French Fridays ~ Pointe a la Ligne

The French are very serious about their lighting.  Paris is called “the City of Light” primarily because of its education and new ideas in the Age of Enlightenment, but also because of its early adoption of street lighting. Today the monuments and civic buildings and Tour Eiffel are perfectly illuminated at night, highlighting their architecture.  Here the perfection of the lamp posts of the Pont Alexandre III~

Lighting is a key aspect of French entertaining, though it is never forced, it always seems natural~

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Sorry for the grainy pics, which are from Pointe a la Ligne.

The French and especially the Parisians love their scented candles and tapers.  The French use tapered candles whenever possible, often in color.  In classic decor, you will often see shades of ivory, amber, orange and even black; in spring, all shades of pink, green and other lighter colors come into play. 

While the US is into neutrals, the French often use candles for pops of seasonal color~    

In Paris, the Candle of choice comes from a company called Point a la Ligne.  Say “Pwant a lah LEEgnuh.”  Their shop is at 67 Avenue Victor Hugo, in the 16eme near the Arc de Triomphe; You can see their current French catalogue HERE.  In the catalogue and in the store in Paris, you will find candles in every color of the rainbow and in all sorts of shapes.  Point a la Ligne candles play heavily into the French love of whimsy and fantasy, as you’ll see by the cover of their Winter Catalogue (there are two collections each year)~ 

I was thrilled to find Point a la Ligne tapers at my local Ace Hardware store this year; they are not expensive, about $1.50, and as in Paris, they come in varying lengths and in every color of the rainbow.  They make a perfect gift; I’m crazy about the orange~

And oh, the pink, in 12” length; these will soon go on a large candelabra wrapped in florals and vines.  They are smokeless, dripless (unless you leave them out in the breeze), and clean-burning, and made a wonderful color complement to our booth last Sunday~

 

Point a la Ligne candles are available to retailers in the U.S. through their distributor HERE.  Opening orders are $350…the line would make a nice addition to a French style store.  We sold most of the candles we brought last weekend, though they were intended for display!  You can also call for retailers~ 401.619.3339

You’ll see more of these candles from us this spring.