34 boulevard Saint-Germain – 5th arrondissement, Paris

The birthplace of Diptyque, at the heart of the Latin Quarter, 34 boulevard Saint-Germain is steeped in history and imbued with fantasy, a place of poetic wanderings.

BOHEMIAN PARIS, THE CAPITAL OF BEAUTY

An iconic neighbourhood on the banks of the Seine, the 5th arrondissement typifies Diptyque’s art of living. By setting up shop in this Parisian district at once synonymous with beauty, a witness to centuries of history and a wellspring of remarkable expertise, the three founders had decided to put their ideals into practice.Like a raw material, this side of Paris is revealed only to those curious enough to recognise its value, rooted, as it is, in its remarkable history – from the Lutetia amphitheatre, inherited from ancient Rome, to the Ile de la Cité, and the art of gallery owners and the skills of craftworkers who set up their stalls and workshops here.A district that has always nurtured the quest for knowledge – from its booksellers to the Grandes écoles, from the Sorbonne to the Arts déco – after dark, it keeps spirits high until dawn in its cinemas, cafés, jazz clubs and cabarets.Meanwhile, the Jardin des Plantes wholeheartedly celebrates the world of nature. A fragrant herbarium, it invites visitors to amble through its exotic greenhouses and along its shady avenues.

"Welcoming the dawn at the Orphéon"

In this vibrant district, the Diptyque boutique stood shoulder to shoulder with L’Orphéon, which in the Fifties was a lively Parisian nightclub. Separated then but united today, its two bluish mirrored columns have been conserved, a reminder of a time when students, painters, actors and writers would meet in the same venue.

34 Boulevard Saint Germain – the essence of the Diptyque art of living

“Marchands de rien”: A concept store before its time

In their boutique workshop at 34 boulevard Saint-Germain, the three founders transformed, innovated and collected so brilliantly that they earned the name “marchands de rien”, or “purveyors of trifles”. This new trade was noted in Henri Gault and Christian Millau's 1964 Guide to Paris in a nod to the haberdashers of the Ancien Régime, described by Diderot in his Encyclopédie as “merchants of everything, makers of nothing”, who brought back fabrics and art objects from the East, which they freely refashioned, assembled and transformed.

It is a new kind of trade: purveyor of trifles. Introducing a newcomer to the fairytale kingdom for grown-ups: Diptyque.

Le Guide de Paris, Henri Gault and Christian Millau, 1964

A multifaceted space, 34 boulevard Saint-Germain was part home decoration boutique, part artist's studio and part antique emporium – and it fast became a must for lovers of art and design from Paris and beyond. With his experience on and off stage, Yves Coueslant, one of the three founders, breathed theatrical life into the boutique, which set the scene for his window displays. Here, the trio displayed their refined, geometric fabric designs alongside finds hand-picked on their travels. For visitors, it was a glorious jumble of Pollock theatres made of English paper, Japanese kites and German lanterns placed next to wooden figurines, bags and cushions, incense, potpourri and borosilicate laboratory jars filled with colourful seeds.
This extraordinary lair, where visitors never knew what treasures they might stumble upon next, reflected the wealth of influences the three friends shared. Although the “concept store” did not yet exist, it had just been invented.

A dreamlike space

34 boulevard Saint-Germain thrilled the senses by piquing the curiosity of its visitors, and inviting them to share in an epicurean art of living.

Stepping into the boutique was like opening a door into a world of imagination. Here, the senses were constantly stimulated. At a single glance, they were dazzled by the sight of so many astonishing finds, objects with intriguing shapes, and delicate materials that could only be fully experienced through touch. Visitors were exhilarated by the bottles of bewitching fragrances from English perfumers, which the Maison was the first in France to market, alongside the founding trio’s own olfactory creations, candles and eaux de toilette. From The Rolling Stones to Monteverdi, a stirring melody drifted from the gramophone. The trio’s eclectic musical tastes gave the space a unique soundscape, adding to its singular atmosphere. In 1966, Diptyque even played the exclusive cacophonous recordings of American singer Florence Foster Jenkins, whose brilliant career was matched only by her lack of musical sense, in a new and original approach to sound.

All of these shared passions were there to be seen, touched, listened to, inhaled, and felt. For visitors, it was like a timeless interlude: a point of departure for poetic wanderings.