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 Emily Marant and Hugo Matha from French Cliché.

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COLLECTIBLE: How did you get into collectible design? Why did you start your gallery?

Emily Marant & Hugo Matha: Our first challenge was to show a new aspect of French Culture and what our contemporary emerging scene is about. Including all these amazing French craftsmanship came naturally and are now central in our process. Our project has grown into crossing disciplines, exploring collaborations and pushing boundaries between creatives visions and materials.

“Our first challenge was to show a new aspect of French Culture and what our contemporary emerging scene is about.”

C: Can you talk about the designers you present for COLLECTIBLE SALON, what makes their practice/pieces unique 

EM&HM: COLLECTIBLE SALON is our first fair as French Cliché was launched in Octobre 2020 in between two lockdowns. We are very excited to show our first collaborations, artist Eva Taulois creates a rug from an original painting with the atelier Maison S, Victor Cadene interprets the traditional French ‘toile de Jouy’ with fabric manufacturer Maison Thevenon, this collaboration inspired us to make a three panels screen. Duo Bella Hunt & DDC sculpted a very Mediterranean coffee table referring to Ovide’s Metamorphosis whiles Atelier Baptiste & Jaïna produced a series of large ceramics vases shaped in buoys. 

COLLECTIBLE SALON is digital this year, we thought it would be interesting to try and propose a scenography on a digital platform. We collaborated with artist duo Deborah Bowmann to create orange elements. Those objects are like ready-made pieces referring to the domestic environment, flocked in bright orange by Deborah Bowmann these forms engage an ambivalent relationship to decorative art and bring scale to French Cliche's design.

C: What have you been up to recently? What are the next projects/exhibitions you wish to highlight?

EM&HM: Our collection is split into two; Lifestyle objects and collectible design.  La Samaritaine will be showing a nice selection of lifestyle pieces for its opening in June. Our website will go live by the end of May.  New collaborations are coming up, we will probably be showing the design in Paris in September, we are also looking at international opportunities that will hopefully be launched by the end of the year.

C: What is the relation you hold with the designers you work with

EM&HM: Our relationships hold a primary place in the ecosystem we build. We have a strong sense of community and putting people together is one of the aspects we like most. Unlike a traditional gallery, we only work on one specific collaboration with our creatives, it’s exclusive to French Cliché and we are responsible for its visibility. In this organization, mutual trust and ambition for the project and are essential.

About French Cliché

Founded in 2020 by Emily Marant and Hugo Matha, the editor and nomadic gallery French Cliché seeks out unique crafts to provide new solutions and techniques to young creatives, bringing a fresh perspective upon  ancient knowledge. These encounters produce unique pieces, in addition to numbered and signed limited edition objects.