A FOCUS ON BASQUE DESIGN AND ITS ECOSYSTEM
Monday 28 March —
14:00
- 14:45
The Talks — Hall 7
Description
Leaving behind stylish furniture for more contemporary pieces, furniture makers from the Basque region are generating a creative and economic impulse that is benefiting the entire area, with the help of locally based designers. Household linens and office and household, or designer-gallery, furniture…It’s a minimal and sensitive style that’s a far cry from any Basque clichés that’s being exported all over the world.
Participants
Jean-Louis IratzokiDesigner & Co-Founder - Iratzoki&Lizaso
Elodie MaentlerFounder - éditions du coté
Marc-Alexandre DucotéFounder - éditions du coté
Samuel AccoceberryDesigner & Founder - Samuel Accoceberry Studio
Marie GodfrainJournalist
Jean-Louis Iratzoki
Designer & Co-Founder - Iratzoki&Lizaso
Born in Saint Jean de Luz in 1965, Jean Louis Iratzoki obtained his diploma in Interior Design from the École Boulle and in Industrial Design from the École Expérimentale in Madrid. In 1998, he set up his design workshop in the Basque Country and forged close, permanent links with a small number of companies, taking part in the transformation of several of them. In 2016, he founded the Iratzoki&Lizaso studio with Ander Lizaso. This firm actively contributes to the development of cultural and economic activity in this region, working in-depth with both small brands and big companies on the product-design and creative-management levels. The studio is made up of a solid, multidisciplinary team that works in a former workshop, around a long table. One of the studio’s main missions is bringing meaning and relevance to their creations. Jean-Louis Iratzoki and Ander Lizaso know what their responsibilities are, that of always seeking out the right balance between business success and societal and environmental commitments. In this respect, they are convinced of the positive and social impact of design on the community. The studio’s work covers many fields, including home and office furnishings, textile goods, lighting, pop-up architecture and accessories. They work with brands such as Alki, Treku, Sokoa, Akaba, Forge Adour, Grok, Retegui, Bosc and even Teknion in Canada. The studio’s sustainable approach is built for the long term, and sustainable pieces emerge from their work, infused with a personality full of emotion and affection.
Elodie Maentler
Founder - éditions du coté
After working in sales and merchandising in France and England for several fashion and service firms from 1998 to 2004, Elodie Maentler-Ducoté took a position within the design office at furniture maker Vitra from 2005 to 2007. Now based in Biarritz, with a diploma in interior design from the Ecole nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ENSAD) and 14 years of experience in interior design, she put her passion and knowledge to work for her clients with her firm Maentler Architectes d’Intérieur, founded in 2009. In 2016, she created “les éditions du coté” with her husband Marc-Alexandre Ducoté and is now in charge of technical follow-up to the design and development phases of their work. Around twenty objects, all locally made, have been produced, with 10 artists or designers and 15 artisans, who have been publicized in AD, Elle Décoration (Fr, UK, Spain), Air France Magazine, Le Figaro, M Le Monde, Beaux Arts, and more... All these pieces can be discovered at the “galerie du coté”: a space, which began as a showroom for this design maker but has now become a gallery devoted to art and design. It is an unexpected, confidential space where, within a fully renovated 1950s building, the objects they have made and items from local and international artists and designers rub shoulders. The architectural firm is located in an office on the upper level.
Marc-Alexandre Ducoté
Founder - éditions du coté
A graduate of ESCP and the Institut Français de la Mode, Marc-Alexandre Ducoté spent over 12 years in the fashion and textile industry, closely observing creative professions. It was an enriching experience within a globalized world that gradually led him to question the frenzied pace of consumption, in favor of a longer timescale, sustainable design and locally based artisanal manufacturing. In 2016, in Biarritz, he and his wife, Elodie Maentler-Ducoté, founded “les éditions du coté”, an objet d’art and design maker. Its first collection was presented the following year at the Maison&Objet fair. By bringing together local artisans and talented artists around commissioned, themed collections, he designs, makes and sells limited editions of objets d’art. As real sculptures you live with, these objects are the result of an exchange of perspectives between craft that is deeply rooted in its region, and unique artistic worlds. They are made for an audience of art and craft lovers who are sensitive to provenance and who are looking for one-of-a-kind pieces. Given the number of design pieces produced each year, this design house decided not to go for constant newness, but rather invent a creative process that promotes uniqueness, local networks and a minimal environmental impact.
Samuel Accoceberry
Designer & Founder - Samuel Accoceberry Studio
Born in Bordeaux, he lives and works between Paris and Biarritz. He is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Art in Nancy and of the Ecole Raymond Loewy in Industrial Design. Samuel worked with prestigious design firms in France and Italy for 10 years, such as Arik Levy, Antonio Citterio, and Rodolfo Dordoni. In 2010, he launched his own studio and now works with a variety of companies as a designer and creative director. In 2013, Samuel was honored with the Grand Prix for Creation of the City of Paris for his entire creative output and his work. He has also received various international awards, including three Red Dot Design Awards and a German Design Award. His approach attaches special importance to promoting fine craft and things well made, as well as the human factor within a project, whether it is with an artisanal outfit or an industrial firm. Above all, Samuel sees creative design as a whole, beyond categories, and thus works in different design fields, whether it is on furniture, industrial design, street furniture, lighting, space planning, scenography, creative direction for a firm or limited edition pieces. His work has been exhibited at the Musée d'Art Moderne and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Musée de la Céramique in Vallauris, the Triennale Design Museum in Milan and at the Design Museum in Holon.
Marie Godfrain
Journalist
Marie Godfrain is an independent journalist specializing in design, decor, craft, and architecture. Each week, she writes for M, le magazine and works for IDEAT and Le Quotidien de l'Art. Passionate about design since she was a teenager, Marie conveys this passion through the magazines she works with, as well as at ENSCI, where she teaches courses on design history. She has just published a biography of ceramic artist Frederick Gautier with Actes Sud. Through her work, she shows us that design goes well beyond just furniture-making: it supports and shapes ongoing societal shifts.