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It was in the south of France, many years ago, where I first saw individual wine carafes and the charming wicker or rattan domes that protect outdoor plates from flying critters  In Normandy, where butter and cream reign supreme, smaller wicker domes cover butter as well as the cheese course -- plates of Pont l’Évêque Livarot, and Camembert.  I was thrilled when I found a French company that designs useful products that interpret the artisanal heritage of the old manufacturers.  Simple but good quality, practical but also chic -- the essence of French entertaining and a source of inspiration to me. I hope you will find these wonderful French designs as useful and good looking as I do.

I think that it is the special items, covered butter dishes, raffia pillows. sterling silver bowls trimmed in bamboo and great ice buckets  that make the difference between the merely nice and the  truly stylish entertaining.