Les Toiles du Soleil

Fittingly, “Les Toiles du Soleil” translates to “canvas of the sun” — indeed, one can think of no name more appropriate for this small French fabric boutique when strolling through its selection of vibrant, colorful custom-made home furnishings and accessory fabrics. 

The star of the show at Les Toiles du Soleil is clearly its 100% duck cotton fabric. This fabric is, perhaps, most famously known as the fabric used for the uppers of espadrilles, which is a traditional French casual flat heel shoe style that emerges particularly during the spring and summer seasons. Unconventional, however, is Les Toiles du Soleil’s update of the fabric with cheery, tropical stripes.

Sold at 72” wide, bolts of the boutique’s interior cotton fabrics are arranged against the walls in a variety of rainbows. A fabric called Collioure Safran is the very incarnation of exotic summer, with its bright marigold yellow striped by unexpected colors, such as subdued teal, pumpkin orange, and rose-pink; Can Artiste, darker but still playful, is a melody of mahogany brown, lime-green, and sienna lines. 

The styles themselves are generated by a French design studio, while the actual fabric is imported from the original France factory and woven on old-world European looms.

A smaller portion of the shop is devoted to the Sunbrella fabric. This fabric is fashioned out of woven acrylic threads, and its no-fade, no-bleed, anti-UV qualities and strength makes it ideal for outdoor use.  It, too, is available in 72” wide and sold at $78 per yard. The Sunbrella fabric is used for outdoor items such deck furniture, collapsible beach chairs, and accompanying pillows and cushions. 

Naturally, Les Toiles du Soleil features espadrilles: handmade and imported from France, and made for men and women alike. One can choose between the flat-heeled or wedge style, the traditional slip-on or the modern stringed style, and select from a variety of different colors. 

Just about anything one imagines can be made from the traditional cotton fabric nearly is, and created in close vision with interior designers: from minor interior accessories such as napkins, placemats, table runners and slip covers, to unique updates on yoga mat bags, computer cases, cosmetic bags, and notebooks. 
An in-store seamstress takes custom orders for any interior needs, such as duvet covers, curtains, and tablecloths.

The two home fragrances, respectively named Oliver de Boheme and Belle de Lune, add the finishing touch to the Les Toiles du Soleil sensibility with their light, sophisticated scent.

Les Toiles du Soleil remains a small family-run company stemming from a heritage as rich and colorful as its popular fabrics. Over 150 years ago, it was originally a factory by the name of “Sans et Garcerie” located in Saint Laurent de Cerdans, a little town in the Southwest region of France. A man named Joseph Sans transformed the factory into a force, making the town famous as the go-to place for handmade authentic espadrilles.  

In the 1990s, the factory was sold to a Mr. and Mrs. Quinta, who then renamed it using the name we know today — “Les Toiles du Soleil” — and updating the traditional fabrics with brighter, cheerier colors while staying true to its sophisticated spirit. 

Today, it is man-and-wife team Jean-luc Carrucciu and Sanduine Guibert that represent Les Toiles du Soleil, after their opening of the label’s first retail and showroom location in NYC during the winter of 2008. Poetically, the wife hails from the very Catalian region of the boutique’s original establishment and where the fabrics continue to be created.  

Decorators, designers, and homeowners seeking color and sun in their materials will easily find both, in generous quantities, in Chelsea’s Les Toiles du Soleil.