Lavender Fuseaux a Beautiful Tradition

Lavender is pretty much the synonym for Provence, n'est pas? The fields of Provence come alive with shades of purples in the last few weeks of June. Each field flowers at slightly different times depending on the lavender variety, and where it's located. All of the lavender fields are sure to delight your senses, it's a dreamy vision and the smell is heavenly! Today I'm sharing a bit about one of the dying arts in Provence - Lavender Fuseaux a Beautiful Tradition. A lot of the lavender is distilled to create essential oil for perfumes, and scented water. The plants are also dried and used to create deliciously scented soaps, perfume, honey, tea, and ice cream, to name just a few. You can find products in little market stalls and village shops all over Provence. One of the charming traditions of lavender in the Provence that is still alive is the art of making the lavender fuseau. A fuseau is shaped like a wand, also sometimes called a "bottle" woven through with bright and silky satin ribbons. Throughout history, after most of the harvest was sold, the “provençales” would take the left over stalks and weave the fresh lavender every summer. In the 18th century, Provencal dowry chests often contained lavender wands, they were used to perfume clothes and linen, and protect against moths. The actual production season for the wands is short, from the middle of June to the end of August. Created only with freshly picked lavender, this hand woven Fuseau de Lavande is lovingly made entirely by hand, it's a time-consuming and painstaking effort. Lavender batons or wands can only be made at one time during the year, when the stems are still pliable, the silken ribbons are woven around the lavender stems, caging the fragrant lavender flowers inside. Wonderful to scent drawers, your antique linens or bedding, each wand is a tiny work of art. To refresh the lovely scent, you can gently roll the top portion of your wand between your fingers to release the natural oils and to revitalize the fragrance. New this year are the large wands with the floral brocade ribbons. Fuseaux are timeless, they will last forever. For the first five years, you just gently squeeze the ribboned cage to refresh the lavender fragrance. After that, a few drops of lavender scented essential oil will rejuvenate your wand. You can nestle colorful bouquets of lavender wands in a vase or a basket to enhance your home and softly scent your rooms, or place them in your linen and lingerie closets. No matter where you use them, they are a delightful memory of a charming Provencal tradition. Lavender Fuseaux, a beautiful tradition, and I hope these beauties will remain to be made by hand for centuries to come. I was so excited to receive our shipment of wands again this year from the lavender fields and the artisan maker. They are wonderful for you to give to friends, they make an unusual and thoughtful hostess gift. There is nothing as exciting as opening your linens armoire and catching that wonderful delicate lavender scent. We've had our wands packaged for you in a cello bag with our exclusive tag, either in sets of two or singles, tied with a festive ribbon. That way they are ready for you to gift! Be sure to order a few for yourself, too. Your antique linens will be so happy. Once these are sold out, there will be no more until next year's harvest comes in. We were able to special order different colors and several different sizes, please choose the ones that speak to you. {The larger brocade ribboned wands are selling out fast.}

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A BIENTOT

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