(Re)fresh Therapy - Interviews

In this series of "(Re)fresh Therapy" interviews, we meet four passionate designers: Alicia, Inès, Robin and Tess. They share with us their vision of upcycling, the importance it has in their daily lives, their projects and their interior design inspirations.

Hello, who are you?

Alicia: My name is Alicia, I'm 27 and I'm an artist and content creator. I'm passionate about interior design and upcycling. I discovered upcycling when I moved into my first apartment. I wanted made-to-measure decoration that was totally me. I first discovered upcycling as a more economical alternative to buying new decor. Little by little, I became passionate about transforming and creating objects myself.

Inès: My name is Inès Possamaï, I'm 26 and I'm from Toulouse. 1 year ago, I took the plunge and set up my own business as a DIY/déco content creator. Today, I gather nearly 200,000 people around my colorful universe and make a living from this profession. I spent a long time looking for what I was passionate about in life, but today I can say that it's about sharing my creative processes through imagination and the creation of colorful design objects.

Robin: Hello, my name is Robin, I'm 27 and I'm a textile designer specializing in Upcycling. As well as design, I love sports in general, from which I also draw my inspiration.

Tess: My name is Tess aka Rosabohneur on social networks. I've been creating content around lifestyle and ethical fashion for about five years now, talking to my community about upcycling and showing them how to reuse things they already have by giving them a new look. I also recently opened a coffee shop in Lille called Latte, and I love challenging myself to try lots of new things.

How would you define upcycling? How important do you think this art of living is?

Alicia: For me, upcycling is the art of transforming something into something even better, giving it a second life of sorts. What's interesting about upcycling is both its ability to encourage us to consume better, to throw away less, to reuse rather than buy again, but also the fact that it encourages us to be creative by transforming objects or materials into something new and original!

Inès : I like to say that upcycling is about giving a new life, or even a better life, whether useful or aesthetic, to an object that could otherwise be thrown away. The idea is to improve the quality and value of the original object. I often say that it's basically "upgrading an object". Upcycling is a veritable art of living in which anything can be transformed. Rather than buying something new, we repair what we already own to give new life to what already exists. In this way, this art of living reduces the impact of producing new products.

Robin: Upcycling is the process of giving value back to materials that have little or no value left. In a world where we produce so much, it allows us to create new things with what we already have. This is essential in today's world.

Tess: Upcycling means reusing an object or item of clothing you already have, transforming it to give it a new life and avoid waste. The cool thing about upcycling is that you can use your creativity to give new life to something that already exists and make it more desirable. while avoiding over-consumption.

What role does upcycling play in your life? Did something click for you, and if so, what was it?

Alicia: Upcycling has been a big part of my life for 2 years now, since it's become my job to create content around interior design. At the moment, I'm redecorating my entire apartment, and the aim is to reuse as many objects as possible that I already have, to upcycle them or, failing that, to find second-hand ones to use as a base. I wasn't really familiar with upcycling before, I discovered it when I moved into my first unfurnished apartment. That's when I realized just how much stuff you have to buy to furnish an entire apartment (a lot)! It was quite natural for me to turn to upcycling, for economic reasons at first, and then over time I fell in love with the idea of giving a new life to an object and creating a unique decoration.

Robin: Upcycling is omnipresent in my life; I think about it and create every day. I've always been interested in upcycling, but it was during my confinement that I really developed this passion.

Inès: Upcycling has been omnipresent ever since creating objects and making decorating tutorials out of them became my main activity. Everything that comes across my radar is meticulously analyzed: if I find a piece of furniture on the street, I'll automatically say to myself "well, what can I do with this object? I've just found a tennis racket in my garbage can as I write this. To be continued ahah! I've really fallen in love with upcycling since my adventures with my mirrors: it's simple, I've broken almost all of them! But each time, I managed to give a new life to each piece and today, these upcycled mirrors are among my best creations.

Tess: I'd say that upcycling is a very important part of my life, and allows me to rethink the way I consume at every moment, and to always think of the potential of things before throwing them away. A few years ago, I realized that it didn't make sense to throw away something that could still be used! Sometimes, all it takes is a little love and time to bring a beautiful object back to life.

And now, what role does interior design play in your daily life?

Alicia: Interior design is a very important part of my life, because it's the heart of my profession. I'm self-taught in this field, I don't have any qualifications, and I approach this new art form in the same way as I approach painting, for example, by exploring, testing and trying to follow my instincts as much as possible, what I like. Creating a space in which I feel comfortable and that represents me 100% has become a real daily driving force.

Inès: Interior design has played a key role in my daily life ever since I realized that feeling good in my own home was one of my priorities, following the confinements in 2020. I've become a true homebody, and my home is literally my cocoon in which I recharge my batteries. I'm convinced that the shapes and colors of the objects and furniture in our homes have a role to play in our well-being at home. We spend a good part of our lives at home, so I think it's important to decorate and furnish according to our personalities, tastes and feelings.

Robin: Working from home, I'd say that interior design plays a big part in my everyday life. I need a place where I feel comfortable to develop my creativity.

Tess: I'm more and more interested in interior design. As I've grown up, I like to have beautiful things in my home that have a story behind them and that create harmony. Right now, I'm on a quest to have a fairly classy interior, but at the same time with touches of the 70s.

What appealed to you when NV GALLERY told you about the project?

