In a world of mass production and shortcuts taken by brands to increase profit some unicorns refuse to compromise. And in this very first blog post on Shop The Château we would like to introduce to you one such special brand that aims to encourage a return for the appreciation of handwork and mindful consumption. 

Charmes au Quotidien seems like an odd brand at first. Founded in the United Arab Emirates, a country striving towards a never-ending rush for bigger and better, this small venture by two friends carries a French name and focuses on the uniqueness of artisanal work, sustainability and waste free production.

“It all started over a cup of coffee whilst talking about past trips to France” Charmes au Quotidien co-founder, Mila, explains.

 “Between talking about our mutual love for all things French we began a little moaning together about our inability to find authentic homewares and textiles locally. And then I remember saying - wait! You know how to sew! I love embroidery! Let's put these things together and share our dream with others!” adds second co-founder, Jana.

The very next day they began developing their brand and their journey started with a search for the perfect fabrics. Both Mila and Jana were determined that Charmes of Quotidien would have sustainability at the centre of every level of its philosophy. And in terms of fabric, this meant linen would be the most suitable choice. Linen uses less water in its production than even organic cotton and when living in a country built in a desert it makes perfect sense to conserve water.

 Surprisingly, they recount that there was limited familiarity with linen amongst many fabric suppliers who are used to high demands for brightly patterned synthetics. They were somewhat perplexed as to why someone would trade this for a naturally colored linen which wrinkles easily! 

“In the world of botox, wrinkles seem to be banned everywhere” laughs Jana, co-founder of Charmes au Quotidien. “Fortunately, that view now seems to be changing. Our belief is that wrinkles are beautiful as they hold memories and that's exactly what we love about linen - it has character, and every piece turns out unique” she adds.

Hand stitched embroidery goes hand in hand with this philosophy of uniqueness and also a strong ethical stance against mass machine production. “Embroidery is like painting, where you mix your colors to achieve a certain mood on canvas. Only with embroidery the strokes of a brush are replaced by threads. I always loved painting, mixing colors and textures and this has transferred naturally to our brand where every piece is uniquely hand embroidered” explains Jana. 

 Charmes au Quotidien works with limited quantities only. From the beginning Mila and Jana agreed that they were not going outsource their production as they wanted to ensure the highest ethical standards for their team and work. And so, all of their embroidery is done in-house and their pieces are works of true hand production with all of its “perfect imperfections” as they call it.

 Their products are created for those who are nostalgic about a dinner table decorated with linen pieces embroidered by your grandmother. And this is one of the reasons, in addition to being waste free, why they unanimously decided to avoid putting labels on their products. After all, when have you seen your grandma sewing a label into her own table napkins? 

Their line of products currently includes linen napkins and aprons as the founders believe the heart of all homes is in the kitchen and therefore this is where they decided to start their line. 

 Keeping in mind their passion for travels they have also developed a lingerie travel case to keep things organised for a weekend getaway and are now working on a collection of home wear, which given their philosophy of owning less, will include a range of versatile items for the day and night.

 We are so excited that Charmes au Quotidien is part of Shop The Château we can't wait to share with you more developments and new arrivals from this UAE brand with thoughtful French flair.  

Merci beaucoup for reading this post and we are wishing you a very bon weekend! We look forward to sharing our second blog post next weekend introducing another of our beautiful sellers. 

À bientôt,  

Karina and the Château Team x