Quoi de neuf - French shopping in May 2019
New products, designs and ideas from around France. This month: cool outdoor furniture, chic outdoor cooking, handmade crockery… and sailor tops
Stay cool in the sun
Now is the time to think about updating your garden furniture in time for the summer season. One French producer of garden furniture that combines style, comfort and quality is Lafuma.
The company began in 1954 and its Origine France Garantie (OFG) label assures 100% French credentials – all items are manufactured at its factory in Anneyron, Drôme.
Choose from easy chairs (Pop-Up XL pictured, above, €99.90), the Transabed lounger (from €199.90, below with footrest, €79.90), foldable balcony chairs and more. All come in a range of bright or muted colours to suit your taste.
www.lafuma-mobilier.fr
Hello sailor, love the marinière!
Tradidional marinière (long-sleeved cotton shirt) maker Orcival, with its emblematic bee badge, was first registered in April 1939.
The brand name comes from a small village in Auvergne beloved of its founder Charles Bert but during the war, he had to move his workshop to Lyon.
Here, he regularly sourced local silk and cotton to make clothes for the Navy.
In the 1970s, the firm expanded to produce close-fitting and stylish jumpers for the wider public.
Today, durability is still the key for a product whose primary quality was value and functionality.
Item shown is the Marinière Nationale 1952 in blue and white with irregular stripes – a great twist on the classic, and priced at €79.
www.orcival.com
Top of the crocks
Handmade and unique, modern and fun, we love the decorative objects and crockery made by Atelier Crenamik, the trading name of designer Ségolène Cren.
As well as plates and mugs, she also creates bracelets and necklaces and is open to customer requests for personalised gift pieces – you can add a message, date or a name stamped into the ceramic or handwritten with oxides.
For the best look at the array of Ségolène’s work, head to her Instagram feed at atelier_crenamik.
www.ateliercrenamik.com
Chic chaleur
Outdoor cooking options are more sophisticated than ever, and the latest must-have for entertaining en plein air is a wood-fired, South-American-style round Brasero.
More practical (360-degree access) and stylish than a typical barbecue, the OFYR is an elegant outdoor sculpture that transforms into a warm, welcoming hub for cooking and socialising.
Made of steel, it can be left outdoors, uncovered, in almost all weathers and its three-part modular design makes the cooking unit easy to move around. It is also simple to clean and requires virtually no maintenance.
Measuring 85cm or 100cm wide, it is now available in black with a heat-resistant matt finish.
A Classic model costs €1,795.
www.ofyr.fr
