About JDL

In reality, the heroine Jeanne d’Arc was a French peasant girl, who was finally burned at the stake, back in the year 1431. In spite of her youth, she managed to lead an army, crown a king and ignite that feeling of hope, which became a turning point in the century-long war against England. In her own words, it was a calling from God, which drove her forward. No other woman in the history of our time has suffered through as much as she. She possessed an extraordinary willpower and had a goal-oriented personality. She did not abide by contemporary “do’s” and “don’ts”. She went her own way and fought to the last for that in which she believed.

 

Our own story is not quite as dramatic and fantastical as Jeanne’s. Nevertheless, it is still interesting and a fairytale in its own right, not least in times of crisis. We started our little enterprise seven years ago. The foundation, and this is one of the ONLY foundations which we think should always be there when you start your own company, was that we simply had to do it! It was a dream and we did not know if we could fulfil it at the time. But we just had to try it out. We have no formal background in either the magazine or the wholesale business. So in those terms, it was something of a gamble. But we believed in it then and we believe in it now! We reflect upon things and go with our gut feelings. But you cannot run a business on gut feelings!!!! Yes you can – and we are the living proof. We have never spent fortunes on marketing analysis and other hoity-toity pursuits.

When we use her name in connection with our enterprise, it is first of all with the greatest feeling of respect for this remarkable woman. But it is also because she demonstrated bravery and a force of character from which we can all learn something – even 600 years later. We should all have the courage to carve out our own path and dare to stand apart from the crowd. From the very beginning, this has been our greatest goal here in the company. We are continuously trying to think "outside the box" and we also fight for what we believe in. As a matter of fact, no one really knows what she looked like. All pictures and drawings of her are different. We have come into possession of an old rendering depicting her. It goes without saying that we had to use it for a product line.

We have always been interested in the fascination with lifestyle, home décor and landscaping, but we have never been the ones to just jump on the latest fashion trend. We have always gone our own ways and our creativity has been great. Second-hand items and treasures from the flea market are a big part of our lives. Ever since we were kids, the joy of “hunting up” and finding unique objects has been almost impossible to put into words. We have the same feeling when we are restoring an old piece of furniture or patinating it. We feel that vintage pieces with soul and which tell a story are indispensable in our lives. As a natural extension of this, the French country style has always been close to our hearts.

Jeanne d’Arc Living was founded in 2004. In the beginning we wrote freelance articles for Danish and international children’s, interior decorating and lifestyle magazines. Then as now, our little niche and greatest passion was the Nordic country style – with a dash of French inspiration. When we first began, this trend was not nearly as popular as it has become today.