The inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States has produced an avalanche of mementos and memorabilia from special coins to champagne flutes, from magnets to mouse-pads, from dog shirts to bobble-head dolls.

    However, one collectible the Obamas themselves might treasure most is a set of newly-minted commemorative tablecloths fashioned by the 88-year old, ultra-upscale Paris-based linen house of D. Porthault, favored by dignitaries and celebrities for decades. 

  The company has unfurled a unique and luxurious limited edition of tablecloths in honor of the 44th President, and if history is any indicator, they may be a much-coveted collectible in the future.

   The new tablecloths, accented with Swarovski crystals, were designed by D. Porthault’s owner Joan Carl and her Paris design team, and depict their artistic interpretation of the Washington, DC skyline - including the Capitol, the Washington Monument and other DC landmarks.

   Over the years, D. Porthault’s linens have been the choice of the likes of actresses Audrey Hepburn and Catherine Deneuve, the Rockefellers and the Fords, Winston Churchill, the Duchess of Windsor and Jacqueline Kennedy,

    In fact, some of the D. Porthault linens the former First Lady purchased actually found their way back to D. Porthault. Mrs. Carl bought back the linens for their sentimental value at a Sotheby’s auction a few years ago, along with a watercolor portrait of Jackie draped in D. Porthault linens in the London apartment of her sister, Lee Radziwell. 

   The famous linen entrepreneurs made their mark with innovative features such as screen-painting by hand, scalloped borders outlined in embroidery and lace trim.

    Mrs. Carl, who maintains a home in Southampton, is actively involved in all phases of the company, from the design of its new flagship store in Paris and its new boutiques in New York (on Park Avenue and in Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue), to the creation of its new production facility in northern France.
 
   She is also D. Porthault’s artistic director regularly working with its Paris in-house designers, including close friend and noted floral designer Jeff Leatham, and with teams creating new lines of lingerie and items for children.

Alexandra Tatrallyay
http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/obama-inauguration-spawns-luxurious-treasure-among-mementos-725226.html