Hélène Aguilar

Self-portrait. We invite professionals from the lifestyle, culture and communications world to snap six shots that sum up their story. Smartphone in hand, they have fun revealing all the little nothings around which their world revolves. It’s time to take a peek behind closed doors.

“Convinced that beauty is a powerful vector for change, I ensure that my quest for beauty resonates with a quest for meaning by engaging with all those working in the fields of design, architecture and art who are shaping not just a more beautiful future but one that’s more desirable and sustainable, too. It’s about sparking conversations between the general public and socially-minded artists to trigger emotion and rekindle our sense of wonder at the beauty of the world. Isn’t it about time we changed our outlook on beauty? I’m convinced it is!
To date, over 90 well-known names have been interviewed and invited to share their definition of beauty, which is the glue that holds the podcast together. They are informal interviews about their work, their background, their aspirations and their relationship with the living world, providing food for thought for an engaged community of inquiring minds with an interest in beauty! Some fascinating stories about pieces that have marked the history of design are also available to stream in the “le Design sur écoute” series available on the “Où est le beau?” channel.

Useful object 
“The WASTED book is one of the few truly relevant books dedicated to recycling waste! 
It explains how our bins can become real treasure troves! Although these kinds of topics still remain relatively unexplored, there’s good reason to believe that a veritable revolution is now underway. This paradigm shift is, indeed, what underpins the editorial line of the “Où est le beau?” podcast.
This book, written by the talented Katie Treggiden, presents a global panel of designers who each help change our way of thinking about the various materials discussed - materials that are all too often neglected and ignored by the modern-day design and furnishings industry.
One of the designers championed in the book is Charlotte Jonckheer, who created sculptures from recycled paper and stone dust retrieved from workshops for the 2020 Paris Design Week ‘Demain plus beau’ exhibition at the Espace Commines.”

Futile object
“There aren’t many things that I consider to be futile. An object that is both decorative and meaningful would be this marble tray from Néo.lithique, a design studio that specialises in recycling scraps of rock and marble.
The faults and imperfections in these natural materials are actually the elements that I love the most.”

Good luck charm
My notebook. My boyfriend gave it to me, and it never leaves my side. I write a lot, and this special and private moment has now become a sacred part of my day.

A souvenir 
A painting by an unknown artist purchased on the streets of Brooklyn.
Picked up on a trip to New York, this painting has been part of my life for many years, following me from apartment to apartment. It adorned the walls of my bedroom for a long, long time, but I’ve recently moved it to my lounge, which is the room where I spend the most time.

Current crush
My blue Marie-Victoire Winckler vase. Hand-blown by a master glassmaker in Portugal, this vase, which is part of designer and interior designer Marie-Victoire Winckler’s Totem collection, is an object that gets used whenever someone gives me flowers, and the rest of the time simply serves as a sculpture.
It takes over 10 pigment washes to achieve this kind of marbled appearance that constantly changes depending on the light, sometimes seeming transparent and at other times, opaque. It’s a breathtakingly beautiful vision, and one of which I never tire!
Marie-Victoire Winckler was my guest for episode 20 of the podcast (available to stream here).

See also

Podcasts : The Design Entrepreneurs 
The beautifull challenge of Hélène Aguilar

Exposition « demain plus beau »