French Gifts

Live Life Luxuriously with Lothantique Soaps/Bath Products

This beautiful bath and body collection caters to the most basic human needs of touch and smell. Based in Haute-Provence, Lothantique uses modern-day compositions with time-honored techniques. Natural fragrances and simple, recycled-material packaging characterize this earth-conscious company. And there are absolutely no animal products or testing. Lothantique bath products make great gifts, as well as decorative accessories for the bath.

Infused with rich spirit and history, Denis and Dominique Vogade carry on the lifestyle founded by their grandparents with the creation of Lothantique, a modern company that combines old world Provencal tradition and formulas with contemporary technology. Selecting only the finest ingredients from around the world, Lothantique re-creates the handmade quality and uniqueness of that earlier generation in order to bring you the finest selection of luxurious bath, beauty, and home fragrance products.

In the words of Denis Vogade, President of Lothantique and Grandson of the Vogades of Haute-Provence, "My goal is to use modern day compositions and processes, while remaining true to ancient, time-honoured techniques. And as an environmentally conscious company, we at Lothantique understand that everyday simple pleasures--fresh air, pure water, clean landscapes and a healthy ozone-- are of the utmost importance and therefore we have taken the appropriate ethical measures to help preserve Mother Nature's offerings."

Quel Objet offers Lothantique in several products:

Bar soaps - Palm oil and shea butter-based for rich moisturizing while gently cleaning, lightly scented, and triple milled in the tradition of Savons de Marseille, which makes for long lasting soaps.

Liquid soaps - The liquid soaps are a liquid version of the bar soaps, not diluted with water and gels as so many other liquid soaps. And because they are not made with fillers, you only need to pump once, thus using much less each time and making the bottle last longer.

Foam Baths are infused with their signature fragrances. Pour a little into hot bath water and enjoy a rich soothing bath that leaves skin soft and very gently perfumed. These foam baths are available in 16.66 oz and have five choices of fragrance - Lavender, Verbena, Green Tea, Grapefruit and Marine.

Hand Cream contains shea butter, and is an excellent treatment for dry and cracked hands. This cream is light enough for every day use and comes handy in a metal squeeze tube which is convenient for travel or easy to carry in a purse.

Eau de Toilette - The eaux de toilettes are clear refreshing single-note fragrances-just a lightclear scent, not heavy or overpowering. Currenlty available in lavender and grapefruit.

So slow down, take time to breathe and transport yourself to the gardens of Haute-Provence with us at Quel Objet.

The French Vase de Printemps : Enhance your style

The house of French gifts - Quel Objet--offers the Vase de Printemps, Vase of Springtime, an unusual and unique vase that can create a variety of arrangements. Also known as Vase d'Avril, or April Vase, it gives a sense of having achieved an advanced degree in floral design.

A beautiful feast for your eyes- the Vase de Printemps is made up of 21 glass tubes linked with zinc coated steel bands allowing you to create various shapes- a long lazy 'S', a spiral or short little wiggles. Each design is captivating and unique in its own way. These glass tubes can even be taken apart to make autonomous arrangements.

It makes a wonderful centerpiece for a dinner party, with flowers cut about ten inches high, so you can view your dinner companions, and letting it meander down the center of the table. Just a few pretty flowers in the Vase de Printemps spell instant elegance, and you win the show.

Vase de Printemps is from the extraordinarily creative French design team, Tsé & Tsé, the artists behind the Gold and Platinum bowls also found at Quel Objet.

A 'Wow' just escapes your lips when you look at the parked deck chairs in the sunny beaches inviting you to have a sun bath. If you are planning to take a break and head for the beaches or pool, French deck chairs from Quel Objet are the best way to lounge. These chic seats from France's Southwest add to your sea, deck or poolside collection.

Quel Objet has an elegant collection of deck chairs that can be folded and carried anywhere you wish. These deck chairs are made with a sturdy beechwood frame that adjusts to four positions. The chair folds flat to 52" x 22" x 3" and, upright, the back is 38" high. A little plastic gizmo locks the chair back in place so that it does not slip and leave you flat.

The fabric of these deck chairs is 100% French cotton which can be easily removed for washing. Compliment your beach outing with a cabana red beach bag that is roomy enough for your towel, lotion, iphone, and whatever else you need at the beach.

If you are a pink freak, Candresse deck chairs become you. Named after a tiny village near the original thermal springs spa in France, Candresse deck chairs are cool and refreshing on a hot summer day. Who can stop you if you propose to match your deck chairs with Quel Objet's Candresse Espadrilles and Sac De Voyage travel tote (travel tote)? You can make a style statement with these exclusive chairs.

Quel Objet also has Borce deck chair and Bidos deck chair that have been named after beautiful locations southwestern France.

The French designers Tsé & Tsé create unusual and unusually beautiful items for the home. These asymmetrical feather-thin porcelain bowls (called "Hungry Bowls" by their designers) would be beautiful as is. But Tsé & Tsé have almost literally gilded the lily by enameling their bowls with gold and with platinum. Note the matching salad servers, too. (Attention: It should not go in the dishwasher or microwave.)

Deux Petits Bols d'Or (Two Small Gold Bowls)

A boxed set of a pair of small bowls, in brilliant white bone china with gold glazed interior. Each asymmetrical bowl is 5 to 5 1/2 inches in diameter and 3 inches tall and can hold approximately two liquid cups. The size makes them suitable for olives, nuts, or candies, holding a floating flower, or, again, as simply a beautiful "objet."

Grand Bol d'Or (Large Gold Bowl)

A brilliant white porcelain bowl with gold glazed interior. The unusual asymmetric shape heightens its distinctive beauty. It can be used as a serving dish, holding a floating flower, or just as a beautiful objet in and of itself. You can put hot or cold food in it, wet or dry. 6 1/2 inches in diameter, 4 1/4 inches tall, and can hold up to 6 liquid cups.

