TALKS
Dreaming life in flowers and colours
Justine Beaussart aka nebbiastudio creates vibrant, quirky floral designs. A funky poetry that this artist also distils into her everyday life as a mother. Meet the artist.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your career?
My name is Justine Beaussart, I'm 37 and I've been living in Annecy in Haute-Savoie for a few years now with my husband Paul and our daughter Alda, who's nearly two.
In my adult life, before Annecy, I lived successively in Marseille, London, Paris and Milan, but I couldn't see myself starting a family in a big city. Paul and I grew up in the countryside, so it was important for us to raise our child close to nature. With its lake and surrounding mountains, Annecy is a joy to live in!
When we moved here three years ago, I decided to set up my own creative floral design studio: Nebbia Studio. I'd decided to retrain for a new career, and after a florist's CAP and a number of experiences working with professionals in the sector in Paris and Milan, I was ready to take the plunge into entrepreneurship! On a day-to-day basis, I decorate events and create floral displays for brands.
Prête pour partir en picnic avec la grande glacière Nobodinoz et le matelas de picnic de la collection Sunshine
Would you say that motherhood is an experience that makes you blossom?
I'd say that motherhood is an experience that has turned me into a completely different kind of flower!
How does your child enrich your creative outlook?
Alda is a very curious little girl who loves poking around, wandering around and taking the time to take a long, hard look at the things she discovers. I love her ability to marvel at 'ordinary' things, and I feel that thanks to her I've become much more contemplative myself than I was recently.
In my work, I like to refer to painting, fashion and architecture, but recently I've been feeling my gaze shifting.
Recently I've been working on floral designs inspired by fairly simple elements: wisps of mist clinging to the trees, the warm colours of a mountain sunset. I have to say that I get a lot of satisfaction from this kind of reconnection with simplicity. I can't wait to continue unravelling this creative thread.
Is your love and passion for flowers and all the sensory qualities they possess something you inherited from childhood?
I have a lot of childhood memories of flowers, all linked to my paternal and maternal grandparents, and all of them have certainly nurtured the florist I am today.
At Mimi and Richard's house in La Ciotat, there was a large mimosa in the garden and bouquets of gladioli on the way back from the market. In Jeumont, at Raymond and Djedla's house, there were pansies on the edge of the vegetable garden and a big, fragrant rosebush in front of which we posed for the traditional family photos. These are very fond memories that I love to bring back regularly.
Zoom sur le sac picnic isotherme, un must have pour les balades en famille. Accompagné de l’incontournable nappe de picnic imperméable
The long-awaited question: what's your favourite flower?
It's hard to choose! What is certain is that my favourite flower grows in France and in the fields of the producers with whom I love working in the studio. So it might be a tulip from Virginie, a poppy from Claire, a buttercup from Pascale, a bearded iris from Marlène, a zinnia from Marine, a botanical lily from Clément or a dahlia from Lucie.
What are your earliest enthusiastic memories of flowers and colour?
An incredible orange and yellow floral print on a size 3 coat that I proudly wore 33 years ago.
What do you think is the best way to pass on this sense of wonder to children?
I'd say that for me, this transmission comes through experimentation. Alda often comes to the studio after her day at the nanny's or at the weekend when I'm working there. I love letting her touch my equipment, tinkering with the little things she finds and snatching flowers behind my back. Sometimes I help her by showing her precise movements, but often I just let her get on with it, watching her out of the corner of my eye.