Christmas Eve

We will be open on Christmas Eve til 2:30 sharp.

The Essex Holiday House Tour

It was fun to be a designer in one of the houses featured on the Essex Holiday House tour this year. The house that I was lucky enough to work in is a stunner. It's one of the few homes that I have seen that truly achieves the balance of elegance and comfort.Here are a few photos of how the dining room turned out.

Your Holiday/Christmas Style

I think we can all agree that our tastes change over time. We evolve with what we are exposed to and certainly get better with age. Even our holiday decor preferences change over the years and this post is to encourage you to go with it... Everything in those "Christmas" rubbermade tubs stored in the attic or basement doesn't have to make the cut every single year...Edit, curate and mix things up. What's your style going to be for Holiday 2011? Here are a few from the pages of Country Living that caught my eye.

soft greens bring nature right inside


love the brights, especially when there are little ones in the house


my favorite, blue and white. I do a lot of this in my home, it's peaceful and I don't feel so anxious about taking down on December 26th.

kabbalah jewelry

The mystical and popular Kabbalah Bracelet is known because, when worn around the left wrist, it protects from harm and wards off evil wishers. By wearing a Kabbalah Bracelet we shield ourselves against the dangerous negativity that might be directed our way. We can think it as a spiritual vaccine against the destructive forces of the evil eye.

Linnea's Lights back in stock

Absolutely gorgeous vintage-inspired packaging featuring chipboard containers and beautiful, die-cut labels.

“Linnea’s Lights™ candles combine all natural soy wax, lead-free cotton candle wicks, pure essences and fine fragrances to create clean burning, perfectly scented and highly aromatic candles. All of Linnea’s Lights™ natural soy candles are meticulously hand-poured in small batches. Custom die-cut labels printed in metallic gold create a subtle flicker of light with fragrance related ink colors rubber stamped expressing the handmade nature of the product while providing a cost effect way to designate ever changing fragrances. The basic packaging materials relate to the purity of the product while the ornate detail of the old world package inspired design communicates a sophisticated attention to quality.”

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Brimfield

My friend,Jackie and I headed off to treasure hunt at the Brimfield Antique Fair yesterday. We had a great time foraging through a couple of the fields, wishing for more time. We found everything from cowboy boots to an embalming table (eek!). The vendor booths ranged from dump-worthy to sublime and the crowd... fascinating. If you like "old stuff" Brimfield is a must. I am already looking forward to going back in the Spring.

This painted chest was my 2nd purchase of the day...can't decide if I should find a place in my home or if it should head into the shop....?

update from "the hen"

I haven't posted in so long...been a little busy with the closing of our gallery. Left Bank Gallery Essex opened a little over 3 years ago right next door to The French Hen. The overhead for a 5,000 sq foot space on Main St in Essex is, well...astronomical and the numbers (and economy) were just not worthwhile. We have enjoyed the experience immensely, and have certainly learned A LOT in the last three years through the gallery. We have learned about art, the value of great employees, what is possible and about managing the personalities and expectations of 60+ artists at any given moment. I have met wonderful artists and clients, all of whom seem truly saddened by our closing which is touching. I am proud of what we accomplished at LBGE and feel great about bringing so much wonderful art to our community...some of it even pushed the envelope a bit! But, time to move on and take care of the family and "the hen." I am looking forward to spending more time in my little shop which I adore...so pop on by and say hello.

Introducing a new jewelry line: Alex and Ani, a female-owned(love that)company out of Rhode Island. The jewelry is beautiful, has great intentions and it promotes good energy.

new Spring goodies from Bethany Lowe...very sweet

new things arriving daily...

text necklaces are back! perfect gift for young girls.


Sentimental and sweet.

It’s not hard to see why Aspen Bay Candles are simply better. They are poured with a clean burning soy wax blend and use recycled materials wherever possible. The result is a line of premium candles with quality you can see and most importantly smell. The two most popular fragrances are Aloha and Volcano. Floral but not heavy, fresh and clean! Beautiful blue glass jar...but it's all about the fragrance and nice clean burn. 85 hours.

Happy Valentine's Day!

let there be light!

Lots of pretty new lamps came in today. Warm up the corner of any room, sideboard, bureau or end table with a new lamp. The lighting in almost every home or office is overlooked for some reason. Don't be sparse with the light in your digs. If your color scheme is cream, taupe, grey or blue, we just might have the right lamp for you? And no, I didn't try to make that rhyme...
photos will follow.

e fair

Well, the e fair is this weekend (YAY!!) and this winter of endless snow has prevented me from appropriately preparing for the festivities... Everytime I go in to the shop to price and pack the goodies, I get the call that school getting out early, going in late or is all-together cancelled. But don't fret my lovelies, we are bringing the merch! The main offerings will be our newest scarves and jewelry at 30% off. Fabulous scarves..with trims and collaged fabrics. Very spring, very french! We will also have some Easter decor at deep discounts! It's going to be an amazing shopping experience..."e" is actually for experience, in case you hadn't heard. And ladies, this one, this experience is going to be rocking!

color of 2011: Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle, the "adult" shade of pink, has been named the color of 2011 by Pantone, the color-services company whose advice influences what we're sold to wear, decorate with and even eat off of. Honeysuckle is not the puffy-fluffy pastel pink of cotton candy but a reddish-pink with blue undertones. It's sophisticated and stimulating but not agressive. You can really jazz up your winter grays with a splash of this perfect pink. Wardrobes can be brightened up and totally updated with just a hint of this color trend. And since every single skintone, light or dark, is complemented by the pink tones you can't really go wrong here. Have you ever noticed how handsome men look wearing a pale pink oxford or bright coral polo? Wrap your neck in a pink scarf and you are absolutely current and your skin glows! But when it comes to interior design use honeysuckle with some restraint. Don't do a whole room or a room-sized rug. Pillows or single accent walls are the way to go with honeysuckle. Beautiful when toned down a bit by pairing it with the more masculine neutrals like taupe, gray and brown.

shopping for new goodies...

Tomorrow I go the NYC for the accessories show. Spring scarves, jewelry and purses await. Next Saturday off to ATL for the housewares, candles, art, lamps....excited. We're going to get back to our roots a little bit with s of lots of french table linens.