Claire Obry and Emilie Chassagne launched French Wink with one goal: to create a virtual home for French arts and crafts in the United States.
From furniture and jewelry to clothing and art, French brands looking to sell to Americans are right at home on French Wink. There are cashmere sweaters from Hector & Lola, slippers from TCHA, rings from Jean-Louis Casquette, and socks from Berthe aux Grands Pieds. There’s even LoveBox, who create boxes of sexy accessories (try saying that 10 times fast).
French Wink wants to be Americans’ go-to online destination when looking for something with a certain je ne sais quoi. So far, you can find 30 different French brands represented on the site, and you can purchase items directly from the online store.
Obry and Chassagne are dedicated to helping French artisans—they benefit from collaborating with other small businesses on shipping and storage costs. “We are here to support French small businesses who want to invest in the US market,” says Obry. “It costs them so much to set up shop here that it’s much better to cooperate with other people and share as much as possible.”
Even though French Wink is just getting started, Obry and Chassagne have plenty of ideas about where to take it next: pop-up stores are in the works for New York City, so don’t be surprised if you see one winking at you during holiday shopping season.
