Greetings dear readers and friends. Well, things are really looking up in our corner of the world… hope your days and weeks have been full of many bright spots. Today, I’d like to send you (virtually) some of the south of France sunshine we’ve been blessed with these past few weeks.
I really love connecting with people, and in these times, more than ever. So when the founders of the lovely company, Esterelle, reached out over Instagram, I was thrilled to make their acquaintance. And they certainly have something really cool going on.
I confess to being a Provençal-fabric novice, but I do know that there is a movement to keep making these beautiful fabrics in the traditional fashion – the way that they’ve been printed for hundreds of years in southern France. This has been the goal of Esterelle founders Madeleine Vignal and Sylvie Ascenzi.
With their offerings, they hope not only to create exquisite upholstery fabrics, but also to highlight in their creations “the warm and colorful atmosphere of Provence”. Esterelle fabrics are printed by Olivades, a company near St. Rémy de Provence, which is the only company in Provence to continue the fabric printing tradition orginally started in Marseille in 1648.
From these fabrics, the duo has developed a line of decorative cushions, curtains, and lampshades which can be found on the Esterelle website.
So where do these inspiring patterns come about? Well, thanks to the very helpful Esterelle online-guide, we learn that the patterns are painted with “different artistic techniques (pastel, acrylic paint, watercolor) and then scanned and reworked by computer graphics to make files for the computer”.
Wow… way cool.
The Esterelle workshop is located in Pélissanne in the Bouches-du-Rhône department – halfway between Avignon and Aix-en-Provence. A very dynamic area, the town is known for its large, outdoor market and Pélissanne’s folklorique group: Les Arlésiennes. The mayor is committed to preserving the city’s historic center and its Provençal identity – ideals shared by the founders of Esterelle.
A big “merci” to Madeleine and Sylvie for sharing their creativity, inspiration, and passion for this beautiful region of Provence.
To contact Esterelle:
-Web: www.esterelle.fr
-Email: esterelle.edt@gmail.com
-Office / Workshop:
9 Rue Théodore Aubanel
Pélissane, France 13330
(all photos courtesy of esterelle.fr)
Belle Provence Travels 
These are beautiful! And Pélissane is a really lovely village.
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