Mireille Nett at her Farmers' Market booth

Featured Business
Les Couleurs de Provence
by Virginia Bruce

The climate in the Provence region in the south of France is similar to that of western Oregon. That’s one of the reasons that Mireille Nett loves Cedar Mill. She moved here from France with her husband and two children in 1997.

Nett met her husband, who grew up in the Hood River area, in Provence where he was working as a scuba diver. They married and had two children there. They decided that they wanted their kids to have a bilingual education, so on a vacation to Portland, Nett looked in the phone book and found two French-American schools. She talked to the head of the French-American International School (FAIS), which was located in the Sylvan area at that time. She had an interview the next day and was offered a job teaching Physical Education.

Six months later she and the family had moved to Cedar Mill, and she developed the curriculum and started teaching PE to elementary students, which she still does. FAIS is now located near Cedar Mill on Barnes Road. (See faispdx.org for more information about the school.)

Missing the street markets of her former home, in 1999 she discovered the Cedar Mill Farmers’ Market that had just been started by Leilani Esping. She asked if she could sell the vibrant fabrics of Provence at the market, and a business was born. She was confident that they would be popular, because the six tablecloths that she had displayed at a FAIS festival were snapped up right away.

Since 2000, her colorful booth at the Cedar Mill Farmers’ Market has been filled with tablecloths, napkins, and other table accessories; lavender for fragrance; Herbes de Provence for cooking; dresses and skirts for girls from three months to eight; plus clever plastic bag holders. She also sells a few items at Versailles in the Pearl, and at a store in Sellwood.

This fall she’ll be at the French-American School Holiday Market on December 5 (we’ll have more information on that in the November issue). She’ll also be at the Leedy Grange Holiday Bazaar (November 23-29) and she and her business partner will have an Open House sale on November 7-8 in her partner‘s house near Cedar Mill Elementary.

More information about her products and about sale locations is on her website, lescouleursdeprovence.com. She also sells most of her products on the website, which was developed by a friend. The site includes a delightful video about the history of Provençal fabric, as well as fabric care information and more. It can be a bit slow to load, so be patient.

Nett sews many of the items herself from bolts of fabric. She can special-order yardage if a customer wants to make curtains or other items.

In addition, she welcomes shoppers to visit her at her home by appointment. She also sets up party sales in customers’ homes. The host gets 15% of the total sales in merchandise, and guests can enjoy wine and French snacks while they shop for these original gifts. What a great idea for relaxed holiday shopping!

Some of the tablecloths come already made up, along with the girls’ clothing, and she just received a new shipment of embroidered kitchen towels. The tablecloths are coated with a special plastic film that can be wiped clean, but they also may be machine-washed and dried. This makes them very practical for everyday use, although they’re beautiful for special occasions too. Most tablecloths are available with matching napkins. All of the fabrics are 100% cotton.

The fabrics of Provence use many motifs from nature. Bees, lemons, lavender, olive fruit and leaves, wheat, sunflowers, and poppies appear frequently. Vibrant colors of blue and yellow, reminiscent of the sea, sky and fields of Provence, are typical, but many patterns come in several color combinations. What they all seem to have in common is that they make you happy to look at them!

Colorful plastic-bag holders and girls' sundresses hang in Nett's workroom.

Nett imports her goods directly from France, working with three wholesalers there. Her orders are shipped by air, and she uses a Portland shipping broker to handle customs.

Herbes de Provence is a popular blend of herbs used in Provençal cooking. The one Mireille carries contains basil, savory, rosemary and thyme, and she includes some recipes with the package. This blend is great in soups and stews, and for grilling meat and fish. Some mixtures contain lavender, but Americans don’t tend to like it as well.

She uses French lavender to make sachets, pillows and eye-cushions that block out light. The scent of lavender is very calming so it makes an effective sleep aid. She also carries bulk lavender for potpourris and tea and some great-smelling lavender soaps.

She was delighted to find that there are a number of people here in Oregon who share her love of lavender. The Oregon Lavender Association sponsors the Oregon Lavender Festival every July, “hosted by people having the same love for lavender.” (More information on oregonlavenderdestinations.com)

For several years, her booth included pastries from the La Provence Bakery in Lake Oswego. Last year, she “spun off” that part of the business to her son Johnathan who wanted some work, and so he and his girlfriend pick up fresh croissants, buns and other pastry items early every Saturday and bring it to the market. They sell out nearly every time.

Nett’s daughter Julia is a student at Sunset, and in addition to managing his Market booth, her son is a student at PCC and also works at a local restaurant. Her ex-husband passed away several years ago.

She visits her relatives in Nice and Provence every couple of years, which also gives her a chance to see what’s new in fabrics and other Provençal gift items.

Mireille says, “In this area you can also find olive trees, mimosa trees, lemon trees–all the wonderful colors and fragrance I grew up with.” In addition to the climate, Nett loves Cedar Mill because, “it’s a great place to raise kids. I feel safe and found here great neighbors that I know for ten years now, sharing recipes, wine tasting and great friendship. And everything is close and convenient, and not too fancy.” She would like to see us have a street fair in the summer sometime—sounds like fun!

She encourages you to schedule a home showing of her products to help you with your holiday shopping, or be sure to visit any or all of the holiday gift fairs she’s attending. Call her at (503) 679-1681 for more information or to schedule an appointment, or visit her website at www.lescouleursdeprovence.com

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