Your Weekly Voilà: Using Quarantine to Explore the Property 🙃🏡🇫🇷

PASSION • CREATIVITY • INSPIRATION

I am in a pretty wonderful spot to be on lockdown. Plus, it's springtime here at Bégot, the little hamlet where we live in southwest France just north of Cahors. The days are getting longer and warmer. Flowers are everywhere. The 9 hectares include a grand stone main house for the owners, a lovely barn with storage on the first floor and a large gîte on the ground floor, and our tiny fournil or former bakery. I love all 350 square feet of her. (Tim adds that there is also a sleeping loft. Every square meter does count.)

I love the French countryside and especially this beautiful property where we are in quarantine. There is so much to explore and learn about different plants that might yield a color. I collected flowers from a quince bush in the hopes I can create an ink from her. Rubbing the petals between my fingers gave me a slight pinkish-purple hue. This weekend, we'll see just how well I fared.

Selfishly, I do miss not having a proper art studio. Oh, I bump Tim from the small table that serves as both our dining table and office desk so I can set up my sewing machine or beadwork or paints. But it's not the same. I'm not in a space that sparks creativity. I have to rummage through boxes to find my collection of vintage zippers or the right pair of scissors. (I have a lot of scissors, each with a specific job to do.) I have confirmation that I need a designated space for making things. It is #1 on my property "wish list." (SPOILER ALERT: I do have a wonderful space on the property for a proper art studio.)

For now, I'm working outside on a patio table. I'm experimenting with spring flowers to see which ones might create a suitable ink, dye, or watercolor. I found one that I love. . . Quince. You might know it as the fruit that makes a jelly that no one eats until it is the very last option in the refrigerator. But the flower petals are yielding a wonderful pink / purple color wash. I'm thinking it might be too fragile for an ink but perfect as a watercolor. It's a bit tedious to process. You have to harvest the flowers and remove the petals. I macerate the petals with a simple mortar and pestle and then pour boiling water over them in a jar. They have been sitting in the sun for a few days now and I think I'm ready to reduce the liquid a bit more and combine it with a dab of honey as a stabilizer.

My thought is to create an ink for each season and sell them as a collection. They have vintages for wine . . . why not ink?

There is something special about an ink capturing a moment of time and place even before the pen meets the paper.

I am not sure what is on the other side of this shift, both personally and in terms of larger communities and countries. At this point, my business timeline had me closing on a French property and marketing my creative destination workshops for the summer. But I know I need to rethink that plan. My focus will be on Le Shop, my curated online boutique of vintage French finds, and making things that are both beautiful and useful and bring a bit of France to my clients' home. I'm going to see if I can set up a studio of sorts in some unused part of the property. Rumor has it that there might be a summer kitchen available. If it looks promising, I'll share the space in a future Weekly Voilà.

But on this Day 4, in the quiet of the French countryside with plenty of wine on hand, I don't see it as a setback. It's an opportunity to reflect on what is truly important. For me, a common thread has emerged: Keep it simple.

Five years ago, I thought I would purchase a grand restoration project involving several investors and create an elaborate destination spot for 15+ guests. Pffft . . . Now, I'm tucked in a tiny space where paintbrushes live next to silverware with an understood detente. Yet, I am grateful that I can be outdoors, collecting flowers, and have the time to experiment. The studio space will show itself. Finding the time to create has always been more challenging. In a strange twist of fate, that time has been granted. As to whether or not this optimism holds over the next few weeks, I think it will depend on how long the wine lasts.

Until next week, may home bring you comfort and the opportunity to enjoy simple pleasures.

Be safe mon amie,

Karen 💕🏡🇫🇷

I imagine beautiful bottles of ink capturing a specific element of the French countryside. My thought is to create one for each season and present them as a collection. A limited "vintage" that captures a color that can only be in that moment and place. It is a project that I will enjoy working on over the course of the year. You'll be the first to know when they are available.

With more time at home, I'll be adding other things that I lovingly make to my curated collection of French vintage finds in Le Shop. More than ever, we appreciate your support.