This new series, Design bites, unveil the backstage of contemporary creation. Tackling various topics from personal designer processes to the position of Collectible design on the global design market; these bites offer different views to suit all tastes. Today we talk with Caroline Grondin and Guillaume Avarguez from the Réunion Island design studio APPARTEMENT2.

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COLLECTIBLE: What do you think collectible design brings compared to other more massively produced pieces? 

Caroline Grondin & Guillaume Avarguez: Being able to touch and admire a beautiful object, a rare piece made with natural materials by a passionate craftsman, it gives the feeling of being unique.

“Take time to choose natural materials, to touch and feel the material and create something beautiful and unique.”

C: A place your recently visit and inspire you

CG&GA: Le Piton de la Fournaise, a trip into a land of lava. A lunar landscape where the black traces of recent lava flows become “Dantesque” forms of solidified magma.

C: Can you talk about a new piece / collection that you release for COLLECTIBLE SALON

CG&GA: Our new DIPLOPODA Collection was designed during the rainy season in Reunion Island. In our garden some millipedes go out, especially the “iule”. A myriapod with a long rounded black shape. They are characterized by having two pairs of jointed legs. It’s very funny to watch and we were inspired by these graphic-looking invertebrates to design the general shapes of this collection.

C: How did you get into collectible design? Why did you focus your practice on this type of design rather than industrial design?

CG&GA: Take time to choose natural materials, to touch and feel the material and create something beautiful and unique. We are proud to promote French craftsmanship, all our pieces are handcrafted in French workshops.

About APPARTEMENT2 (Réunion Island) 

APPARTEMENT2 is a design studio founded in 2016 by Caroline Grondin and Guillaume Avarguez based on Réunion Island. The studio’s approach is a synergy of balanced volumes and structured lines. But above all, their creations are all about profiles and contours which unfold in a framework of extreme graphic precision.