paris and santons: seeking help from someone IN paris......

jenn

I'm not French but I collect santons. Very Happy

It has something to do with early childhood memories. For those who don't know, these are the little traditional nativety figures made of clay and handpainted. Unlike the American nativety which just has the family, santons include all the sorts of people one might find in a french village---from priest to baker to goat herder to cheese maker to truffle hunter, etc etc etc. I think they originated in the South of France but are now all over.

Prior to having a family, I would take my holiday in November and would manage a bit of santon shopping at Samartaine in the pre-Christmas season. One of the makers always came up and had a special Christmas booth with Santons for sale and I would, uhhh, go a bit crazy. Santons are not for sale in the US, at least not where I am.

Our trip this year will be post December 25 but pre-epiphany. In the US, thats considered to be post-Christmas as no one pays attention here to epiphany [heck, lots of people rip down their Christmas tree on Christmas day]. But I have heard that the first week of January is still part of the Christmas season in France.

So does anyone in Paris know if they will still have the holiday stuff up at Samartaine and other department stores after Christmas day? We arrive on New Years day.

I guess I am curious as to whether there will be decorations up as well as if I will be able to expand my collection. I confess, i found a picture of a santon of an escargot hunter and I am lusting to add him to my collection. If you have any ideas of shops that sell Santons in Paris that would be great to know too.

Thank you!

georgia · Joined: 16 May 2006 Posts: 456 Location: california

Jenn, you do not say where you are in California, but if you are in the northern part, there is a lovely little shop in Walnut Creek call "La Lavande" that carries all things French. They always have santons on hand as well. The selection is rather limited and is pricey (U.S. prices), but they ARE there, which is better than nothing!

Good luck...from a fellow santon collector.

suzy · Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Posts: 80

La Samaritaine is closed!

jenn · Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 7:42 am Post subject: santons and samaritaine....

okay, well the closed is a bummer but it seems to be a temporary sort of thing ---
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4082272.stm

so is there somewhere else in Paris that I can buy santons on january 1-2-3??????

alas, i'm not in northern cal but the southern end.....

Debbie · Joined: 21 Feb 2005 Posts: 861 Location: Paris

I would say that Galleries Lafayette and perhaps Printemps would have them. Cannot be exact as I have not paid attention.

There are a number of christmas deco type sections in the marche des fleurs on Ile de la Cite. They did have wooden handpainted decorations, but not sure if the ones you are after.

Otherwise the touristy areas might have them. Try the top of Butte Montmartre near the Sacre Ceour, and the base near metro Anvers. There are heaps of shops there that sell trinkets and decorations.

Le Bon Marche might be another option.

Sad, but true, Samaritaine will be closed for at least 5 years..... if it does ever reopen as a department store.... there is talk that the owner wants to turn it into a luxury hotel, which caused a huge scandal when the news became public. I never bought anything there, but liked to wander and admire the inside of the building. Very beautiful.

Last year they had a Christmas Market around the outside of the building and they had all sorts of things there. Maybe that might be a good place to head to?
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David · Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 4:05 pm Post subject:

Samaritaine closed Crying or Very sad

Such a marvelous beautiful interior!
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minty · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 140

Well, I've just read in the newspaper that Christmas lights in paris will stay on till the first day of the sales, that is the 18th of january !

actually, it's good that you come after Christmas, because that means most of the decorations (santons included) will be on sale !
Debbie has good suggestions, I would say Galeries lafayette and printemps too.... and almost everywhere, in fact, even in the stores such as Monoprix for instance...neighbourhood small shops will be cheaper and have a more original choice than big department stores Wink

it all depends on which part of paris you're staying !! Very Happy

for the santons, you should contact one of the best makers, which is situated in Aix en Provence, called Santons Fouque Very Happy

they sell on line

http://www.santons-fouque.com/

jenn · Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 1:40 am Post subject:

pistache · Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 42 Location: Cannes, France

Just in case you find it useful, here is the site of another Maître Santonnier http://www.claude-carbonel.com/indexen.php?Main=en/santon.html

There are some beautiful santons down here in Provence made by local craftsmen, but you would really need to take a special break to see them all. There is a small village behind Nice, where every villager fills their window with santons, and there are cribs to be found in the most surprising places... Definitely worth a trip.... Very Happy

pistache · Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 42 Location: Cannes, France

The village I was talking about is called Lucéram. Here it is http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/alpmarit/luceram/luceram.htm

And here is some more info for anyone who is considering a Christmas trip to Provence http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/provpil.htm

And yes, I do work in the tourism business ! Laughing

madameshawshank · Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 11:10 am Post subject:

jenn, I know Marseilles isn't Paris....a few weeks back I was mooching in that city.....as the fish boats came in Wink

..fabulous...

walked and walked..and lo 'n behold I came across a sort of santon museum...Marcel Carbonel's collection...I was able to walk through the rooms and watch santons being made!

had a my-little-French-plus-charades-plus-a-little-English conversation with a lovely woman...she was making farmers...had an old French broom..and was ever so carefully selecting tiny pieces of straw to be used as a walking stick for each santon...I loved that she was wearing heels!!!!

another woman looked tired...she, working with clay...all by hand.

if you google Marcel Carbonel you'll be able to get into the website...
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"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

jenn · Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:26 pm Post subject:

madameshawshank · Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 5:21 am Post subject:

jenn...stop this travel talk this minute...a shade of green I'm turning...see, 10 weeks and I want moreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!..

give my love to France please...and hugs...and mercis in bucketloads
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"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

minty · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 140

well, you will need a train ticket Paris- Chartres, about One hour of travel , about 10 euros.

then another one Chartres -Versailles about 10 euros and one hour too

then you can go by RER from Versailles to Paris, which is another kind of ticket altogether.... Very Happy

stwaddell · Joined: 05 Jul 2007 Posts: 1 Location: Evanston, IL USA

There are two religious stores adjacent to St. Sulpice, both of which carry santons Carbonnel and others (some Fouque, Escoffier). One is Art et Religion at 12 rue Vieux Columbier and the other is Georges Thuillier at 10 place St. Sulpice. There is a shop near Notre Dame called Notre-Dame Cadeaux (19 rue dArcole) which also has Santons Escoffier.