Fabriqué en France: A City Woven in Craft
Paris: Made in France & Craftsmanship
Paris is a city built not only of monuments but of hands — hands that shape, cut, embroider, polish, and preserve. To speak of Made in France is to speak of devotion: the patient rhythm of artisans who continue age-old gestures with uncompromising precision.
Here, craftsmanship is not a slogan but a daily act. Clay becomes porcelain through fire, crystal becomes brilliance through the cut of a wheel, silver becomes sculpture through the strike of a hammer, perfume becomes memory through the distillation of botanicals. Each object is a triumph of human skill over time, of ritual over haste.
This edition of The Travelling Cape is dedicated to those Parisian maisons where savoir-faire endures as both heritage and invention. From Astier de Villatte’s hand-moulded ceramics to the cut crystal of Saint-Louis, from Maison Michel’s millinery to Officine Buly’s apothecary refinements — every address is a reminder that in Paris, beauty does not arrive ready-made; it is made, patiently, by hand.
“Perhaps your journey, like every Parisian story, begins here — with travel accessories that holds not only belongings, but also intent.”
Goyard — Paris Luxury Travel Accessories & Heritage Craftsmanship
Maison Goyard, 233 rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris
Everything begins with a carry-on — not just any, but one steeped in history and craftsmanship. At Goyard, the Parisian trunk-maker founded in 1853, the art of travel is elevated into heritage. Their hand-painted chevron canvas and discreetly monogrammed trunks have accompanied royals, explorers, and aesthetes for generations.
To step into their Saint-Honoré boutique is to enter a world where departure feels ceremonial. Each bag, case, or trunk is still crafted with the same precision that made Goyard a cult among connoisseurs. It is luggage not meant to be hidden in transit, but to declare the beauty of the journey itself.
For the traveler of discernment, there is no more Parisian beginning than here — where a suitcase is not simply carried, but lived with.
“Perhaps your journey, like every Parisian story, begins here — with a carry-on that holds not only belongings, but also intent.” ?
Puiforcat — Paris Silversmithing & French Artistry
48 avenue Gabriel, 8ᵉ arrondissement
Since 1820, Puiforcat has stood at the pinnacle of French silversmithing — a maison where silver is not merely shaped but sculpted. Known for its bold Art Deco creations, the house defined an aesthetic of sharp lines, architectural forms, and light that dances across polished surfaces.
Today, Puiforcat continues this tradition of refinement with collections that range from finely wrought cutlery to champagne coolers, tea services, and objets d’art. Each piece carries the weight of heritage yet feels strikingly modern, designed for those who see the table not only as a place to gather, but as a stage for beauty.
A signature creation is their champagne cooler, an icon of modernist design, balancing geometric rigor with sensual weight. To encounter it at the Paris boutique on Avenue Gabriel is to see silver not as luxury alone, but as living heritage.
Whether you select a piece for your own table or as an heirloom-worthy gift, Puiforcat offers silver that is not simply owned — it is lived with, admired, and passed on.
Saint-Louis — Paris Crystal & French Craftsmanship
13 rue Royale, 8ᵉ arrondissement
The oldest crystal manufactory in Europe, Saint-Louis has shaped glass since 1586, and was granted royal status by Louis XV in 1767. Every piece is mouth-blown, cut, engraved, and polished entirely by hand in their Lorraine workshops — a lineage of savoir-faire that remains unmatched.
Two creations in particular have become legends. Their paperweights, kaleidoscopic worlds of millefiori encased in crystal, are coveted by collectors across the world — jewels of craftsmanship that distill centuries of mastery into the palm of a hand. And the Tommy collection, first presented at the 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and named after British soldiers of the First World War, remains a symbol of French chic: fluted goblets and champagne flutes that transform candlelight into a celebration.
The Rue Royale flagship is a theatre of brilliance — chandeliers, stemware, and objets d’art glittering in timeless dialogue between utility and beauty. To hold Saint-Louis is to hold a fragment of French heritage, luminous, enduring, and unmistakably alive
Officine Universelle Buly — Paris Apothecary & Beauty Rituals
6 rue Bonaparte, 6ᵉ arrondissement
Step inside Officine Universelle Buly and the past comes alive in lacquered counters, glass apothecary jars, and calligraphed labels that feel more 19th century than 21st. Founded in 1803 and revived in 2014, the maison is now a temple to French refinement — where fragrance, skincare, and beauty rituals are transformed into objets de désir.
