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Shopping in Provence

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Provence Shopping

Some of the smallest villages have their predatory claws unfurled these days, with every house a storefront overflowing with doodads and gewgaws on Provençal themes. Pottery mugs with good-luck cicadas and coasters of the famous sunflowers are the bastard children of legitimate crafts and products that are intrinsically Provence—boutis, intricately quilted cotton throws; richly textured Provençal fabrics in 18th-century reproduction paisley prints, put to legitimate use as skirts, curtains, and tablecloths; marvelously mild and natural savon de Marseille (Marseille soap); artisanal olive oils from the Alpilles; and if you acquire the taste, the sometimes exquisitely rendered santons, tiny terra-cotta figurines first made for Provençal Christmas crèches. The best santonniers have studios in Aubagne. More »