A secret life is a happy life…

Ideally one lived in the midst of a forest! On that front, the Brisset Estate ticks all the boxes, since it’s completely hidden from view, only appearing as you round the final corner. The Bertrand family invited us into their impressive home, a recent purchase, for the 2021 Album shoot.
And what a warm welcome we received from retired combat helicopter pilot Jean-Charles and emergency doctor Pascale, who met in the army, and their two children Pierre and Antoine, both 11 years old.
“The experience was fun from start to finish,” says J-C.

When you laid eyes on the Brisset Estate, it was love at first sight!

P : Absolutely! When Jean-Charles retired from his job as an army helicopter pilot in 2018, it was out chance to make the move we’d always dreamed of – to leave Alsace and head to sunnier climes. He spotted the house on the “Maisons Atypiques” website. It’s only 2 km from the centre of Montélimar, but it’s so peaceful it’s like living out in the countryside.

JC: I fell madly in love with the place the first time I set foot inside!

The house is known locally for its interesting past. Can you tell us more?

JC : When they were building the place back in the late 18th century, they had to dig into the hillside. The workers uncovered a vast Neolithic burial site measuring 100 by 30 metres. The chamber has since been converted into a wine cellar. It’s bigger than the Drôme Provençale and Vaucluse cellars! We access it from the lounge via a glazed door, so we can admire it all day long. During the Second World War, the house served as the headquarters of the Wehrmacht. You can still see the scars left by American bullets in the render. There’s also a Roman stone tablet in the grounds dating from 400 A.D. We’ve had historians come along to see it!

It’s the dream family home! The boys play in the forest. There’s a huge dormitory, a giant games room, and a pond with fish and frogs!

Describe this distinctive house for us!

The huge terrace overlooks the valley. When you stand there, you feel like you’re floating above the treetops. It’s a Provençal country house that was restored in the 1920s by a doctor from Lyon. It’s since passed through the hands of many families. The owners before us modernised the place. And I’ve spent the last 18 months doing my own renovations, including laying IPE decking around the spring-water pool, which used to be a fish pond. I’ve also kitted out the garage, which now houses my cars and motorbikes. I’ve always been a handy mechanic, and I love restoring vehicles to their former glory. My old Land Rover was definitely popular with the Fermob team!

Speaking of Fermob, you took part in the casting call for the 2021 Album. What prompted you to apply?

P : We picked up a copy of the Album last year from our favourite interior design store in Montélimar. I remarked, half-joking, that it sounded like a fun thing to do. Jean-Charles and the boys took me at my word and submitted an application along with some photos. The rest is history!

How did the shoot go?

The children couldn’t have been more excited. They thought they were going to be famous! The team spent four days with us. It was a great experience. It’s fascinating to see everything that goes on behind the camera. When you’re in front of the lens, you have no idea just how much work goes into one photo!

FERMOB x MELLEMIMIJOLIE: A lush collection in a strictly limited edition

Take two nature-lovers: one a brand, the other a designer. Put them together and what do you get? A lush collection that’s bang on trend at a time when greenery is becoming a staple feature of indoor spaces. After all, who among us doesn’t have a plant or two in the corner of our lounge? What’s more, leaves, fruits and flowers are the must-have decorative craze of the moment, appearing on fixtures, fittings and accessories of every type – from sofas and wallpaper to cushions and ornaments. It’s a trend that’s putting us back in touch with nature and bringing beauty and gentle relaxation to our everyday lives. That’s why the limited-edition Fermob x Mellemimijolie collection couldn’t be more apt. Get a sneak preview of the story behind it!

Fermob opened my eyes to a new avenue of creativity, letting me tell a story – the story of our return to nature

Fermob and collabs

At Fermob, the brand known for its expertise in furniture-making, we simply love working with like-minded artists from all walks of life – and using our industrial know-how to turn creative ideas into reality. Because being open-minded to other design influences, and harnessing the mutually enriching power of collaboration, is an immensely rewarding experience. First, we teamed up with Koralie, who successfully revisited our famous Balad lamp. This time around, we invited textile and graphic designer Mellemimijolie – real name Sandrine Djellil – to develop a limited edition on the theme of winter gardens to supplement the brand’s furniture, lighting and accessory collections.

