Tweets & Clucks

I have been working with my PR agency to launch a new set of social media for French Basketeer. We've just gone live with a new Facebook page and new Twitter. Warning: they are up, they are not pretty or fully used yet. It's not so much the setup that counts to me, it's finding the best way to use these media. I mean, let's face it, you don't care if I just had a coffee and croissant for breakfast, unless I'm in Paris and have something interesting to say about what I'm seeing, right?

I am also working to integrate all of this new and somewhat time-consuming activity into my life; I have 4 email addresses, 2 Facebooks, 1 Twitter, a blog and a website to keep up on, though Blackberry sure helps. I'm also in the process of writing a book & new blog, and a set of lesson plans. Today, though, I got a tweet that First Lady of California Maria Shriver is following me on Twitter. What am I complaining about, being busy? Maria has 462,096 people following her and 197,236 people she's following! Someone said recently that Twitter is like dipping your cup from time to time into a rapidly running stream; you get a sense of the pulse. That's probably closer to the original idea, of Twitter as an infomation-sharing medium. But true to the networking side of Twitter, I followed Maria's Twitter to her Facebook page and wrote on her wall; I had talked to her peeps awhile back about an event for microfinance. She has lots of great info up on The Women's Conference; I've wanted to go for a few years. We'll see if anything comes of my post!

So, stay tuned for more information; if you are on Facebook, I invite you to become a fan of French Basketeer. If you are on Twitter, please do follow us there!

So, with a blog post on Facebook and Twitter and the like, you'd expect photos of Birds and Tweets, right? No, I'm going to take you on a tour of the Clucks today~~ the sign in Louhan; note the tire holder, so improv French:

One of the most famous marches in all of France is in the town of Louhan, in Burgundy. This market is unlike any other in France. It's known as a "Fowl Market" because it is in the area of Bresse, without a doubt the best known chickens in the world. A Bresse chicken is rich and a little gamey, but still tender; the connaisseur's chicken. There are about 250 farmers in the area, who supply over 1 million chickens each year. The classic Bresse chicken has blue feet, a white body, and a red crown; since it is the colors of the French tricolore it is even more prized! You'll see it in the best butcher shops, always with its blue feet and sometimes just a tuft of white plume, to prove it's genuine; this is the only chicken that has it's own AOC or appellation d'origine controllee. The only place I've ever seen Bresse chickens in the US was as the Jefferson market down near Balducci's, on 6th Avenue. I think, incredibly, they are both gone now. Anyway, it's rare to find them in the states.

All the fowl found in the area are raised in a very non-industrial, organic, free-range way. The market is every Monday morning; there is no start time published, you only see a la bonne heure, which means "early." Now I know why they say that, because it must take hours for the vendors to get in and get set up! The center of town is mostly half-timbered buildings and very pretty; the rail station is close to the market, though we drove from Beaune:

There are a few towers with the characteristic Burgundy glazed tiles in the geometric pattern:

The market is divided into several areas, and basically every square inch of the center of town is turned over to the market. There is a section devoted to live fowl & small animals, another area with the normal market fresh foods, and another area for housewares (kitchen utensils, clothes, baskets etc). It's wall to wall shoppers in the food & housewares, and people are not there just to look, everyone is buying a lot of merchandise. There is a lot of commerce going on here...

There are several long rows of every kind of fowl imaginable: The roosters:

All types of fowl; I don't even know the names;

Lots of fluffy little things, little babies? Not for eating though:

the classic Bresse Chicken:

Something tufted and special; Martha Stewart would know! It was ALL here!!

including adorable pygmy pigs for pets:

I think this is a French Turkey?:

Ducks & geese...

If it moves, you can find it at this market; a pet ferret on a French Blue leash:

Gerbils:

Rabbits; I hope for pets...so many cute rabbits....
Even a Jack Russell terrier puppy bred in England; I really wanted to take this little guy home; he was totally calm and handsome; this was part of the reason I got Honey, I love the calm disposition of the European dogs:

If you are interested, the vendor will show you a bird:

Most of these are said to be for breeding; you can buy a prepared chicken for dinner elsewhere. The shoppers come to the market with various gear to take their animals home; in a basket:

or a box with airholes:

Or in a wagon:

I left the market thinking it would be difficult to eat any fowl or any animals soon; I ended up getting some eggs; perfect perfect eggs in shades of beige and brown; note they are displayed in baskets:

And we went home and I made a quiche Lorraine for dinner, Julia's recipe, with those eggs...a little brown in the photo here but devoured quickly...

and washed down with a glass of Domaine Gros rose that R chilled for us in advance:

And all was right with the world.....

