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Marina Bautier

Furniture Designer

 

C

Marina Bautier

Furniture Designer

Serene and restrained. Belgian furniture maker Marina Bautier isn’t interested in making stunning or unique pieces of furniture. Her style is often described as simple, but simplicity can be deceptive. In fact, it takes a lot of reflections and research to reduce a piece of furniture to its bare essence. Marina consciously works with wood. As a child, she liked making wooden objects. And at the Buckinghamshire New University, she further specialized in wood craftsmanship.

Serene and restrained. Belgian furniture maker Marina Bautier isn’t interested in making stunning or unique pieces of furniture. Her style is often described as simple, but simplicity can be deceptive. In fact, it takes a lot of reflections and research to reduce a piece of furniture to its bare essence. Marina consciously works with wood. As a child, she liked making wooden objects. And at the Buckinghamshire New University, she further specialized in wood craftsmanship.

Her career hit off early after her first prototypes got picked up and produced by Swedese, Idée, Ligne Roset and Case Furniture. After ten years of experience in the furniture industry, she felt she was ready to set up her brand and shop Bautier. “My customers purchase my pieces because they are quite fond of them; not because they are made by a famous designer. I am a designer too, but I’m quite unknown in the designer world.”

White walls, wooden furniture, houseplants and an abundance of daylight. The serene atmosphere of your home connects harmoniously with your furniture collection.

Thank you. My home is a mix of prototypes, products, antique furniture and pieces that were made especially for this house. Our home dates from 1900 and its orientation is perfect with lots of daylight coming in. We bought it four years ago. During renovations, we kept the structure and classic ornaments, and we tried to do as much ourselves, and occasionally called in the help of others. When I take on a task, the result has to be perfect.

Do you also apply the concept of outsourcing when it comes to your own work?

Collaborating with brands involves the concept of designing. While I’m responsible for the design, the brand takes care of production and sales. Running my label and my shop takes more that just designing, and that’s why I outsource production and photography. Recently I started working with a someone, who now runs the shop on Saturday. In the long term, it would be great to involve her fully in the label, but this would mean I would have to prepare work for her and in the meantime it goes faster if I do everything myself. But I will have to adapt if I want the label to grow. I love designing, and if I want to find more time to be creative, I’ll have to organize my business differently.

If you want to spend more time on the design process, why did you open up a shop? Isn’t it a bit contradictory?

For seven years I shared my studio with five other designers. It was good, but I’m very happy to have my own space finally. My studio is massive. Two-thirds of the space is used as an atelier, workshop, and stock and one-third is open to the public. In the beginning, I was thinking of launching my furniture label through a web shop, but by chance, I ran into this place. It’s the perfect workspace, but it’s also cool to have a physical space to showcase my work as a complete and coherent collection and to create a surrounding atmosphere in which all products are placed. Logistically, I am not keen on a big production. I prefer to work in small series. And financially, it’s more rewarding for me If I take care of my sales.

The shop is more than just retail space. For example, you cook lunch every last Friday of the month. Is this your casual way of introducing more people into your universe?

I enjoy cooking, and people like my food. [laughing] The lunch is a very informal way to draw people to the shop and to show them my new products. It was important for me to add this extra activity in the space, for my atelier and shop are not located in a commercial area. People visiting my shop already know about my label and next step is to introduce my work to a bigger audience.

Bigger than the audience in Japan, where people know you as the designer of the interior label Idée? Your first two collaborations were a hit, and I believe you’re currently working on a third collection.

I first met the people from Idée at the Furniture Fair in Milan in 2007. Back then they were interested in bringing a couple of my prototypes into production, but unfortunately, I already made arrangements with another brand. Shortly after that, they asked me to design a collection in the same spirit as the one they saw at the fair. Now I’m working on my second collection, this time following a more specific brief. The collaboration with Idée is interesting because it gives me the opportunity to come up with an entire collection based on my style. In other cases, brands were merely interested in one specific product. Idée works with a team of designers, and my collection is part of their brand. They do mention my name, but they do not put me forward as a designer. Idée was recently bought by the popular Japanese retail company Muji, which means they’ll be expanding their activities anytime soon.

When I design an object that I really want myself, I assume there will be others who want it too.

Why do think your style attracts such an international crowd?

When I look at interior magazines and blogs, I can’t help to notice massive wood is popular again. As I child I made wooden objects and wood is simply my favorite material. It’s accessible, easy to manipulate and warm. And because of the nature of wood, no two wooden objects are the same. Wood is sustainable, and I realize people do care a lot about the objects they surrounded themselves with at home. In my designs, I go for simplicity and try to minimize the production process as much as possible. I want to get the best out of my material and give each object a warm feeling. Simplicity and serenity are back in demand, in which nature plays a more important role, especially in the life of city dwellers.

Do you purely design objects you would like to have in your own home?

When I design an object that I really want myself, I assume there will be others who want it too. That’s the way I work, especially regarding my own label. I needed a bed, so I started making my own. My old bed consisted of a mattress and a slatted bed base on the floor. While designing the new one, I went looking for a very simple wooden frame that was not far off. And behold, it’s a bestseller.

Where do you get inspiration from?

A bit from everywhere, but I am often inspired by blogs. I find it fascinating to see how people live and how they create a certain atmosphere in their homes. Next to that, my daily life often serves as a starting point, for example when a specific piece is missing in my interior. When I’m designing, I love observing antique furniture, which often leads to progress in the construction of my designs.

Are there still a few objects missing in your collection, that you would like to produce?

Yes, in fact there a few. Alongside the bed and the commode, there are not a lot of essential pieces in my collection. In the future, I would like to expand Bautier with a dining table, chairs, and a sofa. But I do want so many things! In the beginning, I also wanted to sell wooden accessories and ceramics. I’d like to be in control, but I have the tendency to lose myself in the smallest details, so I have to set priorities. The focus is now on running my label, the shop and continues working for other brands. The latter gives me the opportunity to to gain more experience and knowledge, which of course benefits my now label.

www.marinabautier.com
Text: Magali Elali
Photography: Bart Kiggen
Marina Bautier