Knit Club Special: A trip to Côte d’Azur and Provence
A personal view straight from the South of France
Bonjour Knit Clubbers, how have you been? I send warm hugs from France and will take you on a little tour along Côte d’Azur and Provence. We simply enjoyed the landscape, the sea, wandered vintage shops and markets, discovered former artist’s studios and museums and stayed in some of the nicest hotels.
This week’s newsletter is an ode to this beautiful region that my family has always felt very connected to. Growing up at the border to France, there has naturally always been a draw towards the south. I can now say I was privileged enough to spend almost all my summers there in cottage homes and at the beaches until my teenage mind was seeking farther places, a classic random teenage thing to do.
It is a little funny to experience the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region now as an adult. I didn’t even realise how much of my identity was actually shaped by it. Imagine the water, the flowers, the colours, the scents and the language. When my mum asked me about four weeks ago if I wanted to go to South of France to get some well deserved holiday for both of us, I screamed yes, and here we are!
I want to fill you in with the essence of the trip and give away the best kept secrets of what we discovered. A special thanks to our loyal knit club member Clara. If it wasn’t for your travel recommendations during Knit Club, I probably wouldn’t have made the move to go to SoF this year!
I will add a link to the highlights on Instagram where I take you to every destination in South of France that we went to. If you can’t stop after reading this newsletter, this is where you can go.
While I am gone, a fab team of four is keeping you busy at the shop. I already introduced them to you briefly during the last newsletter, now it’s time to dig a little deeper. We interviewed Yvonne of Morgens Studio to ask her about her starting freelance and her vision for Morgens.
f&f favourites: Cotignac, a hidden gem in the Provence region
I’ll jump right in with my most favourite place, our “top secret”, a discovery of my aunt Esther. It took me only about 20 years to drive down memory lane and discover this gem myself. Cotignac is nestled just an hour away from the sea in an area called La Provence Verte, the green Provence. The village of about 2000 inhabitants is visually shaped by its tuff rocks and caves, its pastel coloured houses and lush green scenery that you wouldn’t expect here.
To be quite honest with you, I couldn’t quite believe how such a small village in the middle of nowhere (I grew up in one myself) could host such an amazing set of restaurants and shops, all with a traditional back bone but with a modern outlook. Maybe it was all down to Huguette Caren, the former owner of Lou Calen, the hotel that we stayed in, that attracted artists and patrons alike and made Cotignac a haven for musicians, cosmopolites and expats today. The hotel was closed in 1999 and has just been reopened last week. After several years of renovation Lou Calen, which means the flame of the Provençal oil lamp, shines again. The setting of it is just great, being in the middle of the village to the front while at the same time expanding into lavender and vegetable gardens to the back with rooms and cottages spread all over the estate. Discover a green Gault Milliau starred restaurant ‘Le Jardin Secret’ cooking with ingredients from their own gardens, an art center, frequent classes like basket weaving and water colour painting, even their own brewery.
Hosting locals and expats alike, Cotignac has a set of well curated antique stores, galleries, restaurants and shops: Images
Read more about it on Lou Calen’s Instagram and website.
f&f recommends: A short trip to Marseille
If you don’t have the time to fill in a proper two week road trip, look no further. Marseille is where you would want to go. I was a little bit afraid of going to the second biggest city of France, but now it’s the one city I would recommend the most. The surrounding landscape makes Marseille the best pick to go for a couple of days. Rent yourself a bike and drive along the coast to the east. Visit Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde for breath-taking views. Hop on a boat or hike to experience the Calanques and sunbathe on the rocks. Take a quick train ride west to relax at rocky beach cafés. Have fish at the old harbour. Try Tuba Club for Dinner. And stay at Casa Youm.
I cannot recommend this boutique stay with three rooms enough. Having been a studio for Cézanne and other artists alike, Amira and Edouard now created a beautiful, calm and relaxing home with a mediterranean feel in L’Estaque, just a 8 minute train ride away from the hustle and bustle of central Marseille. The owners won’t fall short on recommendations for you on the surrounding area of Marseille, it’s enough for us to come back a second, third and fourth time!
Inspired by: Fondation Maeght and St Paul de Vence
“If you’re into art, Côte d’Azur is where you’ll have to go!” is what they say. And so we went! If you love Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen, DK or Dia in Beacon, NY, I highly recommend you to put Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence on your list. The couple Magueritte and Aimé Maeght brought artists such as Joan Miró and Georges Braque to this small village atop a hill just a quick stop from Nice to create a full circle museum experience. The modern 60s architecture is joined by a labyrinth garden of Miro sculptures looking at the sea while you would discover works by Chagall, Calder, Kandinsky and Matisse inside, just to name a few. However it’s not only Fondation Maeght that should draw your interest. The village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence is a beautifully preserved French village with traditional perfume and nougat boutiques and modern galleries alike. You should also consider paying Fondation CAB a visit. They’re now showing the designs of Muller van Severen.
Knit Club basket: where I filled my basket this time
Can you imagine I did not take any wool with me this time? We’ll it’s only half true to be precise as I took leather to crochet but that’s something for the next newsletter. Instead, I want to list some of the independent shops I discovered during our trip. Here we go!