African Motifs

One of my consistently best-selling totes is the style I call Marseille. This tote features a traditional African pattern made of woven raffia. A lot of people carry this bag on a daily basis; it holds up well and is a very sturdy tote; I guarantee all my merchandise, btw:

I named this style Marseille because the City and the Pattern are both very complex, textural, and time-worn. The port city of Marseille is the oldest city in France, and since Greek times it has been an important crossroads of trade and import. In part because of its close proximity to the African continent, there is a strong African undercurrent in the city; it reminds me of New York in some ways: so many people of so many nationalities, all living on top of each other while preserving their own language and culture. The ferries come and go every day to the North African Coast; there is a pulse to Marseille like no other city in France; R and I were fascinated by the ochre facades and boats of the Vieux Port; we have it on our list to go back:

In Madagascar, they have names for some of the patterns. What I call Houndstooth, and some shoppers call "plaid," the Malgagasy call Chickens Foot. But this pattern is quite simply known as "traditional African design." It is a pattern that is frequently seen in African weavings.

One of the best-known sources for antique African wovens is the Kuba Kingdom, which was located in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It survived from about 1625 to 1900, when it became part of the Belgian colony. The production of the weavings involved the entire clan, and the elborate costumes which resulted were used at ceremonial events; the weavings were used a lot for voluminous skirts and trains, sometimes up to 25ft long. The Kubas were experts at the various techniques of dyeing, applique, patchwork and embroidery. They loved to embellish everything, usually with shells, beads and seeds; they created fabulous textiles, cups, hats, boxes....the most impressive pieces are their large helmet-style masks:

Now, I personally wouldn't ever have one in my house, but they are fascinating pieces of art! My friend Liza works with Congo; there has been no mail service in years and it is in the top 10 of Least Developed Nations of the U.N.; the per capital income is under $1,000 per year. There have been so many problems: civil wars, economic collapse, hyper-inflation. It's interesting too that French is also an official language.

The Kubas were especially well-known for their textiles woven out of raffia; in many cases they tufted the raffia to add additional texture to the fabric; see two examples here; the raffia for the tufting is cut close but not knotted; the variation in style is prized:


Patchwork pieces are still being made in Congo; similar pieces were inspiring to Matisse and the avant-garde movement; the diamond pattern is shown even on the patchwork:

While I find the patchwork interesting, I love the diamond patterns, a motif that is repeated constantly:

some of these images are courtesy of Africa Direct.

When I went to the NY Gift a year ago, I picked up this piece at the flea. I went to ABC Home later that day and saw similar pieces for multiples of the price I paid, though I didn't see any as nice as this one, which is slightly tufted; at some point I'll frame it or use it for a pillow:

There are some variations in my piece, which make it interesting; in the U.S. we tend to like a uniform pattern; but for these pieces, variation is the desired look and the expression of the artist:

Ballard also has this same motif on their site, in a series of jute rugs; they call it Coventry; I have no idea why they called it that! It's the classic motif whatever you call it...

The woven raffia used to make my baskets is all hand made of organic materials-- variations are to be expected in handmade items like these. Some of the weaves are more loose; if you are a reatailer or order off my website, I ship only the tightest weaves that match the photo on my website. The looser weaves, shown below, are at the markets; still very attractive and much loved:

My next shipment from Madagascar will include yardage of this fabric. Mirrors? Bulletin boards? Picture frames?

I'll have some other new lovelies for you using this classic fabric.

Spring, Please

I think just about everyone is having some kind of nasty weather this weekend. My niece Erin is in DC and gearing up for the snow. In Laguna we had rain and wind all night and early this morning, just into the early hours of the Corona del Mar market, so I stayed home. We got a little sunshine later in the morning; I was enjoying the last of my Christmas amaryllis, so I went outside to see what else I could find for winter blooms; to start, my "dog" at the kitchen door, with some orchids; they rebloom every year after the first rain, with no assistance:


Some shade azaleas that have been blooming steadily for several months, they are so bright and pretty!

I brought all the amaryllis inside after the last rain, and they are still going strong:

This is also the time for the bird of paradise, here with the new flowers on the jade plants behind:

And the last of the meyers lemons; the rest were put to use in cosmos!

