ASTIER DE VILLATTE KEEP A FINE TRADITION ALIVE
Storytelling drives everything Ivan and Benoît do, whether it’s the shape of a plate or the way they’ve decorated their creative studio, a small flat where friends and collaborators stay on visits to Paris
Ivan Percoli and Benoît Astier de Villatte, co-founders of the Parisbased homewares-brand, are driven by storytelling
Our favourite word is mystery,” says Ivan Pericoli, one-half of the creative duo behind the soughtafter Parisian ceramics and lifestyle brand Astier de Villatte. More than 20 years ago, Ivan and his friend and business partner Benoît Astier de Villatte established the brand renowned for its offbeat charm. Their distinctive style marries an elegant sense of the past with a witty vibe of the present. “We are inspired by the old and forgotten,” says Benoît. The pair’s friendship blossomed after studying together at Paris’s École des Beaux-Arts under the guidance of Benoît’s artist father, Pierre Carron, and then working for sculptor Georges Jeanclos. The latter’s passion for working with terracotta inspired Ivan and Benoît to create their own collection of ceramic pieces. “These objects were perhaps more suitable for a still life than functional, but they were beautiful, so we thought it was okay,” says Benoît. Their first collection, shown at Maison & Objet in 1996, was an immediate hit and their brand — Astier de Villatte ( Benoît’s mother’s maiden name) — was born. The drive behind their aesthetic is highly personal — never fashionled. “We fififind beauty in things regardless of whether they are masterpieces or if they are in the bin — it makes no difffffferent to us,” says Ivan. “We can be very touched by something found in the flflflea market, in the same way we’re touched by something in the Louvre. But mainly we’re inspired by things from the past. Even if it’s an old chair found in the trash and you can see the personality of the maker — that’s what we really like.” ›› from left: in the studio flflat,flat, 18th-century18th- century parrots from an antiques shop in Chartres, France, and a 3-D embroidery from the Brimfifield Antique Show in Massachusetts in the US are among the designers’ favourite fififinds. Brown velvet armchair from L’Art du Temps.