This new series, COLLECTIBLE In-Depth, unveils the backstage of contemporary creation. Tackling various topics from personal designer processes to the position of collectible design on the global design market, COLLECTIBLE In-Depth offers different views to suit all tastes. Today we speak with Magali Avezou of La Succulente.

Back to Editorial

COLLECTIBLE:  What can collectible design bring to the daily lives of the people who collect?

Magali Avezou: In our opinion, collectible design emerges from a concept, a reflection on contemporary issues and great questions. Beyond the beauty and visual satisfaction, an object resulting from a creator’s conscious approach may be meaningful in regard to a moment in time, and to the beholder. We think these types of objects have a magic power of companionship and projection towards a desirable future. A sort of ‘aura’, similar to a work of art. Their limitation in edition bestows a preciousness on them, making them a sort of suggestive talisman for the owner.

"We think these types of objects have a magic power of companionship and projection towards a desirable future. A sort of ‘aura’, similar to a work of art."

C: How can collectible design be a representation or reaction to the current societal, political or economic questions?

MA: Collectible design implies an investigation in forms, but also in concepts. The designer, or creators in general, engaged in this type of process reflects upon their time, consciously or not, and responds to them. Minna Pöllänen for instance presents for the fair a textile piece that shows two hands approaching each other. At first this motif suggests human connection, although the artist represents the holding gesture of a mobile phone, questioning the user on their daily technological habits and the isolation that it may create. In an overly competitive and success driven society, Martina Cristofani’s beautiful bowls, imperfect and looking fragile, remind the holder of their own vulnerability and the beauty of it. Studiolow’s vases mix a precious heavy stone, marble, with a water-based material, glass, alluding to the centrality of movements in the contemporary.

C: What is the concept behind La Succulente and what is your process?

MA: La Succulente is a creative studio. We started with the desire to promote the fantastic research and enquiries of artists, designers and artisans, as one bringing positive and essential values into contemporary daily life. We do sell pieces to collectors and individuals, but we also work with organisations and companies to create tailor-made projects that can bring innovative ideas, socially engaged and ecologically responsible processes into their daily functioning. We admire creators for their forward-thinking abilities, and we believe in their capacity to impulse new ideas and progressive values into a corporate environment.

C: Can you talk about the designers you present at COLLECTIBLE this year, what makes their practice/pieces unique?

MA: The creators with whom we work create unique pieces as they all work by hand. Our selection for COLLECTIBLE is titled ‘Matières sensibles’ bringing together pieces that are relevant to contemporary issues, highly poetic and in touch with human organic essence. Savanna Elhacene shows Les Laiteuses, a ‘sensitive’ earthenware vase designed to be colonised back by nature. Hierophanies by Côme Di Meglio are abstract landscapes referring to essential elements: water, air and light. Their contemplation stimulates a dreamy state that allows one’s own mind projection. In Hourglass, Minna Pöllänen encapsulates the passing of hours into a used piece of leather, inviting us to consider a more-than-human notion of time. 

About La Succulente

La Succulente is a creative studio promoting a forward-thinking culture through art projects. They support organisations and businesses in developing a responsible and innovative culture by fostering collaborations with a network of international creators. They are interested in activating dialogues between art and society, creation and daily life, aesthetic experiences and social progress. The studio conceives, produces, and delivers tailor made projects. They approach every mission with demanding artistic requirements, technical expertise, and a genuine engagement for durability and diversity. Founded in 2022 in Marseille (France) by an art curator, Magali Avezou, and an engineer specialising in innovation, François Maugin; La Succulente waves together artistic research, social progress, and economic development.

Portrait of Magali Avezou and François Maugin © Iggo Studio