Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 29 (Racha and Dahlia).
Occupation: Interior architecture and furniture designers.
Instagram: @studioebur
Hometown: Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Studio location: Paris.
Describe what you make: We design interior architecture and develop a collection of objects and furniture. The guideline of all our reflections is enhancing the spirit of places we approach by creating a strong identity. Architectural projects must be built as a whole, from the functionality of the spaces to the composition between volumes and materials while taking great interest in details and decoration in the choice of furniture, objects, and works of art.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: We are lucky to explore two disciplines that we love, interior architecture and design. Our first collection “Le bruit de la mer” which we just unveiled, is the most important project we’re working on. It’s the first step in materializing years of research and exploration through our influences and imagination. It allowed us to define our universe and our inspirations more precisely and draw on our memories and unconsciousness to create 20 pieces around childhood memories of the seaside in Côte d’Ivoire and summers on the Mediterranean seaside in Lebanon.
To concretize this exploration of ideas and drawings, we searched through different materials and craftsmanship to find the best way to make different pieces. This is how we forged links with upholsterers, cabinetmakers, metallurgists, ceramists, and lampshade makers in France, Italy, Portugal, and Lebanon. A complete and enriching experience that will continue to grow through new inspirations, means of expression, and know-how. It’s a project that started with the beginning of our studio and that will accompany us throughout the adventure.
Describe the problem your work solves: We don’t believe our work has solved any particular problem, but our wish is to offer quality pieces made to order or in small series by craftsmen with unique know-how who work in small workshops on a human scale. We want to have the possibility of real exchanges with craftsmen and our pieces reflect a singular history. This desire goes against overconsumption, which we think is obsolete.
Describe the project you are working on now: A coffee shop in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. We’re also designing custom furniture for different projects and working on the study phases of some residential projects. We’re constantly working on our furniture and objects collection and on future collaborations, and are developing new pieces by exploring different scales and materiality.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: The coffee shop should be done in September.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: Coffee, music, and podcasts.
What you do when you’re not working: We think about work most of the time. We try to see inspiring things, art exhibitions, movies, concerts, beautiful places, visit brocantes, and spend a lot of time on vintage furniture websites to improve our eyes and grow our sources of inspiration. We also go to the gym a few times a week—it does us a lot of good mentally and allows us to disconnect from work.
Sources of creative envy: We draw our inspiration from African and Oriental craftsmanship through symbols and materials, from aesthetics inspired by French and Italian decorative arts of the first half of the 20th century through creators such as Georges Jouve, Serge Roche, or Eileen Gray. We also admire the beauty of 17th- and 18th-century Italian architecture and decorative aesthetics that can be seen in palazzos across Italy. This palimpsest defines our universe and is perpetually enriched by new discoveries of movements, cultures, artists, or designers.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Sugar, and Instagram when we lose ourselves scrolling memes.
Concrete or marble? Marble.
High-rise or townhouse? Townhouse.
Remember or forget? Remember.
Aliens or ghosts? Both.
Dark or light? Light.
