Our stand is coming along well, so during a break we decided to go off exploring. The secret staircase was just the beginning…photos: JasonW

How could anyone of a curious nature resist this open door and tiny spiral staircase, like something taken straight from a Jules Verne novel? Although it felt a bit naughty, we decided to slip in and start climbing…Already, from the first floor, you can see the structure of the building really well, and there’s a great view over the grand nave.

As we continued our way up, we passed by a smoked glass window through which you can sort of see the scene beyond, but transformed into a sort of odd painting!Then, as we arrived right at the top of the stairs, we looked back down to admire them. We really were quite high up, above some of the structure of the building itself. We’d never seen the Grand Palais like that, and neither have most visitors. Being so close to the metal structure made us marvel at its cleverness. Really impressive!To check out all our photos of the secret side of the Grand Palais, click here.

Once back to ground level, it was time to get back to our stall and see how it was getting on! Painted and papered, it was really taking shape, thanks to tireless work of all involved (7 people over 3 days, for an art fair that only lasts four days!).Alain Bisotti of HPRG also took a load of photos of the work in progress, using his iPhone. The wallpaper was salvaged from the basement of the Hotel Ferrandi, before we closed it and transformed it into La Belle Juliette. He knew it would come in handy at some point (and he was right).To check out the whole gallery, click the play button below, followed by the four little arrow bottom right (to go into fullscreen mode). Or, just click here.

Be sure to check the blog tomorrow to learn everything about our new PHPA website, launching this week!