Inside the Chateau

I’ll never forget the first time I saw Chateau Dumas. It was a sweltering day in July 2005 when my Mum and I turned into the driveway. At first we thought the Coach House was
the Chateau - it’s the first building you see - and I remember my heart sank. Only temporarily, though - that first sight of the Chateau as you pass through the Coach House completely takes your breath away. Even now I can’t quite come to terms with its scale and the fact that the exterior is rendered in a subtle soft shade of pink.

We were met in the courtyard gardens by the owner Madame Constantin. Monsieur C, a talented painter, had died and she was planning to move to Paris. She led us inside to a square room with polished stone tiles. It felt like entering a cave. The entire room, including the ceiling was painted deep orange and the walls were hung with huge painted canvases. Classical Doric columns had been skillfully painted on the walls at regular intervals around the room and pieces of Napoleonic-style furniture had been arranged between them. We picked our way by the light of table lamps.

The dining room was equally impenetrable. It was painted a deep red (ceiling too) with a head of Julius Caesar painted on one wall, huge paintings on the others and a life-size marble statue in the chimney recess. The salon was no different except it was stuffed full of Biedermeier style sofas upholstered in acid lemon fabric and the curtains and shutters were drawn against the intense heat. This pattern of closed shutters, dark walls and ceilings, trompe l’oeil wall art and huge paintings continued and by the time we reached the first floor the only difference was that deep greens and turquoises had also been added!

Two hours later and all we’d managed to view was the Chateau. We still had the Coach House, swimming pool and barn to go! By the end, Mum and I were totally overwhelmed but utterly exhilarated. That evening was spent planning, plotting and working on a strategy to convince my husband that we simply had to buy Chateau Dumas.

Guest Post by Lizzie Ezekial, owner of Chateau Dumas

Last Call for France!

As many of you know, we have started taking groups of women to France every summer for our Chateau Getaway. We stay in the lovely, 18th century Chateau Dumas just an hour north of Toulouse. Besides immersing ourself in the countryside of the South of France, we visit flea markets, brocantes, a hundred year old hat factory (where you can design your own hat), local craftsmen, and food markets. We spend a day with a master dyer learning how to dye our old linens with woad, as well as learn jewelry and flower making. We still have a few spots left in our first week, July 17th - 24th - let me know if you yearn to live in a chateau for a week and dream in French! It's a magical trip! Here's a peek at our getaway last summer....more to come!

Lucky 13

The Restaurant: The Bazaar at SLS by Jose Andres

The Food:

Sweet potato chips
Yogurt, tamarind, star anise

Olives
Modern and traditional

Tortilla de patatas ìnew wayî
Potato foam, egg 63, caramelized onions

Jicama wraps
Mint, basil, pickled ginger, cucumbers and coconut dressing

Organized Caesar
Quail egg, parmesan

Apple and fennel
Manchego cheese, walnuts, Sherry vinegar

Baby beets
Citrus, pistachio, Sherry dressing

Not your everyday Caprese
Cherry tomatoes, liquid mozzarella

Baby Japanese peaches and kiwi
Greek yogurt and zataar

Brussels sprouts
Lemon purÈe, apricots, grapes, lemon air

Seared persimmons with JamÛn IbÈrico Fermin
Pedro XimÈnez reduction, walnuts
Ottoman carrot fritters
Apricots, pistachio sauce


Watermelon tomato skewers
Pedro XimÈnez reduction, lemon dressing

Jicama wrapped guacamole
Micro cilantro, corn chips


The olives actually exploded in your mouth......and that was just the beginning!

Sofia heard (from Anderson Cooper on 60 minutes) that nobody could get into The Bazaar - it was booked all season. Sofia got on-line, made reservations for Memorial Day and we got in. Last night, John, Sofia, Gracie and I had our minds blown at this totally unique, nitrogen air, foam food-infused, restaurant in Los Angeles. Sofia said the best part of the night was when the waiter come over to the table, pointed at her and said - "She really get's it - I can tell she's the one who's running this night - she loves the food!" And it was true - Sofia was in her element. This morning, the teenager (!) came out to breakfast and said "Mom - it was really all about the experience!" And now I know.

My Love of Peonies

Minneapolis - En Avant!

Just flew in to Minneapolis from New York for the Quilt Show at the Convention Center. After I helped Joanna Figueroa in her booth for a bit, I walked around the Center...and what do my wondering eyes should appear - but a beautiful quilt made out of our Rural Jardin collection! The booth was half set up - so I don't know who designed or sewed the quilt - but I thought it was a beautiful piece, showing off all of our latest fabrics! I'll fill in the name after I meet her - or him - lots of boys are quilting these days! I'm here signing our new book, Treasured Notions, tomorrow in the Brewer booth at 11 and the Moda booth at 3:30 - stop by and say hello if you happen to be close by!