Isn't it just about time for spring? Since it's so gray outside, here are a few shots from last spring to give you some color and cheer in the rain and the snow; it will only be a few more weeks now....I need to get into March, then the new merch will be out on my tables.

These first three shots are from Corona del Mar; as I say, the ladies are usually Chic or Sporty; either way they always manage to look great! This is the Gardenia tote in Large; it really suited her:
This is the yellow Cannes in Large; those are my first Gardenia totes in the background:

This shopper had all herbs and greens and whites in a green Cannes basket, which is her normal shopping tote; it was fresh & fragrant...and was a miniature green & white gardenscape:
Earth Day will also be here soon; everyone found something great at the French Basketeer booth last year at several events, including San Juan Capistrano and Santa Barbara~

How cute are these guys? These hats went like hot cakes; I donated the proceeds from them to the Ecology Center:

I will have parasols at the fairs this spring & summer too; I wholesale them in all colors for $3 if anyone needs some; this beautiful little fairy is from Santa Barbara:

Eventually, believe it or not, summer will be here! I love to use the baskets instead of a vase; that is, just put the glass vase right in a basket; throw a scrap of burlap around the top of the basket to cover the vase. I see a theme here with a lot of my booth photos, which is my signature black & white awning stripe. It was the perfect, logical choice to set off the colors of the baskets. Wonder where I got the idea for that?...

Stay warm and dry everyone, and hold on for just a few more weeks!!

Notes from NY

I lived in New York City for 13 years, and it may be true it's more fun as a visitor than as a resident. I arrived with my friend Djive on Saturday morning at 6am, for the NY Gift Show; we went from our flat (thank you Pat!) to the greatly downsized flea on 26th St. I understand there are other pockets of treasure that have popped up, but I still check out the Garage and the area; the original 26th St parking lot where we used to go every weekend is now a highrise condo. Too bad! I got a nice little gold porcelain bowl this weekend, but not much else :(

I am sorry to report that there is martini inflation in NYC; a dirty martini (my fav) now costs $9 on the upper west side at a grotty Irish bar. I have been to the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis on 5th Avenue (mural by Maxfield Parrish) dozens of times on dates or with generous boys, but never paid for a drink there. Djive was heroic to pay for drinks, but the martinis there are now $20!! Ouch! But they were great! The photo here looks pretty cold and empty; it's really a warm cozy little place.
The martini was after a lengthy visit to Bergdorf's. I wanted a shot of this Balenciaga crocheted raffia bag, which Djive had spotted; the guard told me immediately "no photos" so I ducked out the side door after the photo; I love the navy and natural and will see what we can come up.....
After that, we hit Fairway market, still full of NYC gourmet shoppers at 10pm. I used to shop here all the time! I bought some great jarred anchovies from Collioure; Fairway is the only place I have found them here in the US. Fairway has expanded into what used to be d'Agostino's next door, so now you can find even more of the best gourmet items; we got French Roast coffee, lots of chocolate items, and our lunch for the next day...Djive and I took the tasting tour of the cheese section; the Cheese Man said no photos, because the manager will come over; I shot this one of him quickly with his approval and ran away!! We did end up buying a lot of cheese, though, and we both wished we had a Fairway in California....

The produce was lined up in the usual incredible stacks; all in great quantities and beautifully arranged. I could only shoot the apples; there were employees stocking everywhere... and I didn't know where the manager was lurking....

Meanwhile, the Gift was great! Here is my #1 seller, the Paris Satchel, even in its unfinished form it's fab sitting on a seat at JFK; it will be fully lined in yummy fabric for summer:

Also showed the Gardenia totes.....

and Ikat lined totes in green.... use your imagination til I get the real samples....

and the orange, my fav:

this is the olive:

What surprised me the most though was the technology and the Mass Surveillance going on in NY. We don't have this in LA; cameras are recording you everywhere....

Even the toilets are going Tech in the City; at least they don't record! In JFK they post the cleaning times on a digital monitor.....

My best friend Andrea came down from NH and we went to our favorite places in Chinatown for lunch & foot massage; it was so cold even the froggie toys normally swimming around were frozen...

Everyone in Chinatown is ready for the New Year at the end of the month; the year of the tiger! I got some nice little jade tigers for some friends; many of the gift shops are done up with stylized tigers and marionnettes:

So that's my quick NYC tour...I'm busy now working on some new liners for some of the baskets, then we'll have some samples to show you here.