See the Porcelain Objets Bringing Light to a Parisian Perfumer
For our new series “Objects of Affection,” ELLE Decor is asking designers and others from an array of fields to tell us about an item or items in their personal space that is bringing them comfort and solace as they stay home in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. (And here’s what’s keeping the ELLE Decor team happy at home.)
Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian is familiar with the importance of discipline. As a child, he was a classical ballet dancer. But when things didn’t pan out, he eventually switched to the cosmetics world, where he has made a name for himself creating scents for top brands, among them Jean-Paul Gaultier and Narciso Rodriguez. In 2009, Kurkdjian founded his own boutique line, whose hit creations include Aqua Universalis, a blend of bergamot, Italian lemon, white flowers, and musky woods, and Baccarat Rouge 540, a mix of jasmine, saffron, cedar, and ambergris. Based in Paris, Kurkdjian is maintaining a balance between rigor and humor with help from a series of artistic objets.
Jean-Baptiste Fastrez Ceramic Designs
“In 2014, my company Maison Francis Kurkdjian opened a pop-up store in the heart of the Marais district in Paris. A few months later, it actually became our second permanent Parisian store. For this occasion, I wanted to display objects I enjoy myself. I decided to showcase a few pieces from Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres–Cité de la Céramique, the French national porcelain manufacturer and museum. Among them were the Culbutos created by Jean-Baptiste Fastrez for Les Ateliers Courbet. I literally fell in love with this series of playful objects, which brings together all the codes and know-how of the Manufacture. I have a set of them in my apartment living room. For me, they are very precious but absolutely not pretentious objects. They are refined and sophisticated, but they are also very fun and playful. They have a real sense of humor, even a form of casualness, that does a lot of good during this particular time of quarantine.” —Francis Kurkdjian, founder of Maison Francis Kurkdjian
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