Stopping in Barneys NY on a quest for some new candles I saw a beautiful display of Cire Trudon candles. It wasn’t just that the candles have been being made since 1643 in a shop on Saint-Honore, or that the 100% vegetable wax candles smelled beautiful, or that they had a candle called “Trianon” inspired by my favorite fashion guru, Marie Antoinette; it was the clever display. They had small cloches (bell-shaped glass domes) over each candle to preserve the fragrance. Apparently, just as they did in the original Paris boutique - tres chic! I loved the idea as much as the candles.
On my way to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum with weekend visitors, I found the cloches. What luck! They were in the old Tenement Museum gift shop that’s been repurposed into an Earnest Sewn shop on 90 Orchard. In the back of the store there’s a cool little florist shop called “Flower Girl” that’s run by Denise Porcano. She had several glass cloches protecting tiny gardens and arrangements – beautiful and perfect for a small apartment. I’m not houseplant kind of person, but love this fresh take on an old French starter garden tradition. Plus it’s a great way to connect with nature in a modern way. Now I am totally intrigued with this idea and am going to check out a Paula Hayes exhibit. She’s a Manhattan artist who’s taken this idea of the mini-garden further with her organic shaped cloches and modern terrariums.