Peony - I met Yu Can in her store Peony in Cotignac. She’s Hong Kong born, studied in Paris and then moved to South of France with her boyfriend. She curates silk organza bags from Brigitte Tanaka, basket bags by Muuñ, accessories by Helena Thulin, lovely crisp cotton garments and velvet mary janes. She also holds an online shop catering to her Hong Kong customers and the world.
Also, right next to Peony there’s an amazing antique shop called Maison Carya Tides where I almost bought a chess table at. They both have a amazing gold plated signs up. Carya even imported the whole shop front to match his Antique store.
Peony
5 bis Grand Rue, 83570 Cotignac
Trésors Publics - Think french kitchen, bath, lifestyle essentials. Trésors Publics has it all, Savon Marseille on a holder, hand woven cloth, traditional striped sweaters and rubber sandals from the Brétagne, artisanal Grasse perfumes, kitchen supplies such as graters and all different kinds of Opinel knives for different occasions. All made in France of course.
Trésors Publics
18 Rue de la Préfecture, 06300 Nice, Frankreich
L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue Antique shops - If you love antiques, this is where you should go. L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, as the name might propose, an island on the river Sorgue, also called ‘little Venice in France’, holds at least ten massive halls where antique vendors sell their treasures in little shops. They all specialise in their desired time slot, be it the turn of the century wing chairs, 60s mobiles, french country style, even 1900s textiles. Make sure you check opening times before you go, the halls are usually only open during the weekend. And there’s an even bigger antique market twice a year: during easter and the middle of August to have the FULL experience.
L’Isle-Sur-la-Sorgue, 84800 France
Hamburg happenings: our pop-up
While I am roaming South of France, Yvonne, Viola and Nora have been running our store together with Lisa. In the pop-up they’re welcoming you with their vintage goods, fresh flowers and floral workshops, repurposed bags, together with Rose von Sharon’s Jewellery and our summer knits. I asked Yvonne a couple of questions about her vision of Morgens studio.
An interview with Yvonne from Morgens Studio
Isabelle: Hi Yvonne, lovely to speak to you about your work! How did you come up with Morgens Studio?
Yvonne: How did I come about this? During Corona I quit my main job as a merchandiser. I started my own business as a set stylist and always noticed that it's creative and you can express yourself in some way, but I always felt the need for my own project. and this whole connection to vintage and flea markets and old things, yes, it's been in me all my life. I come from an absolute flea market and collector family, my dad's house is full of old things and that has always been a great, great passion.
As soon as I go into older rooms and houses, I somehow feel the things and I also have been collecting them for a long time. But since I live alone in Hamburg, I have a very small apartment. That means you can't always collect all your stuff and then somehow, the idea of trading or selling vintage home accessories has been in my head for a really long time. And then I started in September last year and have been spending my time with morgens ever since. It really went from zero to a hundred.
Isabelle: What has been your most beautiful project so far? What did you enjoy the most?
Yvonne: I can't say that specifically because so many beautiful things happened in such a short time. And at the beginning, I remember, for example, when I borrowed these butter clams for Herrlich Dining, I still remember what it felt like to read [their request to lend butter clams for an event with the fashion brand Closed], and I was so excited that they would get in touch with me, that was so super special. But then a lot of little things came very quickly. So that was more of a bigger deal for me, but also these little things like being here at the faible and failure store now, how nice is that? We met six months ago and now we're somehow doing something together. And it's actually that whole little connection and you know each other from here and those from there, I just love that. I love that and that's why there isn't one main favorite project, but with every project it's like, huh, how cool, we can do that, let's go.
I also think it's kind of the nice thing about Hamburg that it's so small that you know each other and then, oh, yeah, you do that, let's go there. I don't know whether it's the same in Berlin, because there are always so many of each trade there. I think that’s what sets Hamburg apart. And I've always said, if you want to start something new or anything at all, Hamburg is perfect for it. There are already great things, but there's still so much space and it feels so small, especially the creative scene, that you seem to get to know a lot of people within six months, women, actually only women.
Isabelle: And what is your vision for morgens? Where do you see yourself in five years?
Yvonne: That's actually just now, it's difficult to say because right now my head is so full of so many ideas; it's not that I'm just vintage-selling things; It's this whole vision of convincing people that everything already exists and that I can find it for them, plus my background as a set and merch stylist, making things look beautiful, equipping small events, well I would like that.
I don't want to exclusively sell vintage art, I would rather like to make it more of a studio. I want to equip events, I want to lend people things, I want to work creatively myself, do projects somehow and of course make everything as sustainable and vintage and used as possible. I was thinking about making the first year a year trying everything out and seeing what happens and then I want to see what direction it should go in. But it should actually be more of an open studio.
Of course, somewhere in my head is the dream of a small shop. Actually a bit like you in that you used to watch Siebenstein [a German series with a woman collecting vintage interiors] too. But Siebenstein and the suitcase and Rudi are a bit of a little junk shop. I come from retail. It would be a really great dream to have a small shop at some point that could also be a studio at the same time. To have a place where you can do creative work, have my things, but also somehow meet other people. Cool. That would be my dream.
Isabelle: Wonderful, that sounds good and I cannot wait for what’s still to come!
Thank you for reading the Knit Club. I am now writing on the bus to the airport, next stop Lisbon. Stay tuned to see where I source my vintage blankets, hear how Berlin Fashion Week went and to know what’s soon to come when we’re back at the store!
I've enjoyed your journey on IG 💖👌