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

The Cocoon Wardrobe was created from silkworm’s cocoons, honey bee bio resin and oak in 2017.

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The Cocoon Light also uses silkworm cocoons and bee resin or propolis. 

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Please Stand By was a series of objects created for insects made from clay in 2019. All images courtesy of the designer. 

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