Dust off Your Sewing Machine - We Have a Winner!

Ok - the list keeps growing and it's getting a little overwhelming! I really just want to send out a bit of fabric to everyone - but I know that would be crazy! Moda sent me a box of scraps - and I mean scraps - so I thought I would choose two names for some proper scraps and another two names for the scraps Moda sent me. I think Moda bagged up all of the edging of the fabric they cut for the Maison de Garance quilts they sewed for Quilt Market. So - if you happen to be a lucky winner of the scrap bag - I sure hope you like to do little work - 2x2 patch squares would work perfectly! Here we go....the lucky winners of the proper scraps from French General are Lorrie who is going to gussy up her dining room and Victoria Cullen who is going to cover her walls! The winners of the Moda scrap bags are Marie Pilgrim -I know she will use every scrap to make a tote bag - and Emma who is going to make an antique strippy quilt - perfect! Thanks so much for all of your ideas - they all sound perfect - and I hope some of you send me photos if you do end up sewing out of Maison - I think you will be happy with the new line - I know I am!

If you happen to be one of our lucky winners, please send your address to me: notions@frenchgeneral.com

A Soiree in New York

Join us Saturday, May 15th from 3-5 at Tinsel Trading for an afternoon of fun! Marcia and I will be signing copies of our new little book, Treasured Notions - and all sorts of creative friends will be around to help celebrate! If you happen to be in the city - hope you can stop by for a bite to eat, a bit of bubbly and a chance to visit Tinsel Trading!
If you would like to stay and take our evening jewelry workshop from 5:30-7:30, please sign up at frenchgeneral.com - we still have a few seats left!

Maison de Garance Giveaway

I've had so much going on around here that I almost forgot to put up pictures of our new Fall 2010 fabric line, Maison de Garance. This collection grew out of a conversation Cheryl, the Moda design director, and I had last summer while sitting in her room at Chateau Dumas, overlooking the fields below. Cheryl pulled out a brown and white transfer ware plate she had bought at the flea market in Toulouse and we were both enamoured with the deep chocolate color -and thought it would be the perfect compliment to the old French General reds. Turns out - it is a beautiful combination. Maison de Garance is a collection of fabrics filled with our classic reds, rich browns and a natural tea stain color...and the leaves are green! I am just crazy about some of the florals that are embellished with color - I can't decide if I like the reproduction or the original better - that's a good sign!
To celebrate our upcoming Moda group, I would love to send out some bundles - to add to your stash pile! Leave me a comment about your Maison de Garance ideas and we'll choose a couple of names in the coming days. Bonne Chance!

The Creative Connection Event

Just back from St Louis and I am already planning my next kit for a big event happening in September in Minneapolis. Jo Packham and Nancy Soriano have teamed up together to plan an inspiring four days for creative women to gather and do what they do best. Besides wonderful workshops, Jo and Nancy have planned entrepreneurial panels, a handmade market, and one on one and small group discussions with innovative people working all aspects of this great big craft world.
Planning a project for a teaching event usually puts me over the edge - I want to bring so many elements into a kit - but I realize that I only have 2-3 hours to introduce the project, walk through the techniques and keep my finger's crossed that everyone finishes the project. After I have settled on one idea, I start to think about color, texture and materials. Using my old stock comes in handy - I usually end up making 100 kits of each design.
I'm teaching two classes at the event - a Bohemian Charm Necklace Kit and a Petite Gypsy Heart. The necklace kit is a great basic jewelry workshop - with lot's of looping and charm making. The Gypsy Heart is a jewelry inspired workshop with a small cushion that is pinned with all sorts of jewels and charms - the kit will make over 4 pieces of jewelry. I am really wrapped up in the Gypsy mode wight now - small amulets and trinkets, good luck charms and talisman's - the idea that everything had to be moveable at a moments notice. I imagine the caravans all had these small bits hanging from the gilded ceilings.
Hope you can make it out to Minneapolis to take a couple of workshops - there are over 30 classes being taught at the Creative Connection Event - in every sort of medium! See you in September!

