The Founder
Véronique Gabai.
A life in a name.
French of course, with a passionate attachment to the culture, the refinement, the sense of aesthetics and the pure beauty of France.
Born in the Côte d'Azur, in Antibes.
Mediterranean by heart, by birth, by origins…
My Influences
My influences
My amazing parents shaped my values.
My mother was driven by the intense desire of freedom and personal independence, finding in French philosophy a reason to overcome the usual fate of young women in the sixties — a motivation to study, work and defy conventions.
A French woman by choice, in love with the culture, the art, the design and the fashion of french creators. She gave me my drive and a taste for beauty.
My Father
A free bon-vivant
My adventurous father visited France as a young man and found the place, Antibes-Juan les Pins, a ravishing little town for his family to settle down away from the turmoil of a Tunis fighting for its independence.
A free-spirit, a bon-vivant, a seductive man, and a family man, strong and sensitive. The first to cheer and the first to secure. He gave me his zest for life and his contagious optimism.
A childhood being nurtured, infused with the beauty of the place, the caress of the sun, the soothing strength of the sea.
Côte d'Azur
My childhood in the Côte d'Azur
Childhood memories of sunshine in the stunning Côte d'Azur. Antibes, Juan les Pins, Grasse, Cannes, St Tropez and the vibrant Mediterranean forests off the coast, in the "Arrière Pays", from St Paul de Vence to St Paul en Foret…
In hard times, hours spent looking at the waves to regain confidence. In good times, playful hours spent in laughter by the beach.
The Senses
And of course, is there a word for the scents?
Hours where without knowing, the senses were teased and educated — the taste of fabulous simple foods, the vivid colors changing by the minute under the sun and its moods, the sounds of the waves, the wind, and the music played in the streets all summer long.
From the orange blossoms in our garden, the jasmine sold by the Moroccans at night, the roses and the violets, the pine trees under which one would rub fingers with black resin, cracking open pine nut shells for an afternoon treat.
A Cosmopolitan World
Astonishing artists, and real people
A childhood with my wonderful sisters, in a secure and solid family, but also in a cosmopolitan and diverse environment where the summers were spent trying to understand all the languages spoken in the streets filled with tourists from all around the world.
Extravagant figures of society, astonishing artists, and real people were mingling day in and day out as if this was the most natural way of life — and the golden voices of American jazz singers, played live by the shore, were telling the torment of the soul, and calling me up for travels abroad.
The Journey
Many travels…
I wanted to discover the world and its people, other cultures, other forms of art, other expressions of creativity. And I spent many years doing just that.
Then, New York adopted me, gave me joy, my husband, my son, many friends and a career which allowed me to live my passion — touching people with brands, creating memories with scents. I put my heart and my art at the service of magnificent brands, larger-than-life founders, and remarkable companies.
Sunshine for the Senses and for the Soul.
The House
My brand
There was in my heart a calling, stronger than anything else, to express my own vision, my own values, my own lifestyle — one inspired by France and the Côte d'Azur, energized by the urban life of New York, anchored in Nature, Culture, Glamour.
My brand is rooted in values born in the Mediterranean: hedonism and humanism. With Nature at its core, it is inspired by its beauty, harnesses the power of its plants, and will always protect its future.
To add generosity to luxury, to add pleasure and magic to the experience, to add beauty to every day life. The kind of beauty that enchants the senses, and lifts up the soul. This is the promise of my brand.
The Inspiration
A place where the
sun is like gold.
There is a place in the world and my heart, where I was born.
A place of discovery, wonder and grace.
A place made of hedonism and humanism.