At the end of 2022, the Casa Andrea concept store reopened its doors in the Old Town of Geneva, following months of work. On floors, the manager Raphaëlle Lota exhibits ceramics, clothing and jewelry, in what she likes to call “a cabinet of curiosities of modern times”. Before embarking on this entrepreneurial adventure, she had already accumulated a lot of pieces for the house thanks to her passion for flea markets.
“Collecting comes from my father, who was a history fanatic and liked to collect old furniture and paintings as well as porcelain,” says Raphaëlle in front of the collections of plates, dishes and glasses on display in her shop. Immersed in this chromatic stimulation, we can easily guess the inspiration that animates a woman for whom “tables are always festive tables”.
Her first shop, a grocery store where she brought back authentic products from her native Corsica to introduce them to Genevans, alongside her vintage collections of porcelain, soup tureens and antique plates, sees the end with the arrival of the pandemic. Later, when the opportunity for a beautiful arcade in the Old Town arises, she launches once more by creating a universe dedicated to tableware to which will then be added, at the end of 2022, clothing and accessories.
Cashmere from Scotland and Californian jewelry
Among these top-of-the-range brands are, for example, the Barrie label, one of the oldest cashmere knitting factories in Scotland, or the Jessie Western brand with its cowboy boots and colorful fringed coats. On the jewelry side, there are pieces made in California. These are the rings and pendants signed by Jacquie Aiche. With a dual cultural heritage inherited from her Egyptian and American parents, the designer merges imagery new ageMiddle Eastern influences and Native American relics.
The surprise is in the aesthetics built by the jewels presented. A gold fish sculpted by Alexandra de Rosier, a French jeweler who cut her teeth at the high jewelry brand Graff, sits alongside a Mystery Joy series inspired by Alice in Wonderlandwith an elegant series of spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs to wear.
Boutique Casa Andrea, rue Verdaine 10, Geneva, tel. 022 800 25 25. Mon 12pm-6.30pm, Tue-Sat 10.30am-6.30pm.
