WHERE DID THE IDEA OF DEVELOPING INDUSTRIAL TABLEWARE COME FROM?

“I work with chefs, and sometimes they supplement crockery made in the studio with industrial pieces for budgetary reasons or lack of time. And very often, I don’t like the pieces and the combination is not a good one. But I no longer have time to make everything by hand. So I looked at the problem from all sides and the only answer was to produce in a factory with endless specifications. I wanted to have vibrant and lively tableware. So I searched all over Portugal and France, and I was never satisfied with the result. Finally, I asked Manufacture of Digoin to do the impossible and they accepted.”

Ceramic tableware by Marion Graux @mariongrauxpoterie

HOW WAS YOUR STUDIO/BOUTIQUE IN PIGALLE CONCEIVED?

“It’s not a shop, it’s a studio, with no timetables and no great sense of order. I work mainly for chefs. Depending on what’s left of my orders, I offer them for sale in the studio. I have orders to complete, so I can’t run a shop in the classical sense of the word. It’s a living studio, so sometimes things are all over the place. The space used to be a florist. I bought their business, and to keep that story alive, I also sell dried flowers. My flowers are like vanities in a painting, a tribute to old age, far from the dried botoxed and frozen flowers that we see everywhere in the trade.”

Marion Graux's studio and ceramics

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE RESTAURANT, WHERE WE CAN FIND YOUR TABLEWARE?

“It’s hard to name one restaurant, but I have a special affection for Frenchie. I’ve been working together with Chef Greg Marchand since the beginning. There’s a real understanding between us. Over the years, we’ve developed real professional intimacy. But whatever the restaurant, being chosen by a chef is a gift. Something happens with every one of them and each time it's different. They know what they come to me for and there’s a real dialogue.”

Frenchie Restaurant, Covent Garden, London

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE DESIGN FOR YOUR HOME?

“It’s quite a special place, it’s like a little country house nestled in Paris. We painted everything white, from the parquet floor to the ceilings. The style is resolutely Haussmannian with large mirrors and high ceilings. The decoration is minimalist, I like to reduce and limit the superfluous. I would like to keep only useful items and vases with dried flowers. But it’s a daily struggle! I also like the idea of a scarcely decorated room: with just a bed and some floating curtains.”

Marion Graux's home