Family
The spirit of the Rive Gauche.
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Lara Melchior and Vassili Verrecchia
She embodies the spirit of the Rive Gauche par excellence. Discrete, without embellishements or tricks, Lara Melchior has innate elegance. She is a jewellery designer and creates collections bearing her name. Lara lives and works in her Parisian apartment tucked away on the top floor of an old building away from the hubub of the Bon Marché department store. Born in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, she is one of the women everyone envies. She has that “Je ne sais quoi” typical of Parisian women. With hedonism in her genes, her simplicity and elegance are reflected in her sublime creations. Nothing would make her change her life in the neighbourhood where she lives with her husband, the talented and discrete Vassili Verrecchia.
Location
Paris
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TSF
Lara, what do you do in life?
Lara
I’m a jewellery designer. When I was very young I developed a love of drawing, art history and then photography. Jewellery was by chance, a lot later. I started with costume jewellery, before learning how to work gold and transform materials. I was looking for more manual work, welding, polishing, working objects like a sculpture. I make each piece by hand.
TSF
How long have you lived in this apartment?
Lara
For eight years.
TSF
What do you love in your neighbourhood?
Lara
I was born in Paris, in the Saint-Germain-des-Près area. This neighbourhood has always been my base. It’s my point of reference.
TSF
What sort of education did you have in interior design?
Lara
My mother loved moving furniture around. I was surprised every time I came home and saw the apartment had been transformed! I have a stronger link with volumes and spaces than with pure décor.
TSF
What are your favourite works, objects or furniture at home?
Lara
My photo by Sarah Moon called “Le Guépard”, my painting by Farhad Ostovani, my peacock, the paintings by my grandfather… There are too many! I love everything with a story behind it.
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TSF
What is the piece of your wildest dreams?
Lara
A desk and some armchairs by Pierre Jeanneret for Chandigarh. One of Matisse’s “Blue Nudes”, a mobile by Calder and a ceramic by Picasso.
TSF
Where do you feel the best?
Lara
I feel good everywhere, everywhere is open. I love apartments where it’s easy and simple to move around.
TSF
What is missing from your apartment?
Lara
A larger apartment! But we’ll soon fix that! A really large dining table for our friends and families, and a garden…
TSF
Where do you get your inspiration for your work? Do you have a favourite artist?
Lara
My artistic tastes have helped me create jewellery inspired by the works of Gustav Klimt’s “Cycle d’Or”, by Henri Matisse, who said “There are always flowers for those who want to see them”, by Alexander Calder and Brancusi’s precise compositions and modernity, and by the sculptures ofCy Twombly. Everything is inspiring, and everything is linked; travel, fashion, architecture, everything!
TSF
What tasteless mistake should be avoided?
Lara
It’s so subjective. “Museum style” apartments aren’t really for me. I love it when a space “lives”.
TSF
Which piece are you most proud of?
Lara
Probably the shells and corals I’ve brought home from my travels.
TSF
A restaurant you would recommend in Paris or elsewhere?
Lara
The Bar de la Croix Rouge. I went there with my mum when I was little, then as a student with my friends, and now with my husband.
TSF
Which two websites would you secretly recommend?
Lara
Antiquités Quattrocento and 1stdibs.
TSF
Where was the last place you went on holiday?
Lara
We’re currently in Tokyo!
TSF
What are your projects for the future?
Lara
Create my ninth collection.
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