A natural collab, in every sense

Cocotte occasional tables with tops adorned with cut-out leaves. Monstera and Lady Jane trivets named after the stylised plants that inspired the designer. There’s only one word to describe them: lush! This collab is all about bringing nature into the home, with appealing colours – Anthracite, Cedar Green, Red Ochre and Chili – that add a touch of warmth to your cosy space.

Plants, flowers and vegetation in general speak to the resplendent elegance of nature. There’s nothing more delicate than a leaf – a structure of infinite detail that’s open to endless interpretations

Mellemimijolie and Fermob: second nature!

Mellemimijolie’s creative identity is founded on the values that Fermob holds dear: colour, nature and joie de vivre. It was those qualities that brought her to our attention on Instagram.

My influences – colour, poetry and greenery – were a great fit with Fermob. We shared the same penchant for freshness and fun.

“It was inspiring to collaborate with a French brand that has solid green and eco-design credentials. I’d worked on designs for stationery, candles and textiles before, but this was my first foray into the world of furniture. The idea was to turn everyday objects into something different – with elegant, illustrated designs and custom patterns. My brief was to revisit the tops of the Cocotte tables using silkscreen-printed blocks of colour and to design eye-catching trivets for meals and get-togethers. Other than that, Fermob gave me complete creative freedom. It wasn’t your usual collab, though. It all happened under lockdown, so we never met in person. We worked from home, via our screens, with our children playing around us. It all went remarkably smoothly in the circumstances!”

If you share our passion for gentler interiors that reflect who you are and procure a sense of well-being – especially since we’re all spending more time at home right now – then look no further than the Mellemimijolie limited-edition collection. Because when a collab produces something this good, it’d be a shame to miss out! And with Christmas just around the corner, these pieces are the ideal ready-made gifts.

I find inspiration all around me. I’ve been collecting postcards, and copies of Glamour and Vogue magazine, for years. And I’m a huge fan of sketchbooks and art books.

Here, we talk to two women with a surprising pastime: Armelle Ferrieux, International Sales Director at Fermob, and Hélène Grand’Eury, drama teacher and director of a children’s choir. Together they make up Team Roses 38, a rallying team that finished an impressive 13th place in the Rallye des Pionniers, between Oujda and Fes in Morocco, on 13-19 October 2019. Is it their strong personalities, and the obvious bond between them, that makes them so successful?

Why do you think your partnership works so well?

Armelle: “We complement each other, almost to the point of being complete opposites. Hélène, the driver, is a high-energy, spur-of-the-moment kind of person. As the navigator, I’m more thoughtful and considered in my approach. There’s a real alchemy between us. We also share the same values, and we’re great friends. We spend a lot of time laughing.”

Hélène: “We’re adventurous types who love having fun and letting our hair down. For both of us, an adventure is the perfect way to switch off from everyday life.”

What has rallying taught you?

Hélène:  “Stepping out of your comfort zone is a great way to discover who you really are!”

Armelle: “Rallying is an incredible learning experience. You learn how to make decisions as a pair, and you understand why detail is so important. As the saying goes, the devil is in the detail!”

What personal qualities do you need to be part of a rallying team?

“A strong mind”
“Having a strong mind matters more than being in good physical shape,” says Armelle (although she still runs twice a week, skis in winter and cycles in summer).

“A love of challenge”
Armelle is no stranger to targets at work. She adopts that same approach to her personal life, too. In 2012, the year she turned 40, she set her sights on taking part in the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles, a women-only rally in Morocco. Hélène, who won the event in 2018, sets herself a new challenge every year. Her goal for 2020? To take part in the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles for the 10th time – and achieve another podium finish!

 “A willingness to push yourself”
Rallying is about stepping outside your comfort zone, dealing with difficulty and pushing yourself to succeed.

“An ability to connect”
You need to develop an almost symbiotic relationship with your team-mate: one picks up the slack from the other.

