05/21/2026
Just around the kitty corner from Port of Nice, we discovered a beautifully curated store containing all natural and sustainably sourced household goods, made using raffia, jute, terracotta and linens.
Raffia was a new material for me. Learned that natural raffia is plant-based and biodegradable, but note synthetic raffia exists and is made from extruded polypropylene (a plastic)
Raffia is a natural fiber harvested from the leaves of the raffia palm (Raphia species), native to Madagascar and tropical Africa, widely used in crafts, fashion, and horticulture.
France is actually the world’s leading producer of flax — the plant from which linen is made.
Normandy’s mild and temperate climate — with its balance of sunshine and rain — is ideal for flax cultivation, requiring no irrigation and minimal chemical inputs. Normandy alone accounts for up to 70% of France’s flax production, and France as a whole produces an estimated 61% of global flax supply.
Long before modern water filters existed, people across South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East discovered that storing water in unglazed terracotta pots made it better — the clay walls naturally leach trace minerals like calcium, magnesium, and iron into the water while simultaneously filtering out impurities through their porous micro-texture. It’s a quiet, two-way exchange between earth and water that has quietly sustained communities for centuries.
Thus, I was pleased to discover a terracotta lamp shade — the clay’s porous texture naturally diffuses light into a warm, ambient glow, transforming the quality of a room’s atmosphere in a way that glass or metal shades simply can’t replicate.