Alicia: When NV GALLERY asked me to give a second life to one of their display models that had a few small defects, I immediately thought it was a great idea. It's something I often do and I love it: giving a second life to a damaged or discarded object. I think it's important for a furniture brand like NV GALLERY to speak out on this art of living that is upcycling!

Robin: I really liked the challenge of working in interior design. My work tends to focus on clothing, and I'd been wanting to try my hand at furnishings for a long time.

Inès: I was totally taken with the idea of adding my own colorful touch to NV GALLERY's beautiful furniture. The Seconde Vie space in the brand's showroom is already a great initiative for recycling furniture returns, but the idea of upcycling one of these objects and offering the final creation to a member of my community really got me excited!

Tess: For me, NV GALLERY is synonymous with hyper-quality furniture that blends perfectly with vintage furniture, not only in terms of the choice of materials, but also the cuts and design. So when they asked me to transform a defective piece, I immediately thought that we could do something fun and contemporary by upcycling one of their products.

How did you imagine the creative process?

Alicia: As with all my creations, I always start with a sketch. I look for the shape and color I'd like to give the object, and once I've found an idea I like, I think about how to create it in real life!

Inès: For my upcycling project, I chose the green CERSEI side table from the Seconde Life selection. With no major defects, I immediately wanted to play with complementary colors by keeping the initial green color and combining it with a cameo of pink. As speckled is trendy, I opted for this technique and I'm very happy with the result!

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Tess: I immediately thought of replacing the seat with something a little funkier to give the chair a 70's effect. Then I made it with the fabric I found.

Robin: I first imagined a garment, for this project a down jacket. Then I asked myself how I could adapt it to a piece of furniture. Should I keep the pockets? What could I add to make my work just as practical ... while keeping the NV GALLERY universe.

What was your favorite stage? An anecdote? What was the most challenging?

Inès : The most challenging part of this DIY project was determining the right tools/technique to achieve my idea. Once that was done, I was able to really enjoy personalizing the table. A bit of music and off we went for the disconnect and the transformation. My greatest pleasure comes when the end result meets my expectations and pleases as many people as possible!

Robin: I loved deconstructing the furniture and understanding how it was made. In any field, deconstructing opens up our thinking and enriches our understanding of how everything around us works. The most challenging part was modifying the pattern of the piece to take into account the new quilting of my fabric.

Tess: The choice of fabric, but also the moment of the final result, because you always have an idea in your head, but you never know how it's really going to look!

Robin: I don't think there's any one piece in particular, but to start by repairing or customizing. This allows you to keep the structure of the basic piece and add your own personal touch.

What piece would you recommend to someone new to upcycling who wants to bring an object back to life for the first time?

Alicia: Without a doubt: a jigsaw! It's the tool that really allowed me to go further in all my upcycling, to stop limiting myself. It's a tool you can find in the entry-level range for barely €20, and it's really the must-have for all my creations!

Inès : Old or broken mirrors are, in my opinion, very interesting objects to upcycle, as you can make all kinds of frames: in polymer clay, in MDF, with half-faceted balls... the possibilities are endless!

Tess: For my part, I wanted to make a transformation that wasn't too complicated and accessible to beginners! When you're just starting out in upcycling, you shouldn't think too big, but concentrate on doing things right.

What do you love about NV GALLERY? What's your favorite piece?

Alicia: What I like about NV GALLERY is their ability to create quality pieces that are always up to date. I'm particularly fond of the POWERS floor lamp, I love its wavy shape and the lacquered finish that gives it a retro feel!

Inès: I love the finesse of the furniture and decor, and the NV GALLERY DNA is evident in the curves, materials and singular design of each object. It's hard to choose, but I'd say my favorite piece is the beige POWERS floor lamp, the design is just incredible!

Robin: I really like the softness and calm that emanates from the NV GALLERY selection. The pieces are perfect for bringing something to the room without being too imposing so that you feel at home easily. I'd say the Florentino outdoor range, even though I don't own an outdoor space, I really like the retro vibe it gives off.

Tess: I think my NED chest of drawers looks so good in my home and goes perfectly with my antique table from the 70s!

What's the one design piece you couldn't live without in your home?

Alicia: My Strafor chairs, which I found for very little money, are extremely comfortable and come in a beautiful color, my favorite: orange.

Inès: The design piece I couldn't live without in my home is the orange Nessino lamp by Artemide. Off or on, its color is sublime and its mushroom shape adds so much character to a room.

Robin: I have a vintage Scandinavian desk that I love, it's very simple in design but with lots of character. I think it's a piece I'd never part with.

Tess: Lately, I've been hunting out a vintage lampshade that makes all the difference above my table. I don't know why I didn't think of it before!

What's your current obsession?

Alicia: I love the shapes and colors of this style of interior design. It's an era that fascinates me and inspires me a lot in the creation of my own interior!

Inès: In terms of color, my current obsession is red, and more specifically the "unexpected red theory", which states that a red object raises the decorating quotient of an interior. In terms of customization/upcycling, I'd really like to give my kitchen a boost without completely transforming it, as I'm renting, so it's quite a challenge!

Robin: At the moment, I love taking inspiration from sportswear/outdoor codes for pieces that are not at all destined to be used in this environment. I'm pretty eclectic in my tastes and I try to convey that through my work.

Tess: As you can see, I love leopard in a small way, and that's what inspired my upcycling!