Mirror, mirror… In September 2016, Charlotte Juillard was nominated as a rising talent of the designer world by Maison & Objet. For Designerbox, the young creator has designed an elegant, simple and delicate dressing table mirror.
Mirror, mirror… In September 2016, Charlotte Juillard was nominated as a rising talent of the designer world by Maison & Objet. For Designerbox, the young creator has designed an elegant, simple and delicate dressing table mirror.
Two times per year, the Maison & Objet trade show places six particularly promising young creators in the spotlight. It was with this opportunity last September that the young, vivacious thirty-year-old Parisian Charlotte Juillard presented ‘Lavastone’ in a dedicated show space, one of her flagship projects establishing a dialogue with material.Since the very beginning, materials have been at the heart of the young designer’s creative thinking process. Having first studied interior design at École Camondo, Charlotte Juillard then went on to obtain her final degree in partnership with the Manufacture de Sèvres: “At the time, I knew nothing about porcelain; for six months, I shadowed a ceramist who was working on my pieces and I even completed an apprenticeship to better understand the process and be able use the best expertise and techniques.” This initial, very practical approach with materials quickly lead the apprentice designer working with objects, but she has not ruled out interior design quite yet:
« I might go back to it one day, when I’m wiser and older ».
Several years later, ‘Lavastone’ showcased her passion for craftsmanship and her desire to create meaning, with objects born out of her close interaction with manufacturers. The collection, consisting of three pieces, centres around lava rock, volcanic rock mined in quarries in the regions of Naples and Vesuvius. With simple and uncluttered design, Charlotte aims to make the public “appreciate both the historic and aesthetic value” of this material. The collection also features the curvatures that characterise her design style and demonstrate her feminine approach.
« My work, with its curved lines, softness and colour selection undoubtedly lets on that I’m a woman ! »
Some of her projects, such as the Les Brodés vase series, which she made by hand herself, and the colourful fringed ‘Tribu’ mirrors, which she weaved by hand, demonstrate her perfect mastery of sensuality, honouring the movement of and contact with the material.
Without being an overly fanatic feminist, she sees herself as having been strongly influenced by the avant-garde and very contemporary style of her famous namesake, Charlotte Perriand: “She managed to be extremely innovative in a time when it was very difficult to be a woman. This kind of free-moving figure inspires me a lot. “ A daughter of seasonal workers, Charlotte Juillard draws on many inspirations from her travelling childhood: “As a family, we travelled for 3 to 4 months per year, we went around the whole world; these experiences definitely enriched me to the point of wanting to go into this line of work”. Twenty years later, the young designer fosters this wanderlust, using it as an ever-growing creative motor. At 25 years old, after being selected from around 50 young talents of various nationalities and backgrounds, she went to stay in Treviso in Italy for a year and a half at Fabrica, the Benetton group research and communication centre. From this enriching experience, the magnificent project “Hercule” was born, an elegant pair of stone dumbbells, an objective allegory of new-found strength:
« When I returned to Paris, I had clearly become more confident: I felt ready to try to work for myself.» Since then, the young designer has been creating personal projects inspired by life-changing travels or encounters, with commissions from some equally inspiring publishers; Seletti, Ligne Roset and Designerbox today…Maison & Objet was not wrong – Charlotte Juillard is definitely a talent to watch!
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