Marquise de Laborde

A frequent question I am asked is “Where can I buy good French linens” and I am at a loss to answer the question. Most of the handful of French linen brands are very commercial and pretty much the same as you can buy anywhere.

In August I received an email from Mandy Kerlann, a woman who just opened a new linen and home accessory boutique Marquise de Laborde near Palais Royal. She invited me to come to her shop and I paid her a visit a few days later. Mandy is a Canadian ex-pat, moving to Burgundy over twenty years ago to marry and raise a family. She has a vivacious personality and she gave me a tour of the shop, passionately sharing about her products and her future plans. In 1999 she started producing custom designed sheets, linens, comforters and other bed accessories for private clients. After living in Burgundy for over twenty years, she was ready to do something in Paris with her linens. Someone made her an irresistible offer on a shop on rue Richelieu and voila! her wish came true, and she opened the boutique in August.

Almost all the products are either handmade or organic, and Marquise de Laborde is the exclusive or one of a handful of distributors in France. Mandy was kind enough to give me a sample of a fabulous seaweed exfoliating soap and intense lemon scented incense pellets from Haeckels, a small company from a seaside town in England. Haeckels only uses locally sourced products in their line of skin care and beauty products, which Marquise de Laborde has the exclusive on in France.

There is a line of the most precious and adorable infant's clothes and little booties made in France. A selection of colorful, soft to the touch blankets of wool and cotton are knitted on machines from the 1700s. Durable canvas totes, handcrafted ceramic vases, objets and plates, moonstone necklaces and bracelets, velvet doggie pillows and cushy terry cloth bathrobes are among the other luxurious things the shop offers.

Last but not least are the gorgeous sheets and linens. The made to measure sheets are made of high thread count Egyptian cotton and hand dyed in Italy, then later finished and embroidered in Beaune, France.

Mandy has quite an impressive client list including interior designers Peter Marino, Thierry Despont, Alberto Pinto, Robert Couturier and Michael Graves. Her products have also been featured in Architectural Digest and Elle Décor.

29 Rue de Richelieu, 75001
Metro: Palais Royal/Musee du Louvre
Open Monday to Saturday 11AM-7PM
Tél. +33 (0)1 72 38 26 68
http://www.marquisedelaborde.com/index.html

 New Years in Paris-My Apartment for Rent December 27 to January 3(dates flexible)-Price Slashed

How would you like to spend a magical Christmas and festive New Years in Paris?

I am renting my apartment out from December 27 to January 3,  (dates are flexible) a total of 8 nights for $2000.

Centrally located in the heart of the Marais near the St. Paul metro station, it's a spacious one-bedroom 750 sq. ft. loft style apartment with 12 ft. ceilings, decorated in chic Mid-Century Modern furniture and sleeps one or two people in a Queen size bed. Amenities include A/C, washer/dryer, 16" flat screen TV, dishwasher, internet connection/Wifi and free long distance calls to the U.S.  The apartment is located on the second floor with an elevator.

Photos upon request. Please email me at rn88@rcn.com if you are interested.

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.

 Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com 

  Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour