Chaussures VEJA

Next time you’re at your French lesson au nid*, cast your eyes towards the floor. Chances are, you’ll see someone wearing a pair of baskets VEJA*.

VEJA was founded in 2005 by French entrepreneurs Sébastien Kopp and François-Ghislain Morillion after a trip to Brazil to do a social audit on a major fashion brand. Disturbed by the living conditions of the factory’s workers, they decided against going into tech ‘like the rest of their generation’. Instead, they decided to take the very symbol of conspicuous consumption, les baskets*, and produce them in an ethical way.

Source: www.veja-store.com

Since 70% of the price of a high-end pair of trainers is eaten up by la publicité*, Sébastien and François-Ghislain realised that in removing this line item, they could revolutionise the production of fashion sneakers.

Their story is inspiring and you’ll find it on their website. Try the French version first, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much you understand if you read along as the founders recount their parcours*. Getting lost? Switch to English to finish off the story. Desperate to own a pair? Jump onto their site web* and get scrolling!

*at the nest | *VEJA trainers | *trainers | *advertising | *path | *website

Great Champagne Houses

Founded in 1829 by three men, one aristocratic and the two others experts de vin*, Champagne Bollinger is today one of the oldest family-owned independent champagne houses in France.

As a member of an aristocratic family, Athanase de Hennerquin de Villermont was unable to commercialise the family name, thus the champagne house was originally called Renaudin Bollinger, after local wine fanatic Paul Renaudin and his friend, German wine negociant Jacques Bollinger.

When Jacques married Athanase’s daughter in 1837, the bonds grew stronger and by 1918, it was Jacques’ great-grandson, also named Jacques, who was running the company. When Jacques died in 1941 without leaving an heir, the management of the house fell to Jacques’ widow, Lily Bollinger. Described as une perle rare* by those who knew her, she was nothing if not a master promoter of the product.

“I drink it when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch it—unless I’m thirsty.”

For the first time in its history, Champagne Bollinger is now managed by a non-family member, Jérôme Philipon, though with the full support of the Bollinger descendants.

Image par Andreas Winterer de Pixabay

*wine experts | *a rare gem

Yuka

If one of your Résolutions de Nouvel An* involves taking a more considered approach to your supermarket shopping, it might be worth downloading the Yuka app.

Created in Paris in 2016 by a small team of three who won a Food Hackathon competition, the app scans barcodes to break down the ingredients and nutritional value of products you’d find in the course of your weekly shop. It also analyses beauty products and gives ratings based on their potential for adverse health effects.

By the way, though the developers are cent pour cent français*, the name Yuka was inspired by the Mexican wife of one of the founders who is from the state of Yucatán.

[Visit the Yuka website]

*New Year’s Resolutions | *100% French

French vintage posters

We may not be able to indulge in le voyage* at the moment, but you can at least partially satisfy your wanderlust (and your penchant for la nostalgie*) on this very evocative site.

As you’ll see, some of the rarer posters cost about the same as a flight to Europe, but the joy of just gazing at them? Inestimable*.

*travel | *nostalgia | *priceless

Tout comme des grands

What a fantastic opportunity! Our Parisian friends, Tout Comme des Grands*, traditionally run ateliers for children at fresh food markets aroud the city. With les enfants* artfully engaged, their parents are free to roam the markets, poring over the incredible range and quality of the produce en paix*.

Since these very markets are now closed, Marine and her team have had to make some quick decisions, and one in particular is of huge benefit to those of us in the Southern Hemisphere. Until the end of June, Tout Comme des Grands is offering free craft sessions via Zoom. Imagine! Your child could busy themselves doing un petit projet* with French children after dinner, giving you time to kick back for a moment to catch your breath. Take a look at their website to see what they do, then follow them on social media to keep up with the latest classes on offer, and be sure to aim for an early time slot in Paris as this will be just after dinner here in Australia.

Bon courage les enfants*!

*Just like the big kids | *the children | *in peace | *a little project | *Good luck, kids!

French fashion

“ La mode se démode, le style jamais*. ”

Coco Chanel, French fashion designer (1883 - 1971)

Paradoxically, though Louis XIV was a renowned lover of fashion, the very first maison de couture* was opened by an Englishman, Charles Frederick Worth, in Paris in 1858. He took what was hitherto regarded as a menial business (dressmaking) and elevated it to the perfect confluence of commerce and art.

However, it's the French designers who have produced some of the most avant-gardiste*, iconic and franchement* sublime creations the world has ever seen.

Put your knowledge of la mode* to the test by telling us which brilliant designer is responsible for each of the looks below. The first person to send in the correct answers will win a copy of French Vogue!

*Fashion goes out of style, style never. | *High fashion house | *avant-garde | *frankly | *fashion

La Marmotte

You know how some ads just work their way into popular culture? Think of the Yellow Pages ad (“Not happy, Jan!”) or G-O-G-G-O (the Goggomobil ad, again Yellow Pages). Or how about Mortein’s Louie the Fly?

France has its own classics and one of the best known is this ad for Milka, the confectionary company. The ad is self-explanatory, until we get to the strapline:

Man: Et alors la marmotte, elle met le petit chocolat dans le papier d'alu.

Woman: Mais, bien sûr!

Translation:

Man: And so the woodchuck puts the chocolate in the alfoil.

Woman: But, of course!

Ever since the ad’s appearance in France in the late 1990s, whenever someone says something outlandish or is seeming a bit crazy, one might hear: Et alors, la marmotte…