Owned and operated by mother + daughter duo Rhonda and Alexandra Pollock, Maison Blue is the area’s go-to for European-inspired home goods and antiques. From the moment you walk through the doors of their charming storefront, you’re greeted by hand-selected antiques and quality brands that evoke classic European style. Below we discuss the process of sourcing and importing these one-of-a-kind treasures, and how travel always inspires them to bring a little piece of history back home to Idaho.

TSG: One thing that we’re always amazed by is the vast (and constantly rotating) selection you have available at Maison Blue. Can you tell us a bit more about your sourcing process?

MB: Over the two and a half years that we have been open, we have developed wonderful relationships throughout the US with dealers who bring containers straight back from France, England, Italy, Belgium, and Sweden. While this allows us to streamline the process, we would love to one day go to Europe and source our own container to bring back to our hometown of Eagle.

TSG: When it comes to rare antique items tell us more about the logistics of tracking down an item on the road and finally getting it back to the shop?

MB: We definitely research and have a game plan before going to any venue to source our antique items. Sometimes you never know what you are going to find, so your game plan can change in an instant! We buy what we love and we buy in a large quantity so it makes shipping more cost effective. Over the past year our travel schedule certainly has been impacted. Typically we like to source in person at least twice a year, with updates to inventory coming directly from vendors throughout the remainder of the year. For the first time ever we actually sourced via FaceTime with one of our dealers in 2020. It certainly made it more convenient, but you can’t replicate that experience of touching and feeling items in person.

TSG: We’ve long admired “Mr. Peacock” who is proudly featured alongside you both in your TSG spread. Can you tell us the story of how he found his home at Maison Blue? 😉

MB: Mr. Peacock caught our eye the first time we saw him! We just love him (and he’s always so photogenic). He was part of our first sourcing trip when we opened and has been here ever since. It’s always a challenge to decide if he’s actually for sale or if he just needs to become the official mascot of Maison Blue!

TSG: What is one illusive item you always have your eyes out for when sourcing on the road, and what items tend to resonate the most with your clientele?

MB: Antique scales are an item that we are always on the hunt for. They are hard to find especially good quality ones at good prices. Our customers thankfully have such a wonderful eye for unique finds, which makes sourcing for the store such a pleasure. A few consistent favorites include a variety of vintage books, Gouda boards and antique French bread boards. We actually recently had a client that had asked us to keep an eye out for vintage pizza peels during a sourcing trip. That specific request surprisingly was challenging to find, but we got lucky and brought eight home to the store (and only have two left)!

TSG: If you had to pick only three destinations to source from, which locations would you choose and why?

MB: France, Italy and England are our top regions we love to source from. They have such a wide selection of styles and varied history. We love the authenticity that comes from each country and bringing that history home to Idaho really brings both of us so much joy.

Maison Blue is located at 50 N 2nd St. in downtown Eagle, and is open Tuesday – Friday from 11am – 5pm, and on Saturday from 11am-4pm. To connect with Rhonda and Alexandra online, be sure to visit the MAISON BLUE WEBSITE, where you can browse and purchase many of the items shown above. Also, be sure to give them a follow at @maisonblue for regular inventory and store updates!

– Jaclyn Reiss | TSG Boise Associate Editor