This would be a beautiful and unusual gift for others or a real treat for yourself!

Grand Saldier Platine (Large Porcelain Salad Bowl, Platinum Exterior)

In the salad bowl, the white porcelain is visible on the inside and the platinum is on the outside. Its graceful asymmetrical shape is more apparent because it is wide and low. The diameter varies from 11 3/4 inches to 13 inches because of the asymmetry. It is 4 1/4 inches tall. Designed as a salad bowl, it would be equally lovely filled with fresh fruit.

Platinum Tipped Porcelain Salad Servers

Amusing to look at, but oh-so-easy-to-use serving salads. Yes, they're quirky, but their ergonomic shape works like a dream. Brilliant white porcelain with platinum glazed tips match the Platinum Salad Bowl. The Beautiful crossed with the Unexpected: the hallmark of Tsé & Tsé design.

Elegance and simplicity. The Vase de Printemps puts on quite a show with a minimum of effort on your part, while the Sivignon Vase, with only a blossom or two, creates a charming accent. Reminds us of the unique “Savoir Flair” of a French woman with a single scarf.

The extraordinary thing about this vase (also known as the Vase d'Avril, or April Vase) is that anyone using it looks as if they have an advanced degree in floral design. Zinc-coated steel bands link the 21 glass tubes which can be arranged in various ways: a long lazy S, a spiral, a circle, short little wiggles; they can even be taken apart to form autonomous arrangements. Our favorite is letting it wander down the center of the table, with the flowers cut about 10" high, so you can chat with your dinner companions. Just a very few flowers and - Voila! -instant elegance.

Comes with a handy extra glass tube - just in case.

From the extraordinarily creative French design team, Tsé & Tsé.

From The Glasshouse de Sivignon, a glassblowing studio housed in an old stone barn in rural France, emerge both one-of-a-kind pieces, many now in museums around the world, and beautiful items for the home.

These charming little bi-color vases are excellent for displaying delicate single stems or blowsy blooms. Each one is individually made by hand, the size varying from 5 to 6 inches tall.

Beautiful beach bags to match your deck chairs, espadrilles, and razzeteurs. Roomy enough (21" x 13" x 4") to hold your towel, cover-up, sunscreen, water bottle, favorite magazine, mp3, and cash...With an inside pocket, Velcro closure, and a perky little bow on the outside... 10 colors...100% washable French cotton...C'est tout!

Tea towels have a special tradition in France. As with so many other mundane items, the ingenious French have raised the humble kitchen towel to an art form.

Most commonly used simply to dry dishes and wet hands, the tea towel has countless uses in the kitchen and home: wiping up spills, lining a tea tray or picnic basket, acting as a quick potholder, making a decorative wrap for a wine bottle, and simply adding a colorful accent to a kitchen. With society’s new concern for less waste and more reuse, washable cotton towels make more sense for the environment than using roll after roll of paper towels. Quel Objet offers over 70 different tea towels, from three different French sources, each exemplifying the sophistication and quality for which Quel Objet is known.

Jacquard weaving allows the creation of intricate patterns in fabric. Tissage Moutet has used this technique to celebrate aspects of French life, history, geography, its flora, fauna, literature, and more in glorious color, and often with a wink and a smile. These make a truly unusual and useful gift. And Quel objet has created the perfect hostess gift in its boxed set: four tea towels rolled and displayed in an attractive metal box, with a clear plastic lid, and it’s fun to choose either by topic or color.

Recently Tissage Moutet Tea Towels has come out with “tapons”—little towels—in adorable patterns of storybook characters and French lessons for children. The small size and cute designs make them appealing to children as placemats, napkins, bibs, and to the mom for their myriad uses and practicality.

In addition to its woven jacquard tea towels, Quel Objet carries two lines of printed towels. The Ile de Ré is an island off the Atlantic coast of France, famous for its luminous light, its lush bounty of shellfish and garden produce. Georges G. Tea Towels has taken the paintings of one of the Ile de Ré’s well-known artists and had them reproduced on tea towels; they are so exquisitely printed that each looks individually painted by hand.

And a great hit with wine connoisseurs are tea towels printed with reproductions of actual French wine labels. These make the perfect ft for your favorite oenophile.

Espadrilles, those wonderful casual warm weather shoes, were originally made of rope and canvas in the Pyrenees of France and Spain. The French name espadrille is derived from the Catalan word, espardenya, which refers to a tough grass used for weaving the ropes that form the bottom of the shoes. Today, most espadrilles have longer lasting rubber soles, with the rope primarily as a decorative feature and a nod to its history.Although other styles are made with wedge heels or ties around the ankles or open toes, Quel Objet stays with the traditional flat sole and closed canvas uppers.

In the past the upper canvas might have been a single solid color or perhaps a sober stripe. Today’s espadrilles feature bold stripes in brilliant, happy colors—especially those from Artiga and Les Toiles du Soleil, two of Quel Objet’s main suppliers from the Southwest of France. (Les Toiles du Soleil is high up in the mountains of the eastern Pyrenees, near the Spanish border, while Artiga is in the foothills at the western end of the Pyrenees.) It is these vivid colors in the sophisticated stripes that distinguish these espadrilles from all others.

Espadrilles first became popular in the U.S. in the 1940’s when Lauren Bacall wore them in Key Largo. Since then they’ve have gone in and out of fashion, but have resurged in popularity, especially since the introduction of the brightly striped styles.

Your biggest surprise will occur when you first take them out of the box. Which is right and which is left? No matter; they are the same. After a few hours of wearing, they will mold to the shape of your feet. And so comfortable, almost like going barefoot, these simple shoes look great at all but the dressiest occasions.