Photos by Franck Schmitt
**This article is a direct feature from the May/June 2026 Issue of My French Country Home Magazine written by Olivia Hoffman and photographed by Franck Schmitt. To see more articles like this, be sure to subscribe to the magazine**
The sun beats down on violet-speckled fields, while the breeze carries a faint floral perfume. Across a table, freshly harvested stalks of lavender await assembly into wands that may not conjure magic but still cast a fragrant spell.
Since the 18th century, the fields of Provence have been cultivated to supply the perfumers of Grasse, France’s perfume mecca. The fragrances that emerge from this storied town are among the finest in the world, thanks in large part to the region’s exceptional aromatic plants. What is often overlooked, however, are the creative byproducts developed over time from this richly scented landscape. Among them is the lavender wand.
What is a Lavender Wand?
A Provençal art passed down through generations, the fuseau de lavande is a bundle of stems bent over the flower buds and carefully woven together to encase the fragrant blossoms. Originally created as a practical deodorizer and moth repellent for the home, the wand was meant to be tucked discreetly into drawers and armoires. Today, thanks to Elsa Lenthal, it has been reimagined as an object worthy of display.
Growing up in Les Baux-de-Provence, Elsa learned the tradition from her mother and grandmother, who crafted wands during the harvest to perfume their home. Seeing the inherent beauty in the finished pieces, Elsa felt they deserved more than a hidden life among linens.
As a teenager, she began refining the technique, incorporating elegant satin ribbons into the weave, and selling her creations at the local market each summer. Thoughtfully arranged in woven baskets and presented in an array of colors, her fuseaux quickly became beloved for both their aesthetic appeal and their functional purpose. What began as a seasonal pastime quietly marked the beginning of a lifelong devotion to this special craft.
Turning Lavender into a Business
Though wand-making remained a side project into early adulthood, Elsa’s passion for artisanal trades carried her as far as Cambodia and the Philippines, where she developed initiatives supporting textile crafts within local women’s communities. Yet it was her return to Provence in 2015 that became the true turning point — a homecoming rooted in her family’s lavender heritage.
Reconnecting with her ancestral savoir-faire, Elsa has since transformed her skills into a full-time business, creating lavender wands and other botanical décor products. In 2020, she planted 4,000 Grosso lavender plants — prized as the most aromatic variety — at the foot of Château des Baux in the heart of the Alpilles to meet growing demand.
The lavender is grown without fertilizers or chemical treatments, in careful respect of the surrounding biodiversity. Nearby, beehives have been installed among the fields, allowing bees to pollinate the plants and, in turn, produce delicately perfumed honey, enhancing the land’s harmony between cultivation and nature.
Each summer, Elsa and her small team harvest the lavender by hand to preserve the integrity of every stem. The flowers destined for wands must be woven the same day they are picked to retain their freshness, while others are dried for sachets, eye masks and pillows.
Leading Lavender Workshops
Beyond her handmade creations, Elsa also opens her lavender fields to visitors, hosting ateliers throughout the flowering season from June to August. Last summer, we had the pleasure of attending one of her workshops with a lovely group of women under the sparkling Provencal sun. While it may not have been wizardry in the literal sense, the experience felt undeniably magical — and the wands remain enchantingly fragrant months (and years) later.
Though our group arrived as near-strangers, we quickly bonded over our shared efforts at mastering the delicate craft under Elsa’s patient guidance. Each participant selected a ribbon color — sourced from one of the last remaining French ribbon mills — and began weaving the satin in and out of the supple stems. The process was meticulous yet meditative, made all the more soothing by the heady scent clinging to our fingertips.
Relaxing and restorative, the atelier left us with both a sense of accomplishment and a tangible keepsake. Today, my own fuseau rests at the base of a small olive plant I purchased in Provence that same weekend. Whenever I long for a breath of the south, I gently squeeze the wand, releasing its sweet perfume and transporting myself, if only for a moment, back to that sun-drenched field.
How to Support this Provençal Art
In preserving and elevating this humble object, Elsa has safeguarded a precious artisanal heritage — revaluing traditional savoir-faire and offering a thoughtful, sustainable path forward for the craft. For those wishing to discover this historic Provençal tradition firsthand, Elsa hosts workshops on select weekends from June through August and is also available for private group ateliers upon request.
You can purchase Elsa’s lavender products on her website elsalenthal.com (she ships worldwide!) or you can book a lavender wand-making class with her by writing an email to contact@elsalenthal.com or sending a direct message to her on Instagram @elsalenthal.