100% Southern living

A rising generation of designers and interior decorators from other parts of the world is taking firm root in the daily landscape...  And making us dream. Our favourites!

By Caroline Guiol

Claude Como

Phenomenal frescoes

She grew up in the Côte d’Ivoire, studied in Aix-en-Provence, and lived in Paris for 20 years. In 2012, the visual artist returned to her native Marseille...  “The sea, from Abidjan to Marseille, gives me vital energy. Like the calanques’ light and landscapes.” Her work ranges from sculpture, ceramics, resin, charcoal, and oil painting, but tufting (wall tapestry) techniques are what currently inspires her: supple, monumental works in tufted wool on canvas, interwoven into free-form shapes inspired by the plant and animal world, like pieces of nature. 

claudecomo.com

Marie de Buttet

Urban wanderings.

Hailing from Chambéry, she studied at the Beaux-Arts in Marseille before moving there several years later. She is also familiar with some of the most inspiring places in the South of France: Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul de Vence, the Picasso Museum in Antibes, the Matisse Museum in Nice, the Fernand Léger Museum in Biot... The birthplace of her visual language, displayed outdoors in the Vauban and Malmousque districts, set between unsuspected alleys and passages converging into the sea: original collage drawings, cut-outs stuck to the walls. These ‘dames de coeur’ inhabit the canvas, painted in primary colours, and are available in small textile series. Unique pieces commissioned for private, institutional, and event-based projects. 

166 Corniche-Kennedy, Marseille 7^e - mariedebuttet.com

Adrien Vescovi

Draped elegance.

The artist’s recycled textiles drape ultra-refined nonchalance. In addition to these second-hand linen fabrics and sheets, the added value of a lengthy vegetable dyeing process creates a world of its own: baths, maceration, scalding for subtle ‘jus’ that he tests tirelessly like light screens in his studio laboratory in La Belle-de-Mai. Inside and out, the monumental works carve their identity amid architecture and landscapes exposed to the sun, moon, wind, and snow. “My tools are an iron, a sewing machine and pins! I’m a painter without brushes. I invent recipes.” 

Visite de l’atelier sur rdv - adrienvescovi.com

Marta Pignol 

Chromatic Vibrations

Brazilian by birth and Aixois by adoption, she is the new head of the institution, which has perpetuated the know-how and manual production of inlaid cement tiles for more than 40 years. Not only does Carocim manufacture its creations, but colourful designers also produce exclusive collections. Wide-ranging projects lie ahead for this architect and urban planner with a degree in Design and Fine Arts from New York, who is breathing new life into the tile manufacturer: a new identity, revisited classics, and a collaboration imminent with Margaux Keller... Endless decorative possibilities between private construction, hotels, restaurants, and museums worldwide. 

1515 Route du Puy-Sainte-Réparade

13540 Aix-en-Provence - carocim.com

Elise Esteves Laranjo et Romain Chartrain

Azul’s solar voyages...

The city’s most Mediterranean concept store, first opened in 2019, brings artisans with heart and soul in its wake. Committed to a responsible and sustainable ethos, both partners take great care to ensure this: “We’ve travelled miles and surfed for many hours to find our nuggets since we opened!” This big blue-sky shop window tells the story of Mediterranean cultures through tableware, small furnishings, lighting, posters and postcards, books, cosmetics, and fine foods. 

73 rue Francis-Davso, Marseille 1^er - 4 rue de la Glacière, Aix-en-Provence 

et à Lisbonne, rue Sao Cristovao - azul-azul.com