La Droguerie: A Universe Bursting with Delicious Temptation
Hidden discreetly behind the rainbow skeins of yarn at La Droguerie are subtle hints of this establishment’s former existence. The small wooden cabin, the white tiled walls, the iron racks punctuated with large hooks and the enormous weighing scales. In a past life the building was a butchers, on a street lined with butchers, emanating like arteries from what was once the beating heart of Paris, Les Halles. For centuries the central marketplace of the city thronged with vendors, merchants and customers in a 24 hour workday. It was here that Parisiennes came to purchase their fruit, vegetables, cheese, dairy, fish and of course, meat. In the 1970’s the decision was made to close this bustling epicentre and relocate the market to the outskirts of the city limits. Replaced by an enormous bastion to consumerism, Les Halles is now a cavernous, subterranean shopping centre with a major transport hub in its bowels. Clues remain of it’s origins, exceptional restaurants can be found underneath the shadow of Eglise St Eustache, kitchen supply stores call to bakers and chefs alike. And while La Droguerie attracts a different clientele than it’s predecessor, customers still arrive in their throngs, and enter a universe bursting with colour, texture and delicious temptation!
Visiting La Droguerie can be akin to dining at a lavish visual feast that delights with each new course. The walls are hung with rainbow skeins of yarn in French linen, Merino, Alpaca, Bamboo, Silk, Mohair and Angora. The shelves are stocked with kilner jars of fabric flowers, and feathers, beads made of shell, wood, raffia, glass, ceramics, metals, imitation pearl, resin and tiny seed beads, and sequins. There are rolls of woven French ribbons, gold and silver braided passementerie and floral Liberty bias binding, drawers filled with fancy buttons, display charts of embroidery patches, elbow patches, pompoms, and tassles. Bolts of cheerful printed fabrics and rows of neatly folded fat quarters. The abundance is irresistible and this alluring ambiance was designed to whet your creative appetite!
When La Droguerie in 1975 they wanted to create an establishment to share their creative passion and inspire their clients with ideas and materials for textile crafts and jewellery making. By the 1980’s there were queues out the door and down the street, La Droguerie expanded into the adjoining premises and in time boutiques were opened across France. Her sisters and brother joined the team and her charming daughter Valentine manages the flagship store with a smile for every customer.
Customer service is paramount in La Droguerie and after what may seem like an eternity of waiting, your turn will come and you will bask in the undivided attention of the knowledgeable sales assistants who are on hand to encourage and advise you in your project, whether it is hanks of yarn to get you through a winter of knitting, a spoonful of seed beads to create a sparkling necklace or an elusive button to add a certain je ne sais quoi to a much loved cardigan. After your totals are totted up in the original cashiers cabin that thrilling excitement of going home to admire your materials and start your project will accompany you out the door and down the street!
Displayed throughout the boutique are beautiful sweaters and cardigans knitted in the softest mohair, linen or silk, but you will find no price-tag, these are examples of their designs meant to inspire customers! La Droguerie has a team of designers who create patterns for knitting, dress-making and even jewellery. You can browse through their library of design catalogues and once you have selected a pattern you will be invited to take a seat on the rainbow coloured bench and wait while the assistants retrieve the necessary yarn from their famous ‘Wall of Colour’, a floor to ceiling shelf lined with spools of yarn. Yarn is sold by the weight and customers wait on a cheerfully painted park bench as balls of wool are prepared by hand using a mesmerising umbrella swift machine. If jewellery is your weakness, the assistants make-up a little kit with the instructions and all the accessories needed to make those glittering earrings you have chosen!
La Droguerie holds a special place in the heart of many Parisiennes, it is synonymous with quality, craft and creativity. A visit is sure to inspire, and delicious, colourful, sparkling temptation is always guaranteed.
