High fashion for the home at C&L Couture Susan Christman and her rescued French bulldog Lucy are Christman & Lucy of C&L Couture. The fashionable San Francisco Interior designer developed a taste for luxurious hand sewn custom curtains, when she was referred to the original owner Pansy Fontenot by a designer friend that she calls “the king of curtains”. Pansy began sewing at the age of eight. Her family was trained in tailoring and fashion. She produced fine quality handmade window coverings and bedding for more than 50 years. Her reputation spanned from the Bay Area to clients worldwide. When Pansy retired, her business became C&L Couture. Samuel Fleming Lewis of INSTUDIO stopped by the sunny San Francisco Design Center workshop to learn more about the benefits of creating hand sewn curtains. Along with the curtain fabric and lining there are two layers of felt interlining and a black sateen lining for a total of five layers of fabric. Each layer of a curtain panel is actually a frame of fabric. Each panel is fully stabilized at top, bottom and sides with hand sewn details so that the curtains always hang perfectly. With decades of experience in hand sewing Susan refers to her team of seamstresses as “the ladies” and values their talent and experience. She says that what they do is equal to sewing a couture ball gown. Custom sewing on this level is a lost art that is kept alive at C&L Couture.
Historically, fine homes in France and England considered custom curtains as part of the furniture. The value of commissioning couture curtains is received by their lasting beauty and exceptionally high quality. In the tradition of the English and French, generous seam allowances are hand sewn at the top and bottom of each panel so they can be adjusted to fit when moving to a new home and thus, lasting a lifetime. Turnaround time is usually under 4 weeks, depending on the details and specifications. For custom curtains, bedding, roman shades and pillows Contact: Susan, C&L Couture, 235 Kansas St. Suite 203. San Francisco, CA 94103 Telephone: 415 621.6848 http://clcouture.com instudiosf.com the art of design the business of living