Shaping the body, between craftsmanship and sculptural vision. Interview with Marine Billet
Morgane MARGERIE
Master’s student in Design, Arts & Crafts, and Industry
Jean Monnet University, Saint-Étienne, France
Master’s student in Design, Arts & Crafts, and Industry
Jean Monnet University, Saint-Étienne, France
Marine Billet, jewellery and accessories designer with an eye for detail, shares her take on artistic craftsmanship. Marine often reinvents herself according to her desires, but she retains a strong taste for imprints. Those of the bodies, nature, the cities… which she moulds and transforms into jewellery. Winner of two awards: the Prix Artisanes and Best In Creativity Awards, Marine constantly reinvents herself and experiments with new techniques to create sculptural and lively jewellery.
MARGERIE Morgane, MITTON Lila : Hello Marine BILLET, to briefly review your career path, you originally studied architecture, an artistic field that deals with large structures. Has this influenced your work as a jeweller, a more meticulous and detailed discipline?
BILLET Marine : Yes, I think it influenced my practice, because I’ve kind of trained my brain to see things in volume. It’s something you develop when you work in a creative profession: moving from an idea, a concept, to a two-dimensional drawing, then to a three-dimensional object. So it definitely made it easier for me to visualise the objects. Perhaps the constructive aspect was less obvious, but in any case, the way of expressing myself through tools such as plan drawings, section drawings and models are things I had already worked on extensively in architecture and was able to reuse quite easily in the field of jewellery.
After that, I did two years of jewellery training at a Parisian school called the AFEDAP, which unfortunately no longer exists today. It was a school that focused heavily on contemporary jewellery, with a lot of creativity and freedom in the choice of materials. We weren’t moulded in the same way as students at traditional jewellery schools. I used wood, teeth, hair, paper… to make jewellery during those two years of study.
When I was at the AFEDAP, I did an internship at Atelier Philippe Grand, which is a workshop for model makers and fashion accessory designers. It was a profession I discovered at that time: making jewellery and accessories to be seen at fashion shows, without necessarily being sold afterwards. These are sculptural, highly visible pieces that are often loaned out for photo shoots. Sometimes special orders are placed for clients, but that wasn’t the main objective, which was to create pieces for fashion shows.
When I discovered this job, I thought, “Wow, this is amazing, this job exists!” Because you work with different fashion houses, each with its own identity, aesthetic and technical challenges. The deadlines are very tight, so there’s a lot of creativity and a lot of challenges. I loved it because every day I was working on a different piece. Sometimes it had to be reworked afterwards, but it was very dynamic. I get bored easily and find it hard to spend fifteen hours on the same piece. That’s why jewellery wasn’t for me, I think. I like change and challenges. When I left the AFEDAP, I said to myself, “Now I really want to work in fashion jewellery.” ” Initially, I wanted to join a studio and offer fashion houses my services in designing and producing models, supplying them with items in large quantities very quickly, because often, fashion house jewellery designers are quite good at drawing, but they either draw by hand or on a computer, and there is very little 3D, models or manipulation. I thought that this type of profile could be a real asset for fashion houses.
That wasn’t the case, because in France, you’re either a manufacturer or a designer, but you can’t be both, or at least it’s difficult. I applied to Vuitton, they found my profile interesting, but I think they felt I wasn’t “trained” for it because I hadn’t gone to fashion school or design school. I applied to several fashion houses, including Schiaparelli. At the time, they already had a jewellery designer, but they needed someone to make pieces urgently for a fashion show that was coming up in two weeks. So I decided to say yes, thinking it was a good way to get my foot in the door, even if it was just to make a few pieces. There was research and development involved, and I found that interesting. That’s how it all started.
M. M. & L. M. : Regarding your brand Incarnem, was this new venture the result of a need to create your own identity and brand?
