From a beautiful domain in Vladslo she has been running 'Ingrid Lesage Creations' for seventeen years. That small company near Diksmuide supplies table linen, bed and bath linen at the top of the hotel world. From the Four Seasons to the Ritz in Paris, they all knock on this grande lady's door. Time for a good conversation.
"Did you know this castle is 800 years old?" She asks with a broad smile when I compliment her on the peak condition of the beautiful building. "The Earl of Flanders has lived here," our hostess proudly tells us. She takes me for a short tour and in every room she has a story. "Ingrid Lesage laughs deliciously as she tells it. When we arrive in her office, she observes graciously that in all probability the Countess's bedroom was here. "Someone was even murdered here once, an ex-colonial," she says. If one thing is clear, the building in which Ingrid Lesage Creations is located hides as many stories as our elegant hostess herself.
As a young woman, Lesage went to work for a champagne house for a year to master her French perfectly. After further studies in England & Germany she returned to Belgium to enter working life. At a time when this was not yet en vogue, she started a party rental company under the name 'Picobello'. Business never deterred her. The woman who turned hotel linen into her business comes from an entrepreneurial family - her father was a window manufacturer. Even though he was primarily a family man, he gave her the idea that taking risks can lead to beautiful things. No wonder she would follow that path herself. "My husband and I used to divide fashion brands and every two years we'd have a theme party. Everyone had to be dressed up, we really put a lot of time into it, only we didn't find any material that was nice enough, so we bought it. Because we had it after all, we started renting it out. We rented out beautiful things, a bit more contemporary than what people were used to back then. With my coloured napkins and beautiful cutlery I attracted potential customers. We grew steadily and now my children have taken over the business. And they're doing a good job. Renting is hard work, always stressful, but you work for customers who party, that's fun".
But the hotel business beckoned. She always loved to go to nice hotels, if only to have a coffee. To enjoy the beauty of a luxury hotel, its elegance and refinement. As a child, she already loved beautiful things, although she doesn't think she got her sense of aesthetics from home. "One day, a friend advised me to read the book The Blue Ocean. It poses the question of how you can start something new from two things you know well. I already knew the world of receiving and the world of fabrics. I thought: I'm going to design a collection of 'exclusive table linen & chair covers' based on that".
And so it happened. The first two years were very hard, says Lesage openly. "In the beginning, I didn't have any customers. For my first trade fair in Paris, I had a minuscule stand between all those immense tooth holders. My fellow competitor from Paris suggested coming to work for him. But I refused. I absolutely wanted to do it on my own".
That first fair left her with a few smaller hotels as clients. By no means the absolute top for which she now works, but the seed was planted. "My first client was the Brussels Hotel Le Plaza. I had some nice pictures taken of our creations and hung them on my stand the next year. That helped. I also had a reference card made with the names of the hotels I had worked for on it, in large letters, so that the sheet got filled anyway". (laughs) One reference led to another, and so the network and customer base continued to expand. Seventeen years she's been doing it. Even though it took a few years for the company to get really good. "The hotel business is like a spider's web. If a wire breaks, you have to find a new one... People change jobs or move to another hotel... Obviously it's not".
Even though her reference list now includes a number of absolute top hotels, which she contributed to the total renovation of the Parisian Ritz, is perhaps her greatest achievement to date. "Being able to do that gave me a euphoric feeling. The hotel is the pinnacle of elegance in the classic style. Four years before the renovation I went there with my business card for the first time. It didn't look like we could ever work for it, but together with our team we stayed focused and eventually we won the contract. We also worked for the Peninsula in Paris at that time. That was very nice.
I'll ask her about the way she works. What follows is an argument dripping with enthusiasm and passion. "We are first and foremost consultants who develop a concept and sensitise our customers with the right moods. Our collections are a greenhouse of ideas and fabrics inspired by the world of fashion and design. We also pay a lot of attention to the local colour and atmosphere of each hotel.
We immerse ourselves in local history, architecture and customs. Based on all this information, my employees then make a presentation. In this way, every project is unique". Their inspiration comes from fashion. From flowers and colors as well. That sounds idyllic, but the practical reality must not be lost sight of. For example, haute couture fabrics are not used because everything must be washable and the price must not be too high. Even for a top hotel, the set budgets have to be respected.
"Nowadays hotels want a lot of colors. A lot of variety too. Every place has to be different". Our production is realized in different European companies. And this especially "to be able to guarantee the quality and speed of delivery". And that's the high word. Quality. "Quality can be many things. To me, it means elegance. Something you like to see or feel, like a beautiful fabric. It's finesse. Beauty. "There's still a lot of elegance in the world, I think." Sometimes it's in the simplicity. Seeing a beautiful wooden bench in nature can be very elegant. And that doesn't have to be expensive and rich, on the contrary".
