Line Vautrin
Art & Design
Everyone reading this post has a love affair with objects that they are inexplicably drawn to. I have a lot actually - I think that anyone that loves design and beauty has a very specific list. High on my 'will love forever and ever', would be a piece by Line Vautrin.
Born in Paris in 1913, Line Vautrin would become one of the world's most recognized and distinguished post-war designers of jewelry, intricately decorated boxes and divinely beautiful mirrors. Her father ran a foundry and by 14 she had taught herself how to melt, mold, carve and polish metal. At 21 she started her business by selling pieces door-to-door. In 1937, she opened her own shop in Paris and eventually moved to the very chic Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. In 1948, Vogue magazine called her the "poetess of metal".
Her refined objects were infused with her passion of symbology, primitive patterns, ancient hieroglyphics and pictographs from the archaeological museums of Cairo. Her small "miracles of inventiveness" were collected by many, including Christian Lacroix and Diego Giacometti. Of all her work, I love her constellation of beautifully worked 'sorcerer's glass' mirrors. They are also favourites of Delphine and Reed Krakoff who often feature them in their interiors.
Line passed away on April 21, 1977. Her pieces remain the epitome of Parisian Neo-Romantic chic.
