Walking into Créme de la Créme at 907 King St., in Old Town Alexandria is like walking into a European boutique in a century-old village. You’ll find all sorts of unique home-decor, gift and tabletop treasures from sophisticated Italian brands (such as Vietri vases) to whimsical ceramic Guinea Hens crafted in the South of France.
Owned and managed by Tara and Ben Wegdam, residents of Marshall, Va. just outside of Middleburg, the Alexandria store location, formerly home to Mackie’s restaurant and bar, opened after renovations in the spring and held its grand opening in July. It joins its sister locations in Middleburg, Leesburg, Richmond and Frederick, Md.
Tara and Ben met years ago as students when Tara, a student at Hollins University in Roanoke, was studying French in Paris. After graduating, she rejoined Ben in The Hague in the Netherlands and eventually opened The French Shop, which got its name from her great-grandparents’ shop of the same name in Murfreesboro, Tenn., where Tara grew up.
All in the family
“When I was a little girl they would do these things for Christmas, they would have a xylophone, and play that every Christmas and we would twirl around in the window like we were mannequins,” she said.
Tara’s mother, Karen, had a shop upstairs at The French Shop called The College Shop. “She’s got great taste in clothes,” Tara said. “She branched out on her own and opened her own shop called The Village Square, catering to the college crowd.”
So when Tara decided when she was 25 living in The Hague to open a shop, “I just thought ‘That’s what you do.’ It started out as The French Shop, since Tara often traveled to Provence with her mother looking for items for the boutique and “drove things back to Holland. I had a lot of American customers. A lot of them are only there for three years and they want to get all of the European stuff before they leave.”
Expanding the business
After adding items from Norway and Italy, The French Shop became Créme de la Créme - because they also sold items from Italy and Norway. “Even though the name is French, it could be anything,” she explained.
Eventually, Ben and Tara returned stateside, where Ben continued working for a Dutch conglomerate. About 15 years ago, he joined Tara to help run the business and open new locations.
“I love Alexandria, I’ve always loved Alexandria since we came here for the first time when we were first visiting,” Tara said.
“Ben is the only reason these multiple concepts are possible,” she said. “He’s a great manager of the business. I would only have one or two if it was just me.”
Holiday shopping
There are plenty of tableware and gift options at a variety of price points. “Some of my favorite things cost $10, like we have these little wine cork safes,” Tara pointed out.
For a hostess looking to change up a holiday table or add to it, you’ll find full sets of unique dishes and full sets of glasses. “You can get 18 glasses today of the same glass,” she said. “That’s something you cannot do online immediately, if you want something special.”
The boutique’s best-selling item is the Créme de la Créme Large Signature Candle in a variety of scents including Fresh Cut Fir. “The reason they like them is they really fill a room with scent and it lingers,” Tara said. "That is very popular during Christmas.”
