A traditional fabric: kelsch
You couldn't come back from Alsace without bringing back a kelsch fabric, for example a tricoloured tablecloth (blue, white and red), striped or made up of checks, coloured using pigments of vegetable origin: pastel at the origin, then indigo for blue and madder for red. On linen or hemp fabrics, the lines and checks intersect and compose an infinite variety of geometric patterns: blue checks and white lines, red checks and white lines, white checks and blue lines, etc. Kelsch is also available in towels and bed linen.
You will find some of the Beauvillé brand, for more than two centuries in Ribeauvillé. In the largest embassies, the best restaurants and among all lovers of beautiful materials, Beauvillé signs top-of-the-range fabrics of irreproachable quality.
At Christmas time, think of the fabric of Mulhouse. With patterns and colours specially created each year by the stylist Marie-Jo Gebel, they are a tribute to the artistic creativity and technical innovation of the Mulhouse factories at the end of the 19th century. The designer draws her inspiration from fabrics from the archives of the Museum of Printing on Fabrics dating from 1887 and 1888.
Pottery
Many items of traditional tableware are made in two villages in the north of the region: Betschdorf and Soufflenheim.
In Betschdorf, the pieces are made of different clays which are shaped on the lathe, then dried and decorated. Engraved with a stylus, they are painted once dry with a coating mainly composed of cobalt blue. The whole is fired at over 1200°C and the glazed appearance of the pottery is obtained by a chemical reaction resulting from the projection of coarse salt during firing.
In Soufflenheim, the traditional colour is ochre. These potteries are made from clay from the forest of Haguenau, according to a tradition dating back to the 12th century. The difference with those of Betschdorf lies in the film of coloured clay applied to the dried pottery and then decorated using a barolet, a container with a quill at its end from which the coloured slip flows out. The pottery is glazed by sprinkling or dipping before being fired at 1 020 °C. This manufacturing process gives Soufflenheim pottery an often smooth and satiny appearance.
In Kaysersberg, Philippe Thomann, a potter craftsman since 1984, makes culinary moulds, kougelhopf, baeckaoffa, pie and cake moulds..A kugelhopf mould
You will find it everywhere, at the craftsmen of Betschdorf and Soufflenheim of course, but also in all the Alsatian shops. The recent kougelhopf moulds are now improved to be used in the oven, the dishwasher, and even in the microwave! But if you want to push the tradition further to make this cake, you will find old moulds at almost all antique shops and on the stalls of antique dealers, sometimes even made of copper.
Art glassware
Until 1858, it was customary to hang apples on the Christmas tree. But that year, a great drought deprived the region of apples. That's when an Alsatian glass craftsman created the famous Christmas baubles! The glassmaking site of Meisenthal is composed of 3 structures: the International Glass Art Centre, the Glass Museum and the Glass Hall. Each year, the glass factory brings out a new collectible ball!
The Kaysersberg glassworks offers a whole range of glass articles: lamps, vases, bowls, animals, candleholders... for decoration and interior design.
You can also enjoy the exceptional pieces from Lalique in Wingen-sur-Moder, but beware, budgets are more important.A Pretzel Airlines T-shirt
It is the brand of humorous clothing par excellence. You will find in the Alsatian shops a large choice of T-shirts with creative and humorous visuals and offbeat souvenirs. Logos are hijacked and it is particularly original. With these innovative and humorous creations, which are constantly renewed, you will show your pride in being Alsatian in an offbeat and noticed way.
Food
Alsace wine, of course! It is the easiest gift to find with fruit-based Alsace brandies and liqueurs. Also take along a good vacuum-packed sauerkraut garnish for easy transportation, bredalas and gingerbread from Gertwiller, a jar of rosehip jam made with wild rosehip fruit, a good vacuum-packed farmer's Munster and a kougelhopf and you will have a beautiful basket garnish! Many shopkeepers will even offer you to join the afficionados who then get the gourmet products sent to them because you quickly become addicted! Also think about the recipe books!
Some other little gifts
The Suzel white wine glasses with their characteristic green feet are a must, they are the best glasses to enjoy your Alsatian white wine. They not only look good, but are also better designed to take advantage of all the aromas of Alsatian wines. For beer lovers, don't hesitate to take in your luggage a mug, in glass or stoneware with a pewter lid. In Alsatian, schoppe
means "large beer glass". For a long time, it was customary for a soldier finishing his active service to be offered a mug decorated with various motifs recalling his engagement.Also think about taking a stork plush for the children (and the older ones) or gadgets with Hansi motifs or the colours of the European flag so dear to Strasbourg. Of course, the locals will surely laugh, especially if you adopt the stork in a hat, but you might as well play the discovery game to the fullest!
The traditional Christmas decorations sold at the Christmas markets (baubles, small wooden objects, Advent wreaths, garlands, table decorations, candles, etc.) will win you over. All year round, they can be found at Magie de Noël in Riquewihr or Un Noël en Alsace in Strasbourg.
Hearts in Alsace symbolize hope, a good omen, and are often represented on shutters, doors, half-timbering, etc., but also as decorative elements to hang or hang up, in fabrics, wood or metal. It's a classic!
Send postcards to your loved ones. With must-see monuments, storks or Hansi characters, you'll be giving them a friendly wink before they even get home.
