Thursday, June 2, 2011

Torchon Love!


Torchons {Dishtowel/teatowel}....a personal favorite in my household. They are the first thing I notice when walking towards a barn sale in Provence, flea market in Normandy or open air marche in St Tropez.

A favorite tongue in cheek French saying:
"Ne pas mélanger les torchons et les serviettes."

Literal translation: "do not mix dishtowels with napkins,", which means classifying and treating people + items differently according to their perceived value or class. Said another way, not mixing things of different kinds, indicating  that some are superior. Well thank goodness we're living in THIS century and HOPEFULLY we mix away both our items and our people!

When dealing with inanimate objects, it's a pretty common and funny French saying. Never more evident than in the house of Gran Palais in the Warhol exhibit wherein the curator demanded that Yves Saint Laurent's portraits NOT appear side by side with other fashion designers. "One mustn't mix dishtowels with napkins," he said, before asking to have the paintings moved to the artists section. Quel Horreur!

Cote Bastide Numbered Tea Towel

While the dishtowel was once perceived as a rag used for domestic chores by domestic help, the love affair with the old textiles is strong. They now garner center stage!  We love mixing the old, shown above, with the new, shown below.


Quite excited to bring these new beauties to you, made just outside Paris by our friends at Torchons et Bouchons in Paris, France.  High quality canvas cotton, they are washable and food combatible.


Now online at vintageweave.com or by calling 332.932.0451. $36/ea or save by taking home all four offered. More coming soon!