welcome to our online market and showroom!
The Lotus Bleu boutique returns in the form of an online market and San Francisco Potrero Hill showroom, with specialty collections sourced by our founder, Jeannie Fraise. Discovered in countries to which she has recently traveled, each themed collection features one-of-a-kind treasures with characteristic Lotus Bleu hallmarks including bold and whimsical patterns, vibrant hues, rich textures, time-honored artisanal craftsmanship, and always with a modern twist!
Most pieces are vintage or custom designs, which means if you're longing for that special piece, snag it before it's gone! In some instances, we can source a similar product. If you have a request, please inquire through orders@lotusbleudesign.com.
We also welcome you to view our delectable products in person at our showroom near the San Francisco Design Center. To schedule an appointment, drop us a note and we would be happy to accommodate your visit.
FIfTH Stop: South Africa
In early (pre-pandemic) 2020, Kaoru traveled to dazzling Cape Town, South Africa to source for our market. From the dramatic landscape to the vibrant city, she found inspiration in the rich creative culture, from the thriving art & design community, and the sophisticated culinary & wine scene, to the diverse local population.
For this collection, she selected textiles influenced by traditional African patterns, but updated in modern palettes and woven on vintage looms resulting in diverse compelling textures. Drawing from local natural materials, these pieces highlight the bounty of the land, from luxurious mohair and linen to wool and cotton.
Admirably, sustainability and conservation were important threads that ran throughout the fabric of the community and hence this collection: a reflection of the country's sometimes strapped natural resources. Whether using sustainably sourced raw materials or upcycling leftover ones, these resourceful methods contributed to the beauty of their creative output and these textiles.
FOurth Stop: MoroccO
In the summer of 2019, Jeannie spent almost a month traveling throughout Morocco and sourcing for this latest collection. Inspired by the incredible architecture and design, she visited workshops and artisans making products in a range from ceramics, cement tile, glasswork and metalwork to embroidery, bedding, bath linens, and rugs.
For this collection, she chose to focus on handpicked vintage and contemporary rugs and pillows she had fabricated from rugs. The boldly colorful and patterned rugs are made by tribal women from the mid and high Atlas mountain regions. Originally intended for bedding and benches, the rugs were the main furnishings in tents and then homes and were used to celebrate important life milestones.
No longer nomadic with access to livestock for wool, the resourceful makers often get their yarn by recycling sweaters, which can offer more richly colored yarns than ones dyed from natural sources. The motifs in the rugs feature abstract and tribal symbols based in nature and passed down from through generations.
THIRD STOP: MEXICO
In the fall of 2018, our Lotus Bleu team took a sourcing trip to San Miguel Allende visiting artisanal workshops with whom we had worked for years and connecting with new ones first-hand. We were particularly impressed by the textiles woven by indigenous women from Oaxaca so the following fall of 2019, Jeannie returned to Mexico to take an artisanal textile tour of the Oaxaca region directly with the founding director of the Textile Museum in Oaxaca City as her guide.
Our Mexico collection features intricate examples of these coveted textiles woven predominantly by Zapotec women artisans from the Oaxaca region. Mainly woven on back-strap looms, the threads they use are dyed using natural ingredients like indigo for blue and the cochineal insect for red. Weaving and dyeing techniques are handed down through familial lineage and the patterns closely resemble those found on friezes of ancient ruins like Mitla where Jeannie visited.
Using these special fabrics, we designed a unique collection of custom pillows with contrasting backs and thoughtful welt details. Many include coordinating colors and patterns so they can be used in groupings.
SECOND STOP: ETHIOPIA
In the summer of 2018, Jeannie visited Ethiopia on her way to Madagascar where her French husband was born and his family live. Stopping in the bustling city of Addis Ababa and visiting the magnificent underground monolithic stone churches of Lalibela, she went on the hunt for examples of the beautiful cotton textiles worn across the country and very remarkably by parishioners who gather in the ancient churches of Lalibela for weekly services.
Our Ethiopia collection features cotton textiles made by artisans from a fair-trade collective Jeannie visited in Addis Ababa, which provides positive work opportunities to hundreds of families in the capital. The cotton they use, an important staple from this ancient country, is spun, dyed with plant-based natural colors, woven and finished entirely by hand. It is incredibly soft, mimicking raw silk, but hardier and able to be washed and dried.
We designed several styles of custom brightly colored and striped pillows with equally playful wool pom-pom embellishments in small and large sizes. Beautifully finished and tasseled throws and towels are perfect home accents or can even be used as wraps.
First stop: Istanbul, Turkey
In the winter of 2017, Jeannie visited Istanbul and was inspired to start this market concept. After meeting with one of her favorite textile designers, Elizabeth Hewitt of Tulu Textiles, whose fabrics she uses in her residential design projects and whose bedding and products she carried at her former boutique San Francisco Hayes Valley boutique and now represents again, Jeannie embarked on a tour of some of the city’s best textile sources.
Steeped in history, the ancient city of Istanbul bridges the East and the West, geographically straddling Asia and Europe. As the convergence point of many cultures, the goods offered in the Istanbul markets span a wide range of styles, but the intricately embroidered silk suzanis from the Central Asian region and densely-piled wool and mohair tulu rugs from the Anatolian region caught Jeannie's eye during her visit.
Swooning over the rainbow of colors, fine craftsmanship, dramatic patterns, and rich textures, we put together our favorites to make the Istanbul Collection, which includes pillows, tapestries, rugs, and furniture. Vintage suzanis can be used on their own while others are made into beautiful pillows or expertly upholstered onto ottomans. Tulus are also tapestries or can be used as rugs, some flatter and others thicker.
