#laurierblanc

People ask me all the time where I came up with the name Laurier Blanc... (and I can’t tell you how many people actually call me Laurier in the gallery or Laura!  I secretly love this.)

The Laurier Blanc laurel leaves design for our logo originated from a piece of French antique iron that I found deep within the Paris Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen, a market that has been operating since the Middle Ages (which is always a favorite hunting spot for treasures).  This was long ago when my husband Paul and I were living in London and were preparing for a move to Manhattan, New York and I wanted to collect a last few items from my favorite European markets before heading stateside again.

On a girls weekend to Paris via the Eurostar train, I headed off to the puces market early one weekend morning (with my usual espresso and giant pain au chocolat) and came across a wonderful antiques dealer that, to this day, I always search for.  There was a very tall, well built and handsome Parisian black man who spoke no English and, well, my French was pretty bad back then (I like to think the more I drink the better I speak). His stall in the Marché Vernaison was truly the most intriguing with his expertly curated & showcased collection of antiques, garden items & objets curiosités so beautifully displayed. Somehow we negotiated a fair price on this antique French iron piece for the garden that I simply couldn’t live without (where at the end of the transaction he gifted me a beautiful large tiger cowrie that he saw me eyeing as well! To this day, this sits on my desk at home). I find that French dealers will many times send you home with a small gift as a gesture of thanks when taking the time to talk and negotiate fairly.

The French iron garden art depicted laurel leaves and berries with a delicate ribbon that then came with us to New York and was later installed over the range in our first home we purchased when we moved to Houston.  A couple years later, I had a local artist make a drawing of the leaves (which I became enamored with) and we then printed on my personal stationary.  As time passed, the year that I turned 40 was the year that I decided to finally launch my vision in creating a destination where one could find a beautifully curated collection of interesting home decor pieces and gifts from markets and suppliers...Essentially a collection of my very favorite things from all over the world, both newly made, vintage, as well as antiques.  For the very first time in my life, I realized I could do what I really wanted in this world and crafted a way to make a business out of it.