A Little bit of history

Provence has been making a fabric known as “indienne” cloth since the 17th century. This painted fabric came originally from the Orient. Eventually, an indienne fabric factory was established in 1818 in St-Etienne-du-Grès, a small Provençal village at the foot of the Alpille hills. 

In 1948, Pierre Boudin took over the factory and later on named it “Les Olivades” after a collection of poems by Frédéric Mistral. 

Since then, “Les Olivades” has become a family-run company that prints textiles evoking the richness and character of Provence using creativity and skill. They now use screen printing which allows the pattern to maintain its depth, charm and authenticity.

“Les Olivades” is the only company in Provence that continues this tradition of printing on fabric which began centuries ago in Marseilles.