TALKS
Interview Heju Studio
"THE IDEA OF FINDING A TIMELESS SHAPE GUIDED US THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS TO FIND A COMMON THREAD FOR THE COLLECTION."
At Nobodinoz, every collaboration is an encounter, a story woven from complementary worlds, combining our expertise and giving life to unique objects. Today, we had the pleasure of imagining a project with Heju, a creative interior design studio whose refined, sensitive language immediately appealed to us.
Founded by Hélène Pinaud and Julien Schwartzmann, Heju Studio's approach is both precise and delicate. The studio reinvents our relationship with shapes and textures by bringing style and poetry to their customers' everyday lives. Through this interview, we wanted to sketch their portrait in a playful way, to better understand their world, their inspirations, and the philosophy that guides each of their projects.
How did Heju Studio come about, and what inspired you to create a space where architecture, design and art meet?
We are Hélène Pinaud and Julien Schwartzmann. We met on the benches of the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture in Strasbourg. For us, there is no distinction or hierarchy between architecture, design, painting or sculpture, which are all art forms. We like to imagine a total project by merging inspirations and disciplines, which leads us to design furniture or choose works of art for an interior. This exercise allows us to design unique pieces of furniture or objects, or to find the perfect piece to match the style and proportions of the space. In all our projects, we also find echoes of modern art: organic lines reminiscent of the works of Arp, sculptural details reminiscent of the sculptures of Brancusi or soft colour combinations in the style of Morandi's paintings.
If you had to choose one object that tells your story, would it be...?
If we were to answer literally, we'd say our book Poetic Minimalism, which takes the reader behind the scenes of around thirty of our projects, grouped into six themes: space, materials, colours, joinery, details and decoration. Through this book, we wanted above all to express our vision and our universe, not to give a general truth about interior architecture but rather to reveal our inspirations and emotions. This book allows us to explore our imagination as well as the elements to which we pay attention and which are decisive in our eyes when we build a project.
Are there any key moments or encounters in your career that have particularly changed or inspired your approach to design?
We can't think of any particular encounter, but rather our years of experience on building sites and in workshops, talking to the craftspeople we work with on a daily basis. All our discussions with them have given us a great deal of insight into their techniques and constraints. Each project is a learning experience, and we no longer design spaces and furniture in the same way. It's always important for us to remember that behind beautiful images there are people with golden hands and incredible expertise.
If you could collaborate with an artistic or architectural personality from the past, would it be...?
Without hesitation, we'd choose the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, who succeeded in imposing his functionalist and modernist style on both architecture and design. He has succeeded in bridging the gap between Scandinavian tradition and modernity. All his designs and furniture are punctuated by asymmetrical, organic curves that are instantly recognisable. He was one of the first to use and promote birch plywood, a wood that we love and that we also find in our creations.
If Heju Studio were a landscape, what would it be?
A large lake covered with numerous islands, with steep coasts typical of Nordic countries, surrounded by conifer and birch forests, berry-filled bushes and moss-covered rocks.
If a children's area were an emotion, it would be...?
We're always impressed and surprised by children's spontaneity. We also try to be guided by our intuition and not to over-analyse our projects. We try to let ourselves be guided by the space and the lifestyle of the owners to create a unique project. No two projects are the same and they all correspond to an idea at a given moment.
If beauty in a home were a recipe, what would the ingredients be?
We try to find the perfect balance between two elements: practicality and aesthetics. Our aim is to create spaces that are legible, clear and uncluttered. To achieve this, closed storage shelves are the key to keeping only the most beautiful things visible. Everything is linked and everything responds to each other to create a total architecture. To illustrate this, we often say that we imagine works of art that are both living and functional.
And finally, a few words about working with Nobodinoz?
The arrival of our little Léon allowed us to immerse ourselves in the world of childhood. In our line of work, we wanted to create a minimalist bedroom for him, with playful, happy touches. We've always wanted to extend our architectural universe to include product design for children, and this desire has intensified with Léon. The collaboration was born of a shared desire to create furniture that is both sensitive and unique, but also timeless and durable.
It was essential for us not to distort the brand's imprint while projecting it into our own world. Like our work, the collection is a dialogue between minimalism and more sculptural, geometric touches. We were inspired by traditional Japanese wooden shoes, the geta, to create the legs of the sideboard, which we then applied to all the products. The idea of finding a timeless shape guided us throughout the process to find a common thread for the collection. The mix of light and dark wood is also characteristic of our work, providing contrast while retaining a sense of sobriety. With their graphic regularity, rounded reliefs and sculptural shapes punctuate the objects. With their subtle shade of beige, the fine gadroons blend into the décor while creating dynamic accents and plays of light and shadow. Conceived as a veritable sculpture, the shelving is made up of vertical uprights that appear as gentle undulations with a refined, slender silhouette. The result is a meticulous, poetic collection.