from love to death.

"It's so sad, it's not you!"
"It's still weird to bring up such a subject at your age..."

Contrary to what my mother-in-law might think, you don't have to be Wednesday Addams or 60 to talk about death.

Far from dressing all in black, hating life or listening to Death Metal all day long, I've always had my head in the clouds and my feet in "another" world - be it imaginary or real, under or aboveground.

So it's not death itself that attracts me, but the celebration of our differences - it's what has nurtured me so far, and what drives me to create this project today.

there's nothing stranger than people!

For 10 years, I worked in a world that didn't really come naturally to me: weddings.

As someone who's allergic to convention, this wasn't at all a field I'd imagined myself growing up in - let alone feeling really comfortable in! 

To my surprise, I've had a blast (almost) every day. The last 10 years have allowed me to explore invitation design and stationery in all its forms. I've discovered a creative freedom that I'd probably never have found anywhere else!

More than just pieces of paper, what people came to me for was the unique experience I offered: the chance to create a genuine personal identity - one that goes beyond the event to immortalize the very history of the couple or company.

But something was missing...

Because if what I was doing was celebrating life in all its adventures - love, family, business - then where was the last one?

From love
to death, there's only one letter that changes.

It may seem strange to go from such a colorful, cheerful world to one perceived as sad, morbid, even gloomy.
And yet, it makes so much sense!
If birth is a passage. Adolescence, graduation, marriage, your first job, your last job, turning 33... All these transformations are milestones, key moments in our lives. So why not death?

Unfortunately, nothing (or really very little) is done in this area... I've always been shocked by the coldness and lack of emotion that can emanate from funeral stationery. I don't understand how underestimated this field is, when paper has such incredible connecting power!

I sincerely believe that the power of stationery (whether it's a card, an invitation or even a catalog) lies in the story it tells. And my job, as a graphic designer, is to shape that story through the techniques and materials at my disposal. Every detail counts: from the envelope to the stamp, from the illustration to the choice of typography, from the choice of paper to the way it's printed or shaped.

Rather than creating beauty for beauty's sake, I seek to create objects that carry meaning - objects that possess their own language and imagination. For this reason, the recipient is an integral part of my process. I think of them when I create, because it's under their fingers that the object will come to life - and it's through their emotions (smiles, laughter, tears...) that they'll give it a soul.

Transforming the seemingly mundane into something memorable, relevant or even poetic, that's the hidden talent of paper work - and I've made it my expertise.

So how can we not use this power to pay a final tribute? To create one last memory?

Exploring the past, questioning the present to better inspire the future.

I know it's not done (yet?) but, what if we imagined funeral stationery that displays itself? Shared in the same way as wedding invitations. Stationery that becomes part of everyday life, a kind of modern Memento Mori that commemorates the end rather than hiding it. Wouldn't this be a nice way to keep our loved ones alive, in our lives?

This is what I'm trying to create by exploring symbols from the past: questioning our beliefs, delving into history and reinterpreting what we've forgotten in order to (re)find signs that make sense and bring poetry back into today's rituals.

Emotion is the key. It's what inspires me, but more importantly it's what I seek to inspire in return - whether that emotion is happy, sad or simply nostalgic.