Ruth Ribeaucourt
Founder & Owner, The French Muse
Irish born, but French at heart, jewellery designer, antique textile dealer, European contributor to Where Women Create magazine and travel guide Ruth Ribeaucourt finds beauty at the French flea markets and shares her treasures with admirers across the globe. Whether living vicariously through her Instagram, or joining in on a bespoke travel experience with The French Muse, Ruth treats her followers and clients to the privy secrets of Provence.
Before moving to Provence, Ruth was marketing & publicity manager for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (Ireland). She has extensive experience in International event management, artist & talent management; publicity & communications.
Ruth currently manages communications for the haute couture ribbon company, Julien Faure and is a freelance PR consultant for heritage companies, artists & makers.
You can listen to my story unfold here on the UnPaused podcast Episode 6 Part 1 & Episode 6: Part II
““For me, The French Muse is about travelling deeper, seeking thoughtful and singular journeys that get to the heart of Provence and its culture. I felt this need to create a more authentic and exclusive travel experience, which was focused on nourishment, creatively and physically. It’s really genuinely exciting to be the conduit that brings people together from different generations and backgrounds, to create an experience where it is essentially about meaningful human interactions and connections.” ”
The Story Thus Far...
Fourteen years ago, I visited the sleepy hilltop village of Lacoste for the first time. Twenty four hours in and fate intervened, a handsome Frenchman crossed my path and it was as the French say, un 'coup de foudre', no-turning-back-love at first kiss. Much to the shock of his family, my brave Frenchman left the land of fresh and plentiful unpasteurised cheese for Ireland and the love of an Irish girl.
Two wet Irish winters later we tied the knot and in 2010 the little Franco-Irish 'merveille' Louis joined our family. The arrival of our beautiful boy made us crave a simpler life, one which enabled us to spend more time as a family, and to live life more passionately and not feel like we were commuting the years away.
So in the depths of a dark Irish October in 2010 we left everything behind, careers, big city life, our home and wonderful friends, for Provence. Since moving to France, I have been collaborating with my French familys company, the celebrated haute couture ribbon makers, Julien Faure of St. Etienne, to create Rubanesque, one of a kind jewellery, embellishing echantillons from the familys 150 year old silk and passementerie archives with vintage beads & found objects.
Through this collaboration, I have had an incredible opportunity to discover the world of silk and French textiles. It is not just the warp and weft that draws me in but the whispers of stories woven into these threads, stories of a tribe, from the silk worm workshops in the Luberon to the passementiers of Saint Etienne.
I love the Henry Miller quote “ One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things.”
In 2015, I created The French Muse, to offer unique, intimate travel experiences, taking travellers off the beaten track and inviting them to experience life as a local. For me the most exhilarating part of travel is the human connections we can hope to make.