My Love for France in Scents, Colors, and Watercolors
People sometimes ask me whether Michelle Dujardin is my artist name. That always makes me laugh, because it isn't – Michelle (Nathalie) Dujardin is my real name. Another question I get regularly is whether I have French roots. It would have made sense – and I do associate watercolor painting with France – so it all fits together nicely. Although I’m not entirely sure where my ancestors originally came from, most of my family tree points to Brabant in the Netherlands and Belgium. Unfortunately, I speak broken French with a slight Dutch accent, which doesn’t get me very far.
It would have been great if I could speak fluent French with a name like mine, because I do have a special love for the country. I always feel at home in France – it’s a stunning country full of little villages, beauty, and nature. The food is amazing, and you can definitely wake me up in the middle of the night for French pastries. If you've read my Dutch book Het Zen Tekenboek, you might have seen that many of the drawings were made during my trips to Paris and the South of France.
What I also love about France is the strong appreciation for local and natural products. There's so much attention given to products that come from their own soil – and it shows. Whenever I return from a holiday in France, I make sure to stock up on products I can’t easily find in the Netherlands.
Luckily, there’s 'het Franse Warenhuis' (translated as 'The French warehouse'), a Dutch webshop where you can find typical French goods – especially scented products like soap, home perfume, candles, food, and more. This year, I had the pleasure of collaborating with them on a collection featuring my nature-inspired watercolors on two beautiful French-made items.
The first collection includes round soap bars – made in the Drôme region - in three wonderful scents: cotton, lavender and rose, for which we designed eight colorful packages with animals and flowers. These cheerful soaps are available individually via their webshop.
The second item is a series of scented sachets filled with dried lavender from France. Each paper sachet features one of four different designs, as you can see below. These are available for retailers through La Tulipe Jaune in TICA Venlo.
Want a chance to win one of these lovely French-inspired items? A giveaway is coming soon on my social media channels! The exact date will be announced in my newsletter later in May.👉 So make sure to subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on Facebook or Instagram – you don’t want to miss it. I can’t wait to share this little piece of France with you!