M. B. : Yes, in fact, just after COVID, like many people I think, I did an exhibition with a friend who had organised the exhibition. And while talking to him, he said to me, “But what do you actually want for the future?” Because I was presenting personal pieces, and I said to him, “But actually, when I think back to the person I was five years ago, what I wanted was to have my own jewellery brand, my own universe, to be able to express what I love, what I feel.” I was lucky enough to work for fashion houses on a freelance basis, so I was quite independent. But I could have continued working for fashion houses and really set up Atelier Marine Billet and stayed focused on that. I started working for Jacquemus and Comme Des Garçons. I could have chosen to develop that, but I went in the opposite direction, thinking, “But what was the original idea?” It was to continue creating and to have my own means of expression. I think there are people who are designers of costume jewelry all their lives and are very happy with that; they don’t need to create anything else. Creating for others, making for others, is enough for them. I said to myself, “Blimey, it’s been six years now.” Because there were more and more orders, I had two interns with me, then they joined the workshop, and it was starting to grow. And I said to myself, “Right, now, there’s a tipping point. Either I go for it and really set up a company, hire people and we go for it, and we approach other houses, or I take a step back and put my energy into my personal project.” So that was my thinking. And I wanted to get back to my personal pieces, even though I got a lot of satisfaction from the jewellery I was making for Schiaparelli. They had great visibility. They weren’t my designs, they weren’t my work. So I needed to get back to that.
I’m still collaborating with Schiaparelli. But I also want to develop projects that are less rushed and where I am given a little more creative freedom, as if I were both an artist and a manufacturer. Now, if I were to collaborate with fashion houses, I would like to have my identity integrated into the process a little more. Before, I loved the rush and everything about the fashion shows. Now, I have to admit that it’s so intense and happens so quickly that it becomes a little tiring. There comes a point when the frenetic pace… The last five years have been great, I was always super excited to watch the fashion shows, to see if the pieces were being shown, because they don’t necessarily get shown. I feel like that excitement has faded a little, and I think it’s really a result of repetition. Lately, I haven’t made any pieces that have been shown on the catwalk, so maybe if I make some again in a year or two, I’ll get that feeling back. But lately, it’s been a bit too much. It was becoming a bit too time-consuming, so now I’m more focused on “managing my pace”. If a collection takes a year or two to come out, that doesn’t seem crazy to me at all.
So, I’m still juggling the two, but Incarnem takes up 70% of my time and the rest is 30%.
M. M. & L. M. : Speaking of your brand, we have noticed a real attraction to moulding parts of the human body in your personal collections. You also have a deep attraction to materials. When you imagine a collection, do you tend to take an approach based on body moulding or on materials?
M. B. : For me, moulding has always been part of my identity, because I discovered it during my training and have continued to learn more over the last six years. In fact, there is body moulding, but before that, there was moulding of architectural elements in Paris. That’s the “Morceaux choisis de Paris” collection, and more recently, there are casts of flowers and elements that I collect by the sea, with shells… Where I’m also moving more towards tableware. So casting is a common thread. The body is a moment, it’s research into moulding. For me, moulding remains my common thread. It remains a prism that allows me to create and which then gives rise to new collections. So, I don’t draw very much, or I’ll do quick little sketches. But I think it’s more that it comes from a kind of desire. I know that moulding will always be part of my work. So, it might just be a walk and I’ll pick something up and it will inspire me for a piece. Recently, I found an orchid, a very small type of orchid, and I thought it would look pretty as a ring. Or I know that I’ve started working with flowers a little bit, and I think that will become a collection soon. It’s more about what I fall in love with than what attracts me to something. Then I see how I can translate that into jewellery.
M. M. & L. M. : Jewellery making is a discipline that has existed for thousands of years and has evolved considerably. How important is tradition in your personal practice? Do you lean towards tradition or do you seek to innovate? How do you perceive your work?
