Bon'home

Auteur : Ariane | 04-30-2011

Bon’ Home, or Good Home, is the story of two friends who together launched into their professions and into a new adventure! Catherine Larré and Isabelle Millet’s lives are quite similar to this new activity...both have multiple jobs because they both have multiple passions which all intertwine into their personal lives.  And they both handle it all perfectly!

Their profiles:
Catherine is a professional photographer, graduating in Applied Arts from the Royal College of Art in London. Today, her artist’s studio is in Montreuil. Her next-door neighbor is none other than Celine Wright, a “Cocotte” we have already interviewed. Isn’t the world a rich and great place?!
Isabelle, after working several years in fashion design and as the director of sales for a clothing company, she listened to her true calling, her voice. She is the lead singer of the French band,  “Desesperate”, as well as a songwriter and composer! Definitely worth listening to!

Their paths have been really very different but unite at an artistic crossroad when creating Bon’Home together.

Catherine had crafted her sofa cushions in the shape / contour of her children... Isabelle discovered them and immediately thought about marketing them under the brand name "Bon’Home. Everything moved very quickly, the ideas multiplied until they reached the concept of "Yeti".  New designs are available focused, as always, on the human form, but with various textiles and textures.

Everything is manufactured in a unique French stuffed-animal factory hand finished with European fabrics carefully selected by Catherine and Isabelle. The cushion in human form is available in 1 meter or 50 cm; With its two long, welcoming arms, its many colors, and soft fur, Bon’Home has been a great success at its first appearance at the Salon Maison et Objet in September 2010. Catherine and Isabelle have since responded to orders mostly from abroad ... the French, being a bit cautious, need more time to decide. But the "French Touch" is still popular beyond our borders!

A Polish customer ordered a large number to decorate a hotel, among others ...
They signed a partnership with the Museum Shop Toile de Jouy and more than 25 shops in France are carrying this product, a very encouraging sign for a first round!

Where did you get your inspiration from to create the “Bon’ Home” cushion?
Cath. : A sculpture by Sarah Lucas, to keep a trace of my children.

What are your sources of inspiration, Isabelle?
Isa. : My travels and encounters.

What do you like most about your job / profession?
Cath. : The “having done it”.
Isa. : The achievement and following an idea to its end, finding the solutions, and researching materials.

Your workplace? How do you work, models and collections, the “Made in France”, and the team spirit?
We work from home.
Our models are in textiles. As with “ready to wear” clothing lines, ready to wear, we depend on patronage and create summer / winter collections. For items like handlebars in plexi, we designed a prototype.
We dreamt of making our cushions in India (Isabelle went there 2 times ...). Finally, we decided to keep production in France, when we discovered this unique stuffed-animal factory.
Our warm relations with the "little hands", the human relations, the proximity, and simplicity convinced us to stay. It seemed essential and natural to steer ourselves towards responsible business practices.

What do you think is the role of women in artistic creations?
Cath. : Exhausting!
Isa. : Women in their versatility often have several strings to their bow, one enriching the other ... which gives us more freedom when we are creating ...

Do you surf the blogs?
It is very recent, but yes!

The artists you like, admire?
Cath. Thomas Demand, Cindy Sherman.
Isa. : In music, Edith Piaf, David Bowie, Arcade Fire, Dead Man’s Bones ...
An artist, Arman who is a sculptor, painter, plastic artist and collector ...

The places you like to go to in your favorite city?
Cath. : The Street
Isa. : Central Park, New York City

What do you love in decorations or what don’t you like at all?
Cath. : I love the functional, I do not like the plastic "Budha"
Isa. : I like mixtures of “love at first sights”... I do not like the same styles, the same period pieces, or the same tones in the same room.

If you were a place, where would you be?
Cath. : Outside
Isa. : I would be a scene

If you were a color?
Cath. : Rose
Isa. : Midnight Blue

If you were a piece of furniture?
Cath. : A plant
Isa. : A sofa

A favorite object?
Cath. : A Bon’Home
Isa: A scarf

Describe your ideal home?
Cath. : at the top of a valley, a river
Isa. : A central part of life that is colorful, practical, patio-styled, with a room for everyone and its own secret garden.

Your current projects?
Cath. : Hold on, you’ll see!
Isa. : The release of my new album and lots of new "Bon’Home!

Could you recommend other women in this field or a creative, where talent and boldness go together?
Les Petites Productions
Francoise Martel, she makes small crocheted dolls dressed to our likeness. It’s beautifully sublime  and poetic.

By the way, what is the function of a Bon’Home cushion?
To decorate, to doze off on, to share ...

Have a look at their website: www.coussinbonhome.blogspot.com
and you can also view each of their talents:
www.catherinelarre.com
www.myspace.com/desperatefrenchband

Thank you to both of you, a great encounter !