Marlene Huissoud on propolis (or bee glue)
04.09.19. Designer’s studio, Paris
For this episode Material Matters travelled to Paris to chat to up-and-coming designer Marlene Huissoud about her relationship with propolis (or bee glue) – a substance made up of wax and resin that bees collect from vegetation and use to seal the honey frames inside their hive.
Working the material a little like glass, the Central Saint Martin’s graduate has created a series of cooly dark, vaguely threatening, vessels as well as a number of other objects.
During our chat we discuss what it was like growing up with her beekeeper father in the Alps; coming to study in England; why she decided recently to leave London for the French capital (in a word, Brexit); the reasons behind her decision to train as a nurse; creating pieces from her kitchen; and what she’s up to at during the 2019 London Design Festival.
Find out more about Marlene Huissoud
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f6098834fa6ac0624b17c6c673017079d4f296f017420fb0934e801cbd5ee2bd/Cocoon-wardrobe_-Credits_-Studio-Marlene-Huissoud4.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e7bc8f312ef50dc1eb95a882a34322efc4fcbe019641dea056b04577ae0ad0d3/Cocoon-Light1---Credits_Studio-Marlene-Huissoud.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3d0922ccc57b85b48aaea3d8dacdb112ddc5bef390b2dd09d5253e4500d5a489/_WIP-Please-Stand-By1--Marlene-Huissoud--Credits_-BERNARDO-FIGUEROA.jpg)