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After 30 years, a beloved French shopkeeper prepares to close her doors; ‘I realized my dream’
Danielle de Ville d’Avray Tester has run her store in Blowing Rock for 30 years. She plans to close by the end of the year and says she cherishes getting to know her customers. (Photo: Tony Mecia/The Mountain Ledger)
When Danielle de Ville d’Avray Tester opened De Provence et d’Ailleurs in Blowing Rock in 1996, she figured she might run it for five years.
Thirty years later, she’s finally ready to leave.
At the end of this year, the French-born shopkeeper plans to close the little store where she has spent three decades selling French antiques, linens, soaps and other goods — and, perhaps more importantly, getting to know generations of customers.
“I have seen the kids when they were that age,” she said, gesturing the height of a child. “Then they get engaged. Then they get married, and then they have kids of their own.”
For her, those relationships have always been the most valuable part of running her store.
“The rest of it is stuff,” she said.
Tester came to America in 1966 as a young governess, crossing the Atlantic by ship from France to New York to join a family in Raleigh. She spoke some English but struggled to carry on a conversation. She remembers translating everything into French in her head and discovering that, by the time she figured out what to say, everyone else had moved on to another subject.
She eventually met her future husband, Keith, who was studying at N.C. State. They married in 1968 and raised two children in Greensboro.
But Tester dreamed of having a little shop. Blowing Rock, where her husband had family ties, seemed like the right place.
She had one vision: She wanted to live upstairs and run her store downstairs.
After their kids were grown, the couple found an old building on Morris Street in downtown that had been part of a motel and was considered a teardown. With help from her brother-in-law, a builder and carpenter, they created an apartment upstairs and retail space below.
“I realized my dream,” she said.
French and American flags fly outside De Provence et d’Ailleurs on Morris Street in downtown Blowing Rock. (Photo: Tony Mecia/The Mountain Ledger)
At first, the store specialized heavily in antiques she brought back from France. As tastes changed, she adapted, adding French soaps, hand creams, linens, food and other products. For about 20 years, she even led groups of customers she met through the store on small trips to France.
Through it all, she remained old-fashioned: No website. No Facebook. An old cash register she hopes survives until closing day. She still writes out sales tickets by hand.
And everyone who walks through the door gets a greeting.
“When you go to France and you go to a store or whatever, even if you don’t know anybody, you always say ‘bonjour,’” she said.
Eventually, customers began walking in and saying “bonjour” to her.
That personal connection, she believes, is what small retailers can offer that the internet cannot. Her advice to would-be shopkeepers is to find something distinctive, know the story behind what they sell and pay attention to the person who walks through the door.
“The human connection is very important,” she said.
Lately, though, the business has become harder. Some of the small French producers she worked with disappeared after Covid. Others no longer want to ship to the United States. Her last big shipment carried shipping costs of roughly 20%, she said, plus a 15% tariff.
“I'm at the point that I feel like it’s time,” she said.
Customers have practically begged her not to close. A few people have expressed interest in buying the business, but she has doubts that would work.
After all, when she leaves the shop briefly, customers sometimes walk in, see her husband and ask where “the lady” is.
“Oh well,” they tell him. “I’ll come back when she’s here.”
Tester, 80, says she will probably sell down the inventory and close the doors by the end of the year.
She and Keith plan to move to Asheville, closer to their children. She wants to travel. And because she says she “cannot stay still,” she expects she’ll find somewhere to volunteer.
What she will leave behind in Blowing Rock is something harder to put a price on.
“I wanted to take care of my customers,” she said. “My intent was to meet my customers.”
And for 30 years, she did.
THINGS TO DO
Farm tour, Gallery crawl, Art in the Park, Buskers Fest
THURSDAY
“Appalachian Oral History Project”, 11 a.m.-noon, at the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum, 159 Ginny Stevens Lane, Blowing Rock. Appalachian State’s Mark Coltrain shares audio excerpts from the Appalachian Oral History Project and discusses how recorded interviews can preserve family and community history and how people can start collecting oral histories themselves.
“Blowing Rock Thursday Market”, noon-4 p.m., on the lawn of the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce, 132 Park Ave. The late-season outdoor market features local farmers, food producers and other vendors; the 2026 market runs through Sept. 24.
FRIDAY
“Downtown West Jefferson Gallery Crawl”, 5-7 p.m., downtown West Jefferson. Galleries and shops stay open for an evening art crawl featuring work by Ashe County artists, downtown murals and public art, with visitors encouraged to wander from gallery to gallery. Roving local performers are also expected. Free.
“Biscuits and Bubbly”, 6-8 p.m., at Betty's Biscuits in downtown Boone. Meet farmers participating in Saturday's High Country Farm Tour over biscuit sliders, champagne and hibiscus tea. The $25 event serves as a kickoff to the following day's tour of Watauga County farms.