Crafting in St Louis

I just returned from a wonderful four days in St Louis, where I taught two different classes at Mary Englebreit's Home Companion Workshops. The weekend was filled with old and new friends - including some of my favorite people and some friends I hadn't seen in years. I taught a jewelry class and a millinery flower class and both went well - the students came from all over the United States and all were eager to learn new techniques and skills. The jewelry class was based on a kit for a charm bracelet - easy enough. The flower class used all sorts of our prints from the Rural Jardin collection - each flower turned out unique and different - beautiful blooms! We all stayed at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel and enjoyed each other's company at a cocktail party Thursday evening and a fabulous lunch on Saturday afternoon. During the lunch, Margo Tantau moderated a discussion about the future of craft - the panel included Mary Englebreit, Dena Fishbein, Marcia Ceppos and Amy Butler. It was fascinating to hear how each got started in the creative world and where they are headed next. I love attending and teaching at these events - I learn so much and they give me the fuel I need to navigate my next steps. I also love running into the same people over and over - ever since I taught at Silver Bella last November, I have been lucky enough to get to know some of the women that are the faithful followers of craft - they travel all over (including France!) to learn from some of the best in the business. They are quietly creating their own network of women who create. Hats off to some of my favorites - Rachel, Meleen, Jemilla and the handful of others who have supported me and are always there to greet me when I arrive!

Tinsel Trading Workshop

If you happen to live in the New York area and are looking for a little excitement - come on over to Tinsel Trading on Saturday, May 15th for a signing of our new book, Treasured Notions. Marcia and I will be signing copies as well as offering a workshop based on on the Tassel Necklace featured in the book. The necklace kit includes some of the wonderful old coiled wire made in the basement by Marcia's grandfather. The necklace also has silk ribbon thread through honey-ox chain, glass beads, mother of pearl buttons and a metallic thread tassel - a simple but elegant necklace that looks and feels straight out of the roaring twenties.
If you are interested in signing up for a seat, do so soon as seats are limited. Sign-ups are at frenchgeneral.com
See you in New York!

Inspiration in Dallas

Once in a great while, I am lucky enough to get invited down to Dallas to visit Moda and see the fabric and quilt masters up close. This past week I popped down for the Moda retreat - once a year they invite their customers and designers to come take a few classes, listen to inspiring speakers, eat wonderful food, as well as get a peek at the upcoming lines. After teaching her classes, Joanna Figueroa and I got a chance to sneak off to the library to look for inspiration to use in our new fabric lines. I've only been in the document textile library once before - it's a small room packed with all sorts of bits and pieces that Cheryl, the design director, has picked up over the many, many years she has worked with Moda. Eighteenth century French toiles, English chintz, American quilt squares - you name it, it's there. Tucked into small drawers, they have organized each category of fabric- so when you are looking for a 19th century French fantasy floral - you look through not one, but many pieces that represent this style. It's a fabric lover's dream. My favorite part - the part I dream about, are the old French fabric sample books. Falling apart - held together with just a crusty old spine, these books are filled with pages that have small squares of fabric glued down to each page - some of the books are 4" thick!
Later that night as I was going to sleep - the strangest thing happened - I kept having random designs of fabric pop through my head - like small flashes of color and shapes - it was as if I had looked at so many designs that my brain was on auto-design. I loved it!
I'll post photos of our newest line, Maison de Garance next week - lot's of old reds, chocolate browns and tea stains - once I receive the fabric samples we'll have a grand giveaway!

Dreaming of the Odd and Unusual

I love thinking about France, the flea markets in France and the the bits and pieces I find myself leaving behind. Last summer when we were on our Sunday visit to the Toulouse Flea Market, I found a vendor that had bought out a souvenir shop along the Cote d'Azur - the booth was filled with seashells from all over the coast of France. Why I didn't buy the whole lot of shells - or at least a handful - I'll never know. I remember thinking about it, having Molly shoot it and dreaming about the "shell crafts" that could be made....and then walking away. Isn't it funny how you can be presented with something you will probably never see again - but if the moment isn't right - if it all doesn't connect at that one point - you have no other choice but to just walk away - and never look back! Looking at this picture now I am kicking myself - and promising myself that I'll never let the odd and unusual slip away again! Merde!

The Making of a Book

Check out our short film about the making of Treasured Notions - our new book with Chronicle - it's a peek inside of Tinsel Trading's metallic filled basement. We'll be heading back to New York in May for a book signing and a workshop at Tinsel. More details to come soon.

Spring is Here!

Which means summer is just around the corner. Which means I have three months before I will be sitting on the beach in San Sebastian. Yikes! Growing up in Southern California I was never a beach bum - although we lived a stone's throw from the beach - I always thought I was too white for the beach. I would get there, eat the picnic and be ready to head home. JZ's family is the opposite - they spend every day on the beach - "What? You don't want to spend five hours at the beach today ??" I always plan to work on a bit of a tan before we leave for the summer holiday - but it never really sinks in. I arrive on the Bay of Biscay - white as the morning light - and try to sit calmly on the beach - for at least the first day...then I am off to find the old souvenir store with a basement filled with turn of the last century stock....

