“It looks like the south” at… Aurélie BENOIT, textile design artist, creator of Collectà.

I am an artist and textile designer, creator of the Collectà project, a collection of linens made with recycled fabrics. I have worked for almost 15 years in the fashion industry. As a product manager and then as a stylist for different brands. I am originally from Beaune, in Burgundy. In 2017, I was visiting the city to see if I could project myself there. It turns out that I fell in love with the city of Marseille and its light… but I also met my lover there, a man from Marseille living in Paris! So I joined him in the capital. We stayed there for 4 years, then the confinement led us to join my spouse’s family cabin. And we finally stayed in Marseille…

Collectà means to collect in Provençal. I have been hunting a lot for years, all kinds of objects and clothes, but also fabrics. I wanted to rework recycled fabrics to propose stories of cotton and linen that have crossed time. I give a second life to sheets from vintage trousseaux, by decorating them with naive and evocative patterns. I use an ancestral technique, the appliqué: it consists of cutting and sewing a pattern on a textile support.

This project was really born from my encounter with the city of Marseille. My spouse and I, we spent the two confinements in a small cabin, an old fisherman’s hut, fitted out in the Calanques of Marseille. It was the absolute calm. We even saw dolphins, foxes, wild boars… This magnificent natural environment inspired me a lot and the confinement offered me the time to create. This was the beginning of my textile design studio. When I left Paris and my job as a stylist, I wanted to give a new meaning to my activity, by proposing handmade crafts and by moving away from clothing and its constraints to the art of living. After having realized a first order for a friend, 6 months ago, I did not stop creating.

Marseille has the wind in its sails, especially since the pandemic. The Mediterranean universe retranscribed in my works speaks to people, I think… It must be said that Marseille is the city of all freedoms! Just look at the traffic: some people don’t hesitate to take a third line to get bread (laughs)! Then, I was lucky enough to have a quick order for Made in Design, from Printemps Haussmann, in addition to requests from individuals. I was hoping for some magic around this project but I have to admit that now I’m into it.

I think, a bit like all of us, of my childhood. I have been very curious since I was a child. My parents have always cultivated this spirit of discovery of beautiful places, monuments. My father was a decorator in the event industry, he made models. Seeing him work with his hands marked me. I also spent a lot of time exploring my mother’s and grandmother’s cupboards, who kept everything preciously. I looked at all the details of embroidery. Even today, I still read a lot of images from the past: design books, family photo albums, or even Godard’s new wave films. All this sweet nostalgia feeds me.

This comes from my experience in the fashion world. I no longer saw my place in an industry that wastes and pollutes, completely out of step with my personal way of consuming and my environment. I wanted to inscribe my work in a sustainable and authentic approach so that my values could be embodied in my personal and professional life. China has been my passion for 15 years. I only dress like that, I spend all my free time there. So it was natural for me to make upcycling the heart of my creative process. And of course, my interior is just like that! Nothing is new, neither the furniture nor the decoration, except for a few books and our bed, which we took care to source to check its environmental impact. With my husband, who is also involved in responsible design, we have found an extraordinary playground for our common passions of vintage and handmade creations.

The proximity to nature, while remaining in an urban setting with a beautiful creative energy. For the past two years, there has been a cultural explosion in Marseille. And then, the rents are cheaper, the life is soft, thanks to our proximity to nature which many artists may need to get inspired. I find that connections between people are also made more quickly, as is the professional network. I also really like the mix of people here and the singing accent…

I quickly became attached to the neighborhood in which I lived. It’s called Le Camas, a quiet little neighborhood with a village atmosphere. It’s full of small local shops, old butcheries and bakeries, nice cafés and nice restaurants that have just opened, like la brûlerie Möka.

It is located in a building from the 1950’s, whose characteristics and history we wish to preserve, while bringing a contemporary touch. The original floors are the basis for our research in terms of decoration: 10×10 speckled porphyry tiles and checkerboard parquet. This will also be reflected in the choice of furniture, which will most certainly be vintage walnut pieces with the straight and tapered lines typical of this period. The French architect Charlotte Perriand, the Irish designer Eileen Gray, le Corbusier, among others, will be influences that will guide our choices. Just as the ceramist Valentine Schleg and the British sculptor Barbara Hepworth influence my work. More than anything, I want an interior where light plays a central role.

The kitchen that opens onto the dining room. We are an epicurean couple, we love gastronomy, we love to cook, to share moments of conviviality and sharing between us and with family and friends. Let’s not forget that I come from a region where meals last for hours!

I had never made this observation, but I think that yes, it is linked to my personality and to values that are important for me, which create an essential balance in my daily life. The transmission is fundamental, too: I like to hunt the soul of the past to then create objects that, in my customers, will project a little of this moment of life in their interior.