With sparkling eyes and a dreamy forehead, Ionna Vautrin exudes her «joie de vivre» in our interiors with sweet and colourful objects. At the occasion of the launch of the Peacock mirror she designed for Designerbox, we find her in the heart of the 10th district of Paris, in the small studio of the enlightened creator, to be warmed by her vitaminized universe.
When many designers deny that they have a particular style and claim to adapt to the requirements of their sponsors, Ionna Vautrin has a very identifiable formal signature that is now a guarantee of success. Round shapes and bright or tart colours: the designer’s lighting fixtures, mirrors and other living objects create the effect of decorative candy. Since the searing success of her ‘Binic’ table lamp published by Foscarina at the end of 2010, which won her the Grand Prix de la Création de la Ville de Paris at the same time, and which marked the launch of her studio, orders have been pouring in from publishing houses and from manufacturers. While many publishers are asking her for their own «Binic» in table version or other decorative accessory, Ionna remains faithful to its curved lines and its refreshing aesthetic more by taste than to follow a fixed guideline.
« I have time to evolve, one day, who knows, I may like the right angles ! »
For the time being, the designer continues to win the sympathy of an increasingly design-conscious public with her nostalgic drawings in the form of a wink to common memories: when, at Lexon, her radio design takes on the air of antiques transistors, the lamps she has drawned for the «Paris-Bordeaux TGV» are inspired by the lights of the old-fashioned libraries. Another inexhaustible source of inspiration: the animal world which exposes itself graceful and voluble on the shelves of the studio: After «Zoo», a first series of cushions, whale, panda and Tucan, published by Elements Optimal, she imagines conical birds with luminous beaks with a design as graphic as sympathetic for Bosa.
A mischievous and conscientious person, Ionna Vautrin’s playful achievements show a career path that shows an appetite for work and above all a great curiosity. After studying in Nantes for industrial design and before launching her agency, she designed shoes for Camper in Majorca, bottles for the Parisian agency Cent Degrés, and assisted famous design names like Georges Sowden -one of the founders of the Memphis group- in Milan, and Bouroullec brothers in Paris. For the past ten years or so, Ionna has created light objects in her own name, yet rich in history. If she has practiced pottery for years, she is closely interested in crafts and enjoys through innovative 3D drawings to showcase unique skills. “
Pour Palais des Thés, elle imagine ainsi une théière très « couture » en porcelaine, nantie d’une anse fabriquée par un sellier hors pair, témoignant ainsi de son intérêt pour le travail du cuir…
« We could spend a lifetime on the bestiary theme…
these figurative and cute objects have all the advantages of pets without the disadvantages »” For Palais des Thés, she imagines a very «couture» teapot in porcelain, with a handle made by an outstanding saddler, that shows her interest in leather work. In the same way, her curiosity makes her tasting all forms of art: she recently illustrated herself by drawing, in an humorous and elegant way, a joyfully unbridled sexuality for’Kama Sutra’: A serie of drawings exhibited and recently published by Flammarion. Today, she and her photographer Michel Gieschbrecht are working on a new photography exhibition project devoted to the many curved objects surrounding us without being aware of them. In addition to dress our interiors with her luminous objects, Ionna Vautrin never stops surprising us by taking a mutinous pleasure in shaking up received ideas as well as in provoking reflection ! For now, Ionna Vautrin is looking forward to her collaboration with Designerbox for who she imagines the Peacock mirror!
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