Thursday, April 19, 2012

Shagreen



















I was first introduced to shagreen when I lived next door to Lille
my favorite place to buy home accessories. Now an online business, owner Lydia Lando 
showed me amazing designers--Lulu DK, John Derian, R & Y Augousti
 Hubs bought me the most divine shagreen box by R & Y. 
 Since then, shagreen has remained my favorite animal hide. 

 The stingray has a multi-patterned durable skin. The back bone
 which resembles clusters of white pearls
was thought to be a protector of good luck and prosperity. 
 Early civilizations used stingray skin to fashion armor and handle covers on Samurai swords.

Not knowing then of its history, 
once while visiting Lille I admired a shagreen pedestal table and asked the salesgirl
if water could be spilled on its surface. 
 After looking at me in judgement for a few seconds she replied, 
"Yesss...it's made from stingray afterall...".
Touche.

2 comments:

  1. L-O-V-E the green box! Do you know where to purchase???

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  2. That's the one I have! I love it too. If you scroll over Lille: a shop it's linked to their website. I don't know if they have that exact box to sell, but you can email and ask if they know where to purchase now. The maker is R&Y Augousti. Check their link out too, which is also under name in post.

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