(news)
STYLE
WRITTEN BY
ALYSE HARRAL STEVENS
Ç PHOTOGRAPHED BY
MALI AZIMA
Ç PRODUCED BY
CLINTON SMITH
Joyeux NOEL
A Westside pop-up shop ushers in the season naturally, with a French twist This holiday season, the gift of inspiration is beautifully wrapped up with a burlap bow at Boutique de Noel, a pop-up shop at White Provision. Here, floral and garden designer Marie-Laure Coste Dujols of Le Jardin Francais, known for her striking arrangements for high-end hotels like the Loews Atlanta Hotel, is offering her elegant, organic Christmas creations. Open since Thanksgiving and continuing through December 15, it’s the ideal way to jumpstart holiday decorating.
11
LaJardin.indd 11
10/24/12 12:41:57 PM
STYLE (news)
CLOCKWISE, FROM RIGHT: THE BOUTIQUE’S SIGNATURE FRESH AND PRESERVED WREATHS AND GARLANDS NEED LITTLE ADORNMENT. “DURING THE HOLIDAYS, I LOVE TO MAKE FRESH FRUITS COVERED WITH CANDLE WAX,” SAYS COSTE DUJOLS. “THEY LAST SO LONG, AND THE WAX GIVES THEM A FROSTED LOOK.” SHE SPENDS COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF TIME CHOOSING THE PERFECT CONTAINERS FOR POTTED BULBS, SUCH AS THESE PAPERWHITES.
One-of-a-kind wreaths are handmade with round frames covered in layers of wet newspaper and moss, so that the natural materials stay hydrated and fresh, then dry slowly, preserving the majority of the wreath for next year. “And pine cone wreaths last forever. I have one at my house that’s been hanging outside continuously for eight years,” says Coste Dujols, who loves to collect different varieties of pine cones.
12
Coste Dujols has been stockpiling special fi nds for the holidays, using bark-covered wire, beautiful twines, and unique linen and burlap ribbons to embellish nature. The designer’s delicate ornaments, made with materials such as lichen, bark, nuts and cloves, evoke an ancient Christmas spirit. Other simple adornments, such as white starfish with a thin cotton ribbon, add shots of ethereal light to an average evergreen tree.
ATLANTAHOMESMAG.COM
LaJardin.indd 12
10/25/12 10:22:43 AM
STYLE (news)
’TIS THE SEASON Marie-Laure Coste Dujols shares a few of her holiday essentials
Flowers Hellebores niger (Christmas Rose) and double bloom amaryllis.
Food My Christmas Eve meal must start with raw oysters. Confection My brother is a French baker, and I always ask him to bring marrons glacés, which are candied chestnuts only available at Christmas and painstaking to make. Childhood
decor We’d make little THE WREATHS ARE ALL HANDMADE WITH EXTRA LAYERS OF MOISTURERETAINING MATERIALS TO INSURE THEY STAY FRESH AND DRY SLOWLY. THROUGHOUT THE BOUTIQUE, SMALL ORNAMENTS AND ADORNMENTS ARE WOVEN IN WITH THE NATURAL OFFERINGS.
sablees (French butter cookies) in the shapes of stars and trees and string them up with twine to hang on the tree. We’d eat them while opening presents on Christmas morning. Seasonal
aroma I love citrus covered with cloves for both scent and decoration. It’s Enchanting fresh apples, pears and pomegranates, frosted with candle wax, look like jewels under glass that will last throughout the holiday. There are plans for the boutique—sans holiday decor— to return as a permanent European-style flower shop in the spring, just in time for blooming branches, hyacinth and daffodils. But for now, it’s all about mistletoe and holly. The shop is closed on Mondays. 1100 Howell Mill Road, Suite AO2, Atlanta 30318. (404) 792-1680; lejardinfrancais.com.
14
fun to use the cloves to create different patterns on lemons and oranges.
Tradition I always have a piece of mistletoe hanging for luck. And if I have overnight guests, I tie a sprig to their bed.
ATLANTAHOMESMAG.COM
LaJardin.indd 14
10/24/12 12:43:59 PM