Each creation feels timeless: oils pressed from ancient recipes, eau triple perfumes carried without alcohol, hand creams infused with botanicals, even toothbrushes carved in horn. Every detail is elevated, and personalisation is at the heart of the experience — from hand-calligraphed labels to bespoke packaging, turning each purchase into a singular gift.
Whether you are seeking the perfect French present for someone special, or an indulgent souvenir for yourself, Buly offers a moment of Parisian beauty at its most authentic: artisanal, imaginative, and unmistakably French.
Astier de Villatte — Paris Ceramics & French Savoir-Faire
173 rue Saint-Honoré, 1ᵉʳ arrondissement
Astier de Villatte is more than a boutique — it is a cult universe of porcelain and paper, fragrance and memory. Each ceramic is shaped by hand in Paris from black terracotta clay sourced in the Paris Basin, then dipped in a milky glaze that preserves every slight irregularity. The result is luminous, feather-light porcelain that feels at once ancient and utterly modern.
The true secret lies in its makers: a community of Tibetan artisans in exile, many of them trained as monks, who joined the founders in the 1990s. Their initials still appear discreetly on the base of bowls, plates, and pitchers — proof that these are not anonymous objects, but singular works carrying both Parisian craft and spiritual discipline.
Inside the flagship on Rue Saint-Honoré, the atmosphere is almost cinematic: towering shelves of porcelain, incense smoldering softly, candles, notebooks, and their cult guidebook Ma Vie à Paris. To step inside is to enter a world where everyday rituals — a morning coffee, a flower arrangement, a dinner at home — are elevated into art.
Debeaulieu — Paris Floristry & Artistic Design
30 rue Henry Monnier & 19 rue Victor Massé, 9ᵉ arrondissement
Debeaulieu is not a flower shop; it is a Parisian atelier where floristry becomes art. Founded by Pierre Banchereau, the maison is known for graphic, expressive arrangements that draw as much from painting and couture as from botany. Bold colours and unexpected juxtapositions give each bouquet the presence of a Fauvist canvas — sculptural, modern, and always unforgettable.
Beyond flowers, Debeaulieu curates a changing selection of objets and décor — vases, lighting, ceramics, and tableware — chosen with the same discerning eye. Whether it is a single stem for your table, a dramatic bouquet for a soirée, or an object to carry beauty into your home, Debeaulieu reminds us that in Paris, flowers and design alike are never mere decoration: they are fleeting theatre, lived with style.
Librairie 7L — Lagerfeld’s Paris Bookstore & Design Heritage
7 rue de Lille, 7ᵉ arrondissement
Founded by Karl Lagerfeld in 1999, Librairie 7L is a bookstore unlike any other — a space where shelves rise with volumes on fashion, photography, design, and the visual arts, each title selected with the precision of a collector. Now part of the Chanel Métiers d’Art universe, it remains one of Paris’s most discreet yet magnetic addresses for those who see books as objects of beauty as much as sources of knowledge.
To step inside is to enter a world still touched by Lagerfeld’s eye: elegant, cultivated, and quietly daring. Here, you browse not just to read but to collect — to take home a fragment of Parisian creativity, a gift wrapped in paper and thought. For the CASTELLAINES heroine, it is the kind of stop that lingers: a chapter to carry with you, as timeless as the city itself.
Cire Trudon — Paris Candles, History & French Rituals
78 rue de Seine, 75006 Paris
Founded in 1643, Cire Trudon is the oldest candlemaker in France — a maison that once lit the halls of Versailles and the churches of Paris. Today, its boutique on rue de Seine feels like a cabinet of curiosities: dark wood, gilt labels, and wax cast like sculpture. Each candle carries a story — whether inspired by revolutionaries, botanicals, or the shadow of palaces — and each is still hand-poured with the same precision that defined the house centuries ago.
For travelers, Trudon is more than fragrance: it is a flame that holds centuries of French ritual and refinement.
This is where you enter: perhaps by choosing a small flame just for yourself, a candle that feels like a secret companion at home. Or maybe it’s the pleasure of finding your initials pressed in gold on a monogrammed box — something made quietly yours. Sometimes the most meaningful gifts are the ones we give ourselves, reminding us of where we’ve been, and where we’re going.