“A deep understanding of yourself”
It’s no surprise that most participants are over the age of 45.

And, of course:

“Trust in your partner” and “A willingness to question yourself”

Their favourite number?

13: the position they finished in both the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles and the Rallye des Pionniers!

Their mantra?

“It’ll all work out in the end!” For Hélène, the phrase has “mystical” properties. “We all do things that are useful and reasonable,” says Armelle. “But it’s rare that you get to live your dreams.”

This is the story of a man who has always had a taste for colour. A man whose heart and mind was always set racing by “burnt orange” (the Hermès one) and indigo blue. In both the figurative and the literal sense… A man with a crazy amount of talent, who knows how to blend colours as few are able to do, and create harmonies such that people feel good in the interiors he designs for them. An inspiring testimonial on colour!

This man is Eric Brun-Sanglard

The great colour specialist, Eric Brun-Sanglard, cannot see! It was suddenly going blind that confirmed his gift for being able to feel colours. “But how can he imagine them? How did he become aware of this special sensitivity?” All these questions can be summed up in one: “How does he manage to decorate interiors, without being able to even glimpse the colours that are the basis of his art?”

“Close your eyes to see better”

…that’s Eric Brun-Sanglard’s answer! To get beyond the preconceived ideas that sight encloses us in, this is, he believes, the only solution! Colour should be tasted blindly, like cooking. Forget your set ideas and categorical judgements… Sight limits us to a narrow world and, by losing it, Eric Brun-Sanglard has freed himself from it. So he says: “I was almost relieved when I went blind, because I was able to attain a kind of authenticity that had been hiding behind sight.”

What was his revelation? Colour provides sensations…

When he went blind from one day to the next, Eric Brun-Sanglard consulted a Chinese doctor who put plants in the palm of his hands to help him get better. He noticed that some gave him strength, while others did not. Hence his idea of transposing this way of working to the world of colours: “test” them, by touching them, and then “calibrate” them in order to create your own inner colour chart. Depending on what he felt when he came into contact with them – vibrations, hot or cold sensations – he was able to recompose a broad palette in his head. “I simply escaped from the visual world to a world of the senses”, he says. Since then, Eric Brun-Sanglard chooses colours for his customers’ interiors that bring them well-being and emotional security… While each person’s feeling about colours is as personal as his perception is, he also feels what others need.

“Look at it differently!”

That’s the watchword of this colour specialist! Eric Brun-Sanglard invites us to take a fresh look at everything around us. To experience the fact that colours are vitamins, which can sometimes have a positive impact on us. But “seeing things differently” is far more than that! “Each morning we can choose to wake up with the glass half empty or half full”, says Eric Brun-Sanglard. Coming from a man who went blind at the early age of 33, this is a powerful reminder! He adds: “My life is no longer my own: I am called on to witness, inspire and drive people to face their fears and surpass themselves”. This is why he has been travelling the world for years, sharing his experience in an honest, authentic and unabashed manner. “Everybody gets something from it, because each of us has a handicap!” he concludes. A lack of self-esteem, or a complex…

If you like colours, now’s the time to rediscover them: with your eyes closed, note the ones that do you good, and give you good vibes… And if you don’t feel good inside, it may be a question of colours!

“Rebuilding your inner house”

This is the title of Eric Brun-Sanglard’s next book, which will be published on January 23rd by Cherche-Midi. As outdoor furniture specialists, who also invest in your interior, we wanted to find out more about this.

“It is a book at the crossroads of decoration and personal development. Our house reveals so much about us… We even talk about the mirror effect of our environment! As the saying goes: show me your interior and I’ll tell you who you are… My second book, after Au-delà de ma nuit : témoignage d’un designer aveugle (Going beyond darkness: the testimony of a blind designer), looks at this link between environment and self-expression. And how you can improve your life by making your home more beautiful”.

Some secrets we picked up during this fascinating interview

What are your sources of inspiration?

My many travels, which I learn a lot from.

What’s your next getaway?

Sri Lanka and India this winter. I like to get away at this time of year!

