalty, whatever happens. Of a friendship where silences no longer weigh, where respect and trust have become absolutes, of a friendship that all the gold in the world cannot buy and whose fruit is the reward of virtue, you have blessed and my soul eternally thanks you…”
“Loyalty is the most sacred good in the human heart”
Seneca
1960
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