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
“Autumn at Oz”, Friday-Sunday, at the Land of Oz, Beech Mountain. The wonderfully unusual former theme park opens its Yellow Brick Road for the first of three September weekends, with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Wicked Witch and other characters, interactive storytelling and live performances. Organizers call it the world's largest “Oz” celebration. General admission is $70, plus taxes and fees; an overlook add-on is $8.
“The Hound of the Baskervilles”, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, at the Hahn Theatre in the Historic Banner Elk School, 185 Azalea Circle. Ensemble Stage presents a comic take on Sherlock Holmes’ famous mystery about the death of Sir Charles Baskerville and the supposedly supernatural hound roaming the moors.
SATURDAY
“High Country Farm Tour”, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at farms around Watauga County. Take a self-guided driving tour to six farms and a winery, with opportunities to meet farm animals, visit vegetable and flower farms, explore a working vineyard and see how local food is produced. Products including flowers, vegetables, meat, crafts and self-care products will be for sale. $45 per car.
“Art in the Park”, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., along Park Avenue in downtown Blowing Rock. The long-running juried arts show brings acclaimed artists and craftspeople downtown with paintings, pottery, furniture, jewelry, textiles and other handmade works. The event is celebrating six decades of shows this year.
“Buskers Fest”, 1-5 p.m., along King Street in downtown Boone. Musicians, visual artists and street performers turn downtown into an open-air arts festival, with interactive activities including tapestry weaving. The event celebrates Boone's long busking tradition — one that stretches back to Doc Watson — by putting performers along sidewalks and public spaces throughout downtown. Free.
🎵 Live music this weekend
FRIDAY
“Music on the Lawn: Cool Corner Jazz”, 5:30-8:30 p.m., at the Inn at Ragged Gardens, 203 Sunset Drive, Blowing Rock. Cool Corner Jazz performs on the lawn as part of the inn's popular summer concert series. A cash bar and lawn menu are available; bring a lawn chair and arrive early. No pets, coolers or outside food and drinks. Free.
“Village Summer Concert Series: Toe River Bandits”, 7-10 p.m., at the Village of Banner Elk, 140 Azalea Circle. The four-piece Toe River Bandits bring guitar-driven classic rock and country to the outdoor stage between Sorrento's Italian Bistro and Bayou Smokehouse. Free.
SATURDAY
“Kruger Brothers with CJ Ballard”, Saturday evening, at Saloon Studios Live, 313 Old West Road, West Jefferson. The internationally known Kruger Brothers bring their blend of bluegrass, folk and acoustic music to one of the High Country's more unusual venues: an intimate 100-seat replica of a mid-19th-century Western saloon tucked on 180 acres of Mount Jefferson. CJ Ballard also performs.
SUNDAY
“Alair Concert in the Park: Colby Hubble”, 1-3 p.m., at Memorial Park, 1036 Main St., Blowing Rock. Colby Hubble closes out Blowing Rock's 2026 Concert in the Park series with a free afternoon performance at the Rotary Gazebo. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Free.
“Alexander Nicoll at Banner Elk Winery”, 1-5 p.m., at Banner Elk Winery, 60 Deer Run Lane. The Raleigh-raised, Johnson City-based singer-songwriter performs country, folk and indie music influenced by artists including Tyler Childers, Gregory Alan Isakov and Noah Gundersen. No cover.
“Carolina Social Music Club”, 5-7 p.m., in the Mast Store Community Room at the Appalachian Theatre, 559 W. King St., Boone. Vocalist Dawn Anthony and saxophonist Greg Jarrell co-lead a North Carolina ensemble playing classic and contemporary jazz centered around themes of freedom, justice and belonging. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for students; High Country Jazz Society members get in free.
REAL ESTATE WATCH
A 5-bedroom retreat on Beech Mountain: $599,900
(Photos from High Country Multiple Listing Service)
This renovated mountain chalet in Beech Mountain’s Charter Hills neighborhood comes fully furnished, with five bedrooms, plenty of gathering space and easy access to the resort and other outdoor recreation.
The basics: 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 2,157 square feet on 0.44 acres. Asking price: $599,900.
Updated: Built in 1986 and renovated in 2022, with quartz countertops, updated appliances and an open living/dining area with a wood-burning fireplace.
Room to play: The lower level has a game room with arcade games, while outside there’s a private hot tub, fire pit and deck.
Rental potential: The home has an established short-term rental history and is being sold fully furnished. It’s minutes from Beech Mountain Resort, hiking and biking trails and restaurants.
➡️ See the listing.
LOCAL NEWS OF NOTE
App State online enrollment surges; fatal wreck
App State enrollment: App State enrolled 21,308 students this fall, down 2.2% from the figure it reported last year, even as online enrollment jumped nearly 21% and graduate, transfer and first-generation enrollment hit records. (Appalachian State University)
Fatal wreck on N.C. 105: A 21-year-old Statesville woman died after her car was struck by a flatbed truck while she was turning left off N.C. 105 in Watauga County on Thursday afternoon. (Watauga Democrat)
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