And yet, ironically, Eric Brun-Sanglard is from Chamonix in the French Alps. But he prefers wide horizons, the sea, and the smells of heat, like those of California, which he loves so much, to the mountains, which he finds oppressive.

What’s your favourite colour in the Fermob colour chart?

I really like your Cactus, and I love your Capucine and Acapulco Blue!

What’s your favourite Fermob material?

I prefer textured metal, which I like the soft, grainy feel of, to the other, which is colder.

Here at Fermob, we pour unbridled joie de vivre into each and every one of our collections, and even into our catalogues. So you might say we’ve found our alter ego! Jésus Sauvage – an influencer and image-maker, in case you haven’t heard of her – and is one of our behind-the-scenes #FERMOBPEOPLE. She helped us put together our interior design catalogue, showcasing our lamps and accessories. And, you have to admit, our furniture looks as happy as Larry.

Here we take an in-depth look at our incredible partnership with a talented lady – and an intriguing personality.

Enjoying outdoor

Jésus Sauvage adorns outdoor spaces and rips up the rulebook with Fermob furniture. She’s a talented young woman with a keen eye for colour and a provocative, quirky style – always executed with the utmost elegance. We spent two days in her garden – a heady mixture of crazy, off-beat, inspired yet understated creativity and a dash of professionalism – for a photo shoot and plenty of laughs to boot.

But before we go any further, let’s answer the question that everyone’s asking: where did she get her name? If you ask Sandra (her real name) where “Jésus Sauvage” came from, she’ll tell you she was also known as “Jésus” at home when she was young. “Sauvage”, meanwhile, is French for “wild” – which also happens to be the name of her husband’s company. Now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s dig into the detail.

Set design… What ?

So what does Jésus Sauvage actually do? Well we asked her, and here’s what she said: “I stage objects, match colours, design sets that tell a story. Sometimes I go for a realistic look. Other times, I let my creativity run free. It’s exciting work. Nothing ever stays the same.”

Image maker. Child’s play?

What’s the best thing about her job? “I get to have fun. I live in a multifaceted world filled with colour, craziness and children’s laughter.”

What’s inspiring her right now? Everything to do with children, especially little ones. “There’s so much freedom and possibility in interior design for kids. It’s all so fresh, so colourful, so vibrant. And it’s so much fun. I’m trying to carry a bit of that magic over into the grown-up world.” Her interest in children comes as no surprise, given that she has her own merry band of three boys, with the youngest exactly two years old.

What side of her work does she enjoy the most? “Set design.” She lets us into a little secret: when there’s a photographer behind the lens, she’ll happily leave them to do the camera work and focus on her side of things – on setting the scene.

But we had another question: what’s the secret to making a great image? “There’s no rulebook, no magic recipe for designing a successful set,” she says. “The trick is to keep things as natural as possible. That way, you won’t go far wrong.”

Femob and Jésus Sauvage: a match made in heaven!

She’s so effusive about Fermob furniture that it’s almost enough to make us blush. When someone with an expert eye is so complimentary about you, it’s worth shouting about. But one thing’s for sure: we’re lucky to have found each other.

“For me, Fermob is all about furniture that’s inspired by people – furniture you can live with for life. It might be discreet, but it’s always useful and practical. I’m a big fan of understated, visually striking, timeless design. My tastes are shifting in that direction. These are pieces you’ll want to keep with you for many years to come. Not just because of their quality, but because they’re a mix of genres, materials and colours. It works wonders.”

What’s her favourite piece from the collection? She stops to think for a moment (naturally!) but settles on the lamps. “They’re useful, practical, and really cleverly designed.” As for her favourite colour, “it has to be the new Acapulco Blue” (no surprise there either, since it’s as bright as her ideas).

“What I really love about Fermob is the sheer variety of colours,” she adds. “The creative possibilities are limitless.” We couldn’t agree more. Here’s hoping we’ll have many more inspired moments (and successful collaborations) with Jésus Sauvage – in another place, at another time, behind the scenes or front of stage. All that remains is to thank her for being such a great host – and for her expert eye and her own unbridled joie de vivre.