Mignon Faget: Ahead of Her Time
Mignon Faget is proud of her French heritage. She is a true French grande dame: elegant, refined and gentle.
A household word in design since the sixties, her career is being celebrated with a retrospective exhibit titled “Mignon Faget: A Life in Art and Design” at the Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge. The Historic New Orleans Collection originally curated the exhibit. The Baton Rouge exhibit was expanded to show new and important designs specifically related to the Bicentennial Celebration of Louisiana’s Statehood. (The exhibition will run through February 2012.)
A fifth-generation New Orleanian, Faget loves the art of adornment. Her jewelry graces beautiful women from New Orleans to the far reaches of the world, and yet it is her love of making the home beautiful that has led to her less-heralded home collection, which she has been continuously expanding since it began during the 1984 World’s Fair.
“It was long before the craze for all things fleur de lis when I created glasses with the now famous symbol,” she said. “The glass, along with bowls and plates embellished with shrimp and fish images, were instant hits and I have continued to produce regular home collections over the years.” Her most recent collection includes an ice bucket and glasses for the Louisiana Bicentennial Celebration.
It is especially interesting that Faget’s home collections have been companions to her now famous jewelry offerings. For example, when she created her popular banana leaf collection of jewelry, banana leaf napkins, placemats, hand towels and napkin rings soon appeared. “I am always inspired to add to my home collection as I develop each jewelry line,” the talented designer exclaimed.
Glassware has been one of Faget’s most successful ventures over the years. “Our Louisiana Bicentennial glassware is a standout, but nothing is more popular than the ones we created twenty-seven years ago with fleur de lis.”
Faget graduated with a bachelor’s degree in fine art, with a major in metalwork, from Tulane University’s Newcomb College. She studied pottery under Sarah “Sadie” Irvine (1887-1970),” the internationally acclaimed potter, and sculpture with Jules Struppeck (1915-1992) and Robert Durant “Robin” Field (1893-1979).
“Nothing has influenced me more than taking a recent course in botany from Dr. Steven Darwin at Tulane University,” she said. “I have enjoyed designing jewelry and items for the home using Louisiana flora as my inspiration, and taking a course from Dr. Darwin gave me a renewed appreciation of our plant life.”
Candles are another popular item in almost every collection for the home. There are glass candlesticks to go with the Hive collection and handsome pewter ones for Zamia. “I am pleased with the commissions we have received to create one-of-a-kind designs for special orders placed by nonprofit groups, carnival krewes, museums, and numerous charitable and nonprofit organizations,” the designer said.
Faget said she is especially proud of the money her products have helped raise for organizations such as the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and many others.
Of a career that has spanned more than four decades, Faget said with a smile, “I still continue to find inspiration in Louisiana’s elements including its flora, fauna, food, architecture, history and culture. I never lack for inspiration.”
Details. Details. Details. Mignon Faget 3801 Magazine Street – New Orleans – (504) 891-7545 The Shops at Canal Place – New Orleans – (504) 524-2973 Lakeside Shopping Center – Metairie – (504) 835-2244 Baton Rouge Towne Center – (225) 932-9783 (Fleur de Lis wine glasses are in limited supply.)