St. Remy Tote

This is a shout-out to Karen in Georgia and Kimberly in Arizona...I love shoppers who are so excited about their baskets!

If you have a boutique store with small items, nothing is nicer for your shoppers than a stack of baskets, for shoppers to gather their purchases, as opposed to, say, a metal or plastic wire stacking basket. Wire or plastic? Yuck! Are we in the grocery store, NO! Why does Anthropologie have Moroccan baskets instead of plastic for small purchases? Doesn't it look perfect in Anthropologie in Fashion Island/Newport Beach? Of course. I have no photos of that store, but I might dare. That is my Aix basket, unlined.

Darren, at Paris to the Moon in Costa Mesa, has this set of baskets at his door for client purchases; he has a lot of smalls and so these work perfectly for him. Darren would only have something nice and structured, to cradle the precious finds. I forgot to compliment him on the natural/no plastic look; he is so fabulous and ahead of the curve!!!!
One of my favorite stops in Paris is Mora. I know how to get there but not the address....so you have to go look it up. They have cook supplies with a focus on pastry; metal, glass, big, small etc etc. At the door, they have a rather goofy mannequin in chef's attire....
But on the other side of the doorway, they have this:

I know it's a bad shot, but it's a stack of Madagascar baskets made of seagrass, with flat leather handles. I am ashamed to take photos of stores in France, and I take them clandestinely, just so you know.....I like to go incognito and taking photos is not a "local" thing to do....

Anyway, this is what I call the "shopper" size, all-purpose, inexpensive, and make of seagrass; it is in a slightly keystone type of shape; mine are with brown leather handles:

An interior zip pocket:The handles are sewn rather than riveted, but I have never had one returned; these are well-made pieces and I guarantee all my merch; did I mention they are also Fair Trade??? The finish on the top is raffia:

The corners are covered in leather, to prevent frays at the margin...

I am continually impressed that my suppliers can do this work so consistently, in a least-developed nation.

Though my website shows them with black simulated leather handles, I now carry them only with brown leather handles. There is a slight blue-green tint to the seagrass, and that has always made me think of my favorite Hermes scarf, here:

Use your imagination... can I find a similar patterned silk to make a drawstring closure for these totes?? I will show you the other custom pieces tomorrow. I think it has to be in the blue family....
If you ask my Mom where she would live in France, she will quickly tell you: Saint Remy, formally called Saint Remy de Provence. I took her there several years ago on her Grand Tour of France, and it was her favorite, then and now. We stayed at the beautiful Chateau de Roussan, just outside the center of town; the property dates to the 16th century and Nostradamus once lived on the property. I would call Saint Remy understated but classic. There is nothing too flash or crazy about the place, but it completely in good taste. That's why this style became "St. Remy"...nothing flash about it, but well made and in good taste. Caroline of Monacco lived in Saint Remy for some time; more on the town later; just here to say we LOVE it!