Eze Baskets

One of my consistently best-selling baskets is the style I call Eze...which rhymes with "says." Phonetics are so tough to spell out in a blog!

Eze is an ancient, second century BC fortification on the French Riviera. William of Sweden inhabited what is now the Chateau Eza in the 19thC, and Eze has evolved today into one of the Riviera's exclusive spots. I would stay at Eden Roc first, if I had my choice, but this is right up there in terms of "best of the Riviera." The village is built up very steeply:
The Church dates to the late 18th C and is Our Lady of the Assumption; it has a fabulous clockface and ochre edifice....
I took my two nephews to France last summer; I wondered if Eze would be lost on them...they were fascinated by the winding drive up from Villefanche; here they are at the entrance to the village:
They WERE very impressed with the assemblage of exotic cars at the gate for the chateau; this is a weekend get-away place for those who live in Monaco. Looking down from the carpark, you see the enormous chess board and lawn:
The best hotel on the citadel is Chateau Eza; I took my Mom there on her "dream trip" to the south of France; 15 years later, those shampoo bottles are still held in reverence by my Mom. France does not get much better than this. You park at the end of the drive and your luggage is carried by porters through the narrow streets to the hotel; the boys are here looking on:
You can't totally appreciate the steep slope and the terraces; it's a magical place and more importantly, a complete engineering marvel; see here, looking down at the terraces of the Chateau~~
A typical street in the village; the shops are rather touristique, but charming nonetheless....
The view down toward the bay, Villefranche; you'll have to go back and see my posts on Tina Turner and the cruise ships and Villefranche; this is with a zoom; the distance is much greater in reality:
The broader view; that long finger of land is Cap Ferrat, with Villefranche on the far side of the Cap and Nice around the next cliff :
So...back to the baskets....they are made in Morocco and hard-sided; this is key for a slim profile when going through crowded markets, or else sheltering your berries and precious produce....I usually stock two sizes, one wider than the other, here they are end to end....
They come in a nested set of four:
Here they are last weekend in Corona del Mar: full of anemones and sweet peas, for my sister, who hosted our dinner:
I import directly from the suppliers, and I specify the sizes and handle length: they are longer than you will find anywhere else;
The handles and trim are all lambskin; here the variation with the lambskin zip top:
And here last weekend, the second smallest version with my weekend veggies: note there is no steel rivet that other suppliers have on the handles-- steel rivets will rust in SoCal near the beach; the handles are guaranteed for life; they will never break....
When I got home from the market Saturday afternoon, this is who greeted me at the gate, baby Biscuit, aka Baby; she immediately started to eat one of those yellow peppers:
And then the "big" Honey dog, looking intent here (sorry for the digression, I love my dogs, and they were in my day's photos):
There are variations on the Eze: blue (here) and also in fuchsia; I sell these as the Menton style on the website:
A closeup of the lambskin handles:
And a recent shopper with the smallest of the wide-body style; going forward I am only ordering the covered corners on this style, which is aesthetic but also practical; she loved the longer handles, even on a small tote...

See you next week at the market; we will have new Eze models in soon.