Maison Noël, Broderie

Overlooking the Place d’Iéna in the sophisticated 16th arrondissement, the shop windows of Maison Noël are enchanting. Colorful hand-embroidered butterflies flutter across a white organdy tablecloth, orange and red nasturtiums bloom on another. A layette motif of porcupines with yellow butterflies and balloons seems to tell a bedtime story, and a fine linen handkerchief with the outlines of a hydrangea is paired with silken twists in green, pink and coral and a spool of gold thread to inspire the nimble-fingered to practice their needlework.

Founded in 1883, Maison Noël met its destiny when it introduced fine hand-embroidery in 1910. Soon second-generation Edouard-Louis Noël had invented the famed “Noël lockstitch” and his seamstress wife, Jeanne, began creating elegant motifs reminiscent of the 18th century.

Today, Noël’s royal patrons include Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and Thailand’s Queen Sirikit. The Prince of Wales first glimpsed his Noël-embroidered coat of arms on the linens of his cradle. Guests at the Elysée Palace dine upon Noël’s exquisite hand-embroidered organdy and linen tablecloths, and international decorators like Alberto Pinto, Peter Marino and Jacques Grange commission special orders for clients.

“Our history is in our archives—13,000 motifs from all the designers who worked for Noël,” says owner/director Adeline Dieudonné. About 20 embroiderers ply their artistry on white organdy or linen batiste tablecloths and place mats with classic patterns including the blue, white and gold Lys et Chardon (Lily and Thistle) and Mimosa, in shades of soft yellow, green and gold. Among newer favorites are the rainbow- hued butterflies of Jardins Imaginaires (Imaginary Gardens), designed by artist and regular Noël collaborator Annabelle d’Huart.

Special-order hand embroidery is much like haute couture. Original motifs are drawn on finely perforated tracing paper, then stenciled onto linen, cotton or organdy with a fine powder called pounce, and finally embroidered by expert seamstresses. Another technique, the embroidery loom, involves the manual selection and arrangement of all the colored threads needed for a motif, and is used to embroider large numbers of similar designs. In a third, midway process, the expert hand of a seamstress guides the needle of an embroidery machine, allowing greater freedom and sophistication in the composition.

Noël’s signature style lies in subtle colorings on the finest linen, organdy, cotton voile, percale, cotton satin or cotton piqué. Existing designs may be customized with embroidered monograms, dates or names, or the Noël design studio can create original motifs to order. Additional embroiderers are recruited when special orders are large, “like a big yacht with ten staterooms,” says Dieudonné. “Then, it is decorated like a house with different color schemes for the rooms and linens marked with the name of the boat. At Noël, everything is possible.”

1 ave Pierre 1er de Serbie, Paris 16th, 01.40.70.14.63. website

Originally published in the December 2010 issue of France Today

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