A conversation with / Elise Balzac

IN CONVERSATION WITH ELISE BALZAC ON THE ART OF GIFTING

Lee Mathews friend and collaborator Elise Pioch Balzac has the creative Midas touch – an inherent ingenuity that permeates everything she does and turns it into gold. By staying true to herself, she has become a beacon of style brought to life through her brand Maison Balzac, yet her personal choices are forever enviable in their own right. Ahead of the silly season, we sat down with Elise in her studio to ask her thoughts on the ultimate in stylish gifting – both experiential and otherwise.

What’s your earliest memory of a gift that changed your life?
I got given a musical red riding hood doll aged 3, I still remember it because it was playing "letter to Elise" and I grew up thinking the music had been created just for me.

What’s your approach to gift shopping? Plan, prep or last minute?

Absolutely last minute.

Your own candle making class has been credited as ‘life changing’, what’s one experience you’d put on your own wishlist?
I wish I could spend just one hour in Salvador Dali's house in Cadaques, Spain, with him and Gala, to see how they made all their craziest dreams happen.

Elise wears the Nellie Tunic and Nellie Pant.

What is one gift you’ll never tire of receiving?
I will always welcome a facial voucher, champagne and any hand written letters from my daughter.

And what is one you’ll never tire of giving?

I will never stop giving my favorite book: The Little Prince by Saint Exupery.

What is the one gift that will always have you invited back?

Some Maison Balzac of course :)

Christmas markets have become a huge trend – what has been your best market find?

I have never been to one but I am sure I would hunt down home made jam or raw honey. Anything home made!

We all know those ‘tricky-to-buy-for-impossible-to-please’ figures that can bring us ‘giftxiety’, what would you recommend to ensure they’re given something they will never forget?

I would give them an invite to a dinner in a restaurant of their choice in March, far from the madness, to be able to properly celebrate the first few months of the year together. It's a way to extend the magic of Christmas too!

What is the one gift you’d like to give yourself this year?

I am going to indulge in the biggest box of chocolate, enough to last me four weeks.

Elise wears the Virginia Top.

What’s your approach to holiday season dressing?

It's all about flat sandals, oversized dresses and salty hair.

Finally, what from Lee Mathews have you got your eye on this season?

So many pieces!! But the Nellie Tunic and Oakley Shirt Dress are high on my wish list.

Elise wears the Libertine Dress.

Elise Pioch Balzac

Photographer: Rob Tennent

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