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Philosophy

Hand Made • Legacy • Enviromentally Safe

At le gracieux, great care and time has been devoted to producing a line of fine printed linens that possess a look and feel of antiquity. We use hand made materials and procedures that have been employed through the ages.

Our hemp and French linen fabrics are hand harvested in much the same way they have been for centuries. They are hand printed and dyed at our own facilities on a fabric that is naturally beautiful, durable and safe for the environment.

The final product is one that is truly gracious and worthy of the name le gracieux.

"le gracieux" (pronounced luh gra-si-eu) is literally translated as "the gracious." The term is borrowed from an essay by French author Montesquieu in which he discusses the many degrees of pleasure into the arts.

"These are the various pleasures of the soul that form the objects of taste, like the beautiful, the good, the pleasant, the naive, the delicate, tender, the graceful, the indescribable, the noble, great, the sublime, the majestic, etc."

~ Essay on Taste in the things of nature and art, Montesquieu

"Ce sont ces différents plaisirs de notre âme qui forment les objets du goût, comme le beau, le bon, l'agréable, le naïf, le délicat, le tendre, le gracieux, le je ne sais quoi, le noble, le grand, le sublime, le majestueux, etc."

~ Essai sur le goüt dans les choses de la nature et de l'art, Montesquieu