OUR TRAVELS WITH MOYNAT TAKE US ALONG THE "ROUTE DE LA COULEUR"

Just over a year ago we started our journey with the Green Pebbles Blog, it wasn't long before we were  drawn into an adventure called MOYNAT.

As we've journeyed through the the historic streets of Paris, encountering all important monuments and buildings to the heritage of MOYNAT we knew that it would not be long before MOYNAT embarked on a journey worldwide, and of course it was bound to be an adventure associated with colour.

Moynat's Iconic Red Leather Trunk by Art Deco Forerunner Henri Rapin
Winner of the Medal of Honour at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in 1925

Colour has been at the heart of MOYNAT since the very beginning.  Indeed in the 1800s MOYNAT was already a step ahead of its counterparts offering lacquered trunks to match the exact shade of the automobile body.

Nowhere is this clearer than the iconic red leather trunk with its blue leather palm leaves designed by Art Deco forerunner Henri Rapin and awarded 13 prizes including the  medal of honour at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in 1925.

Join the Green Pebbles Girls as we follow MOYNAT 's journey on the ROUTE DE LA COULEUR, exploring unknown lands seeing for expressions of local colour and culture, where the pleasure of travel can be undertaken alone, as a couple or in a group.

The first stop is India, where as Ramesh Nair, Moynat's Artistic Director, reflects "people have come to looking for colour" since the dawn of time, and also where he grew up and eventually left to follow his dream in Italy and France.  

“I have lived on an island, on a mountain, in the jungle and in cities." Ramesh likes to say.  

All experiences that have allowed him to develop a unique sensitivity to colour, indeed, colour for Ramesh is the expression of spirituality and joy, and India is the absolute source of it. 

Ramesh has selected four colours to express different aspects of India.

Kerala Beach

Blue, which is the colour of the sea of his childhood in Kerala, where he returns each year. Bordered on the west by the Arabian Sea, the state of Kerala is a long and narrow finger of land in the south of India.

Colours from the Holi Festival

Yellow, for the marigold flower (also known as Calendula officinalis), is present in all Indian ceremonies, including weddings, and is treasured in Ayurveda. 

Marigold flowers are steeped in water to extract a brilliant yellow-orange colour, which is then used to splash people on “Holi” day, to wish them good fortune.

Rosemilk

Pink is the colour of rose-milk.  A childhood favourite of Ramesh, rose-milk is a sweet drink made from the extract of rose petals. 

“Travelling by train to Kerala as a child, we would stop at Shoranur station, the chief attraction of which to me was the rose-milk served there. A real delight.”

Swimming Elephant in the Andaman Islands
image via onebigphoto.com 

Turquoise, the celestial blue-green mineral found in India, evokes the limpid waters of the Andaman Islands, situated between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. 

For Ramesh, this wild archipelago is the most fascinating and beautiful place in the world.

The two-toned Moynat Cabas Quattro in turquoise and pink leather!

The first handbag to come out of this journey is the incredible two-toned QUATTRO in TURQUOISE & PINK!  A absolute must for this Spring Summer!

Handmade by MOYNAT's experienced artisans, using only the finest MOYNAT leather, the Cabas Quattro in two-toned leather is simply stunning and with its four distinctive handles  it looks innovative yet remains fantastically functional!

Like all MOYNAT handbags, the two-toned QUATTRO is available exclusively from MOYNAT s store on Rue Saint Honoré in Paris.

Close-up of the two-toned Moynat Cabas Quattro in turquoise and pink leather!