She is the star among French industrial designers. Matali Crasset was born in 1965 in the village of Normée near Châlons-en-Champagne. She studied design at the École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle in Paris. She then went to Milan to work with Denis Santachiara before returning to Paris in 1993 to work for Philippe Starck. In 1995 the designer with the Jeanne d'Arc hairstyle had her international breakthrough with the radio "Ici Pari". Three years later she founded her own studio. She has just designed rainbow-colored street furniture entitled “La ville, Celsius energy”, which uses geothermal energy to generate energy.
Kevin Hanschke
Volunteer.
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What do you eat for breakfast?
I'll have a glass of hot water first.
That wakes me up.
Sometimes I have almonds and fruits with it.
Where do you buy your clothes?
I am loyal to a few French brands and designers who produce with an ethical conscience: Misericordia for jackets and hoodies, Tuffery for jeans and Missègle for sweaters and shirts.
I designed the interior of their workshop in Paris for Missègle, a project close to my heart.
When it comes to fashion, it is important to me that it is sustainable and that it is produced fairly.
What's the oldest item of clothing in your closet?
My orange wedding jacket.
When was the last time you wrote a handwritten letter?
I write hundreds of postcards every summer vacation.
I think it's great to send these little pieces of art around the world with a personal message.
Which book has impressed you the most in your life?
“Croire aux fauves” (“Believe in the wild”) by Nastassja Martin.
An epochal work on the psychological limits of humans and animals.
It is about a French anthropologist who meets a bear on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
How do you find out about world events?
Through all media.
But design is always political too.
I try to work on social and community projects.
Art and design can make a big difference in this world and trigger transformations in society.
In France, I converted a school in the Breton town of Trébédan for the “new clients” and converted it into a village center with the citizens.
Education is an important weapon.
It helps me a lot to talk to people in order to be informed.
What's your favorite small talk topic?
Any kind of philosophy.
I like to talk about new logics and connections that hold our world together.
I want to understand the universe and the systems that stand behind it and exchange ideas about it.
I also like to talk about typologies.
What was the last movie you cried at?
In the updated and longer version of the documentary "Bambi" by Sébastien Lifshitz about the life of a transsexual music hall star.
It pays homage to a wonderful woman, the dancer Marie-Pierre Pruvot from Paris.
Are You Superstitious?
No not at all.
What can you laugh about?
About a lot.
Humor is very important to me, also at work.
But it has to be lived the way the French humorist Pierre Desproges said: “On peut rire de tout, mais pas avec n'importe qui” - “We can laugh at anything, but not with everyone”.
Your favorite first names?
Popline and Arto, my children's first names.
Are you taking a lunch break?
Yes, I'll do it.
I very often use the time to look at my current projects.
To do this, I go to the French provinces or to the sea.
I have just been to the beautiful “La ferme HIbride” farm in Villelaure, where I designed the interior and was responsible for the renovation of the old farmhouse.
The farm is idyllically situated on the Luberon massif.
In which country would you most like to live?
Always France, no question about it.
It is my home country.
I also really enjoy traveling in France.
I love the mountains, the coasts and the sea.
What is never missing in your fridge?
Ask my husband, he cooks and goes shopping.
I don't actually cook at all.
Do you feel freer with or without a car?
I prefer to ride my bike and walk.
I prefer to stroll through Paris.
It's much more relaxed than driving a car.
What is your greatest talent?
The ability to understand, classify and abstract contexts.
What do you do when it is unreasonable?
There is nothing.
Which historical person would you like to meet?
Jane Addams, the great American feminist.
She was a pioneer in the fight for women's suffrage and gender equality.
Do you wear jewelry? And a watch?
My wedding ring and a ring by the French artist Theo Mercier for Le Buisson.
I never wear a watch.
Do you have a favorite fragrance?
The smell of the sun on your bare skin or on the grass.
When the sunlight shines on nature.
That's the smell that makes me happiest.
What was your best holiday experience?
All trips with good friends.
Going for a walk with them, reading, swimming in the river, eating endlessly for lunch and dinner and talking.
It doesn't really matter where you are.
What was the last concert you were at?
That was a concert by accordionist Bogdan Nesterenko in the church of the village of Barre des Cévennes in the Lozère department this summer.
Bach and Vivaldi were played there.
I love classical music.
Fortunately, what are you missing?
I miss my mother the most.
She died a few years ago.
What do you have for dinner
Mostly wine.
In addition, today I will eat vegetables from the garden - fresh tomatoes, zucchini, eggplants.
Since I never cook, it always comes as a surprise to me what my husband prepares.