The Beautiful Challenge of Hélène Aguilar

Design changed her life. By launching the podcast “Où est le beau” former lawyer Hélène Aguilar had no idea of the upheavals that awaited her.
At the end of 2018, on the eve of her thirties, she said goodbye to her salary at a large laboratory, and to the tune of "Think you can do it?", without any network or connections, she decided that the world of decor would be her new ecosystem. Her driving forces: emotion and the desire to share her passion for objects, art, and architecture. And to make things even harder, she decided to talk about aesthetics in a podcast, without images, based on the theme of the search for beauty...quite simply, in all its forms. “The voices leave room for imagination," explains Hélène Aguilar.
“A conversation with a designer or an entrepreneur is a moment where you take more time to connect with the person, thanks to the sensitivity of their voice, which says a lot.”
I wanted to make designers, who can seem intimidating, more accessible." With the help of a friend who’s a sound engineer, she discovered and contacted her "subjects" via Instagram. Though everyone thought she was crazy, it became a success. Launched in January 2019, “Where's Beauty (Où est le beau)?” was the first podcast to make its mark in the design world, soon followed by many others. Her Instagram account, a vital visual and promotional complement to her podcast, has more than 23,000 followers.

From the history of the candle to that of the Italian coffee maker, from the interview with Ionna Vautrin to the portrait of Eileen Gray, she doesn’t say no to any style, era, or subject. Since her life changed, she’s been in search of new ideas, and Hélène Aguilar most often looks to designers committed to choosing materials that respect living beings. "In just one year, I’ve totally changed how I consume things. I’ve connected with people who’ve awakened me to the urgency of environmental issues," she says. A digital explorer and 2.0 talent scout, she is enchanted by authentic approaches, often from strangers. “They’re often very young," notes Hélène. “They show us that we can invent differently, simply by putting common sense back at the center of the creative process. They have a more essential idea of consumption, for a future that is both desirable and sustainable."

From her findings, the "Demain plus beau (A more beautiful tomorrow)" exhibition emerged at the Commines Space during the last edition of Paris Design Week, in the Factory section.
Among the pieces she displayed, many were neither metal, nor plastic, but of alternative origin, plants and materials from the sea. No "green-washing". We discovered, for example, the "geo-glassware" of Lucile Viaud, glasses whose colour reflects the natural tint of the materials that compose it: seaweed or snail shells. Her selection included the Solum Lignum couple of cabinetmakers who work in Sologne among century-old trees, highly committed designer François Champsaur, and Atelier Musset, that specializes in old wood…18 designers and artists in all that use materials that are at hand. "The challenge is immense and the spectrum to explore is very broad. What moves me has changed," says Hélène Aguilar, whose adventure has just begun.

Photo ©Antidote Factory