Wonderful painting by Samantha French - see more of her beauties here.

Irish Tales My Mother Told Me

Growing up we were told stories of leprechauns and fairies; served green eggs and ham and always enjoyed a glass of green milk on St. Patrick's Day. Ever since Sofia was born, I have carried on this odd family tradition by getting up early and "turning" her St. Patrick's breakfast green. I still tell her about the time Molly saw a leprechaun at the school and how I am pretty sure I saw the McGinnis twin's dad turn into a leprechaun while gardening one sunny day. Luckily - I think - Sofia doesn't believe in green cows anymore, but I think she still looks for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and hopefully she will see a leprechaun any day now.

Luck of the Irish to you all!

Downtown Digging

Lately, I have been doing a lot of digging at my favorite downtown bead warehouse. I have been cleaning out this old shop since I was 17 - the age when I was allowed to drive on the freeway. I would take the old VW bus and head north on the 110 - exit downtown Los Angeles and head over to the east side of town. I must have found it accidentally - and thank goodness I did - I have been coming back ever since. At first I would just buy a few pieces here and there - deal with the ladies behind the counter - spending whatever money I had saved up from babysitting. I would ooh and ahh at the colors and the ideas - never knowing that one day I would end up in the same business!
It's gotten to the point now that when I walk in the front door, the manager greets me and says "Let's go to the back" - music to my ears.Once we are in the dusty, dark aisles of the warehouse, he points to a pile of things he has uncovered since I have been gone and says "I found this for you". After all my years of digging through junk, piles of boxes and dust - now someone, in this case the manager, is actually doing it for me. I think he must get a kick out of finding the old stuff, thinking I will like it and then presenting it to me - like - here it is - I too can find gold! I rifle through it quickly - not wanting to look too anxious or excited and after agreeing to a price, say "that will do" - inside I am usually jumping with excitement that someone has actually uncovered something I had never seen before - old pink silk wrapped fasteners? Why I need to buy the whole box - I will never know. Something about not wanting to leave anything behind. The last time I was there, the manager said to me "We are going to have to come to you to get the old stuff" and I thought yeah - basically we have just moved the contents of this old bead warehouse to my shop - it only took me 25 years!

Old Blue

I love the stories - I love the memories of the color - everyone seems to have reached back as far as they can remember - many going back to their grandmothers jewelry box, or the color of their first house, or family trips through the Southwest, or the sight of the Pacific Ocean for the first time. It's not even fair to have to pick the best story or even the one that captures the color turquoise the most vividly. Maybe the memories are the best prize of all.

BUT....if I have to choose just two (since I have two kits left)...I choose Robin Thomas for being able to remember how she felt at three years old posing in a studio in a blue velvet dress; and Dorylyn Thomas for telling the story of how she used to sit next to a fancy guest at Thanksgiving and hold her hand just so she could closely inspect the beautiful blue trinkets dangling from her arm. I related to so many of the stories - especially these two - they both spoke of how the color turquoise left an impression at an early age - and how they never forgot the feeling. To the two Thomas gals - please send me your address and we'll send off a bracelet kit to each of you. Merci!

Madame Bleu's Giveaway

This month, our notion collection celebrates all shades of blue - especially the old turquoises. Our jewelry workshop this month , made up this lovely bracelet - Blue Coeur. Since I never know exactly how many people are going to show up for one of our workshops -I often make too many kits and then they sit around the shop until some curious crafter is willing to try a random kit - just for the fun of it. Last week, in our charming bracelet class we had two - (read 'em and weep) - two students! So - I happen to have a couple of extra kits that need to be made up and worn out about town. If you love the color of vintage turquoise, aqua green and old tourmaline - leave me a comment about your first memory of this great old color - and we'll pick a lucky name for our Bleu Coeur Bracelet Kit. Bonne Chance!

Shout Out to Molly

My sisters, Mom and I all had a long weekend together in San Francisco a couple weeks ago. We visited SCRAP, ate at Tartine way too many times, drank David Bruce pinot noir and hit the Oakland Museum's White Elephant Sale - favorite things to do! We also stopped by Molly's studio for a visit and I was amazed and overwhelmed at all of the great work she is doing. Molly calls her work historical fiction - she creates pieces of art using old found bits and scraps - the things left behind. This is a photo of one of the pieces I fell in love with. All I have to say is..... Molly will you please come teach this workshop at French General? When, what time and how much? We are patiently awaiting your arrival! See some of Molly's small works of wonder here.