Atelier Rosemood's Collection Director's House in Nantes with Garden

I’m a designer with a passion for crafts. My husband Guillaume is an engineer by training. We could never have imagined that one day we would be able to combine our expertise and work together and yet… our paths have both led us to Atelier Rosemood. We grew up in Paris, just a few metres apart. We’ve been together for 20 years now and have three children: Raphaël, Joséphine and Daphné.

I’ve been drawing plans for my ideal house since I was 10 years old. So I didn’t think twice about training as a designer. After cutting my teeth at the Ateliers Jean Nouvel in Paris, I went to London to work in an architects’ studio. My career path and the opportunities that came my way led me to return to the French capital to join Dior as a designer. For nine years, I designed settings to showcase some outstanding products.  My guiding principle was to be avant-garde, unique and different. These demands led me to meet ever more daring and passionate craftspeople and artists. When our daughter Daphne arrived – five years ago – we finally left our beloved city behind and moved to Nantes. Guillaume joined the Rosemood adventure as Technical Director and a few months later – against all the odds – I followed him!

My father always instilled in me a love of entrepreneurship. This is what led me to start my first company at the age of 20 during my engineering studies. After a few years and a master’s degree in business management in London, I set up my second company with Atelier Rosemood, at the time Fairepartnaissance.fr, as my first client. Its founders – Grégoire, Antoine and Hélène – and I kept in touch over the following years. When they asked me to join their incredible adventure, it wasn’t a very hard decision to make.

After starting out in Paris, Atelier Rosemood moved to Nantes with its three partners to develop its own printing workshop.  Today, the Atelier – which since its launch has been producing invitations – also allows you to print your most treasured memories through our range of customisable photo products (photo albums, notebooks, calendars, prints, posters, etc.). As our primary concern is to satisfy our customers, the quality of our products and service are at the heart of our creations. We work hand-in-hand with my teams and our workshop to design all our new collections and products. We’re very lucky because Hélène, Grégoire and Antoine trust us and give us a great deal of creative freedom.  This allows us to offer products with very careful finishes, sometimes worthy of an art edition, that set us apart from the rest of the market. And to do so, we are constantly on the lookout for new talent, designers and expertise.

It wasn’t really love at first sight. But arriving from Paris, we were looking for space and especially for some outside space. The garden immediately to us appealed. It was a real jungle! The property itself hadn’t been touched for over 50 years. Everything needed rethinking, it was the dream project!

We had two objectives: to bring in light and to enlarge the living spaces. As our children are still quite young – they are never very far from us – Guillaume and I appreciate the corners of the house that allow us to isolate ourselves without disappearing from the room.

I furnish a bit at a time. Every piece, every object is important to me. I can’t just buy furnishings. I wait for things I fall in love with, and I like to give us pieces that are old and tell a story. It can take several years for a desk to find its chair, or a bedside table its lamp! Waiting makes you appreciate the object and its usefulness even more once you have it. I hope to pass on these values to my children.

It’s hard to say. I would say that it’s a warm place turned towards nature. This house is a reflection of us, and we feel good in it.