It is with this special sense of elegance that Ingrid Lesage Creations has also found its way to the private market. "We are fortunate to have some top entrepreneurs from home and abroad among our customers. And also some royal houses. For example, we have already supplied chair covers for the famous 'Bal de la Croix Rouge' held annually by Prince Albert of Monaco. And we supply bed and bath linen to the most beautiful places in the world. The uniqueness of our products, our creativity and exceptional quality appeal to the imagination of these people" I ask for
its values as an entrepreneur. She shouldn't think about that for long. "My employees are the most important thing. They are unique, versatile and love their job, I insist on that. We take care of each other here. It's best in a small firm. I'm certainly not a hard aunt. There is more to life than strictly following rules". As an entrepreneur she wants to do what she likes to do in the first place, I hear. Even if this sometimes leads to hectic situations. "Sometimes we have a conference call with a contact in Canada, where it's morning. And then we hang out with somebody from Asia. We have to be flexible, yeah. But that's in my blood, too. We are currently working on a project for a hotel in Kuwait. Well, by the end of the month they want to have received all the samples, whereas it usually takes six weeks to produce them. But we'll make sure they get there on time. Believe me, by the time we get a job, the biggest job has actually happened".
Unbelievable but true: her team consists of no more than four employees. They're all women. Is that a coincidence? Lesage shakes no, although she doesn't know if women have a different view on things. "We all have a great sense of sophistication. And we're all very down to earth. We're not madames. My assistants are my back. And vice versa, I take care of them. We're like family to each other."
I'd like to know how many hours a day she works. She has to smile at that question. "That used to be extreme. I've been balancing it a little better lately. Dare I take half an hour off in the afternoon. I still work a lot, but I've made a carpe diem feeling happen in my life. After my husband died, I found out that life is a breeze. So I don't say no more when something nice is proposed".
Noteworthy: in the United States there are -for the time being - no customers yet. "I'm two years oldago moved to Las Vegas, to the biggesthotel fair of the world. The U.S. is a hugemarket, but people are so different... I'm guessingthat we don't have the style of them. Whether the time ismaybe not ripe for it yet, so can you.seen. I'd love to, even if I did havewe still have a lot of work to do in other parts of the world.
It's not a priority, but I'll shut it down for sure.not out". And then comes a small charge of self-criticism.She's a microthinker, she says. Not so busywith plotting major strategies. "That'snot my greatest strength. I'm always more of ahave been doer".
And that's noticeable, because business is crawlingwhere it can't go. At the beginning of this year she foundedwith one of her children, Ma Pochette,a company that offers - nomen est omen - pochettes."Everybody's talking about recoveryand the climate... we wanted something concrete therejoin in. "From our excess dust we made likeChristmas gift for our best customers pochetteswith their initials embroidered on it. One of mydaughters thought we should do a little more with that.do". And so it happened. The company is still in one piecesmall, but she's confident.
As we talk, my eye falls on a stuffed hare that has been given a prominent place in the living room. Her first hunting trophy, as it turns out. "I'm a jeune chasseresse," laughs Lesage. "I've only been doing it for three years. They were friends of my late husband's who convinced me to go hunting myself. As a relaxation I can really enjoy being in nature. I also regularly travel to England to visit beautiful gardens. My grandchildren relax me too, they're a godsend. And I have a circle of friends that's very useful to me. I can quickly relax and really enjoy". Although she's always looking for new opportunities. If Lesage is staying in a nice hotel to which she doesn't deliver yet, she will
always try to get someone from the hotel for a chat. Or at least ask for a ticket. "My eyes stay open for business," she laughs. I want to know what she's most proud of. She thinks that's a big question. One she needs to think about. "That I've been able to realize my wishes and my dreams so far," she says softly. "As a child, I dreamed of a home in a historic and illustrious setting, and look... I am privileged to be able to live here and to have a breath of fresh air blowing through the domain. I therefore hope that my soul will linger here a little when I will no longer be there myself".
Is there another dream project? She's thinking long and hard about this, too. To say she doesn't know right away. "I'm happy with how things are going now. I've found a good balance. And I hope that I can continue for many years to come with a healthy body and a healthy mind. I want to work for a long time, because what if I don't? You know, there will always be obstacles on my way, but I am convinced that everything will always be okay," she says philosophically. "To see my grandchildren grow up too... that would be wonderful."
Photography by: Birger Stichelbaut