M. B. : I’m not really into innovation. Silicone moulding, for example, has been around for quite some time, not thousands of years, but about fifty years or so, so it’s not exactly new. Sometimes I think to myself, “I really should do something new,” but in fact, I think that if you do what you love and give meaning to what you do, that’s already good enough. If I really wanted to innovate, I would have to explore new materials or work more with 3D printing, but nowadays, this technology is already widely used. I’m not in a race for innovation. I start from the premise that so much has already been done, and if we can create jewellery that has meaning, that people will keep for their whole lives, or even pass on, I think that’s already a great challenge. So innovation isn’t a priority for me. It’s more about things I love, things I want to express. I don’t pay too much attention to what others are doing, I focus on what I like. For example, my first collection, “Morceaux choisis de Paris” (Selected Pieces of Paris), was casts of architectural elements, and I thought no one had done that before. Conceptually, I couldn’t find anything similar at the time. But after searching on Pinterest, I saw a ring that looked like the little mouth-shaped ring I wear. It wasn’t the same story, but it made me think, “Damn, even without searching the internet, I saw something similar.” Now I just try to do what I enjoy, and I hope others like it too. I don’t overthink things too much.
It’s very difficult to invent something truly new. Some people manage it, good for them. As for me, even though I’m not the only one making body casts, I don’t feel like there are thousands of us. So I tell myself, “I’ve found my niche,” and I’m enjoying it. I can offer something unique and not get lost among all the others who are doing the same thing. I think it’s essential, when you want to get into craftsmanship, to have something different to offer, even if it’s not a radical innovation.
M. M. & L. M. : In that case, how much room do you give to experimentation in your work?
M. B. : I really enjoy trying new things. Recently, I bought some silicone to make silicone ears, because I wanted to create stands for my jewellery. Sometimes it doesn’t work, like with this silicone, where I put too much colour pigment in and it didn’t dry properly. But I like trying new techniques. Lately, I haven’t been in an intense creative process, because I launched my website a year ago. I took the time to put all my jewellery online and photograph it. My exhibition in Paris was a kind of retrospective, and I think that in the next few years, new ideas will come. I’m always testing out little technical things. For example, I trained myself to do my own gilding, and now I’ve been doing it myself for a year. I also learned how to work with Delft earth casting, which allows me to do small castings right at home. I’d also like to learn how to set stones, because I sometimes put stones in my jewellery and I’d like to be able to set them myself. I think I’m going to continue learning about technical details. Because once you’ve mastered the basics, that’s when you can really innovate. For example, I’m going to learn classic setting, but then I’ll definitely experiment, because it makes me laugh not to follow the traditional rules. Once you’ve acquired the technical skills, that’s when you can innovate, and that’s what I love. Over the last six years, I’ve learned a lot, especially at Schiaparelli, where I had to work with resin, plaster and resin gilding, and I also learned to work with different types of stones. Now, even though the pace has slowed down, I’m continuing to learn and try new things. Things have certainly calmed down a bit, but I like having external requests and projects to take on. When you’re asked to make something, sometimes you don’t know how to do it, and that pushes you to surpass yourself. That’s why I’m always delighted to receive requests as a model maker, because it forces me to step outside my comfort zone. Recently, I was asked to set stones for high-quality buttons. They wanted the stones to be set, not glued. So I bought the setting machine and learned how to do it myself. I think continuing to work on small assignments like this, with external collaborations, is a great way to further develop my skills and create.
M. M. & L. M. : Finally, how do you see your practice evolving in light of the constraints and opportunities ahead?
M. B. : The good thing is that I feel like I have quite a few strings to my bow. So there’s Incarnem, which I’m going to continue developing at my own pace. I’d like to develop it more abroad, because I have a lot of customers in the United States, Saudi Arabia and Dubai. So I’d like to go there, to potentially do castings in galleries or a nice boutique that would welcome me, or a nice place where I have a good connection. I’m going to be teaching at a fashion school in Florence next March. That’s something I’d like to develop, especially workshops, I think. Maybe not something regular, but workshops to talk about my work or to mentor students. Well, it’s funny because I’m going to a fashion school. So there you go, I find myself where I wanted to be. Because when I was in secondary school, what I wanted to do was go to fashion school. I don’t regret not following that path at all, because I think my path now is better, but that’s what I really wanted to do, and my parents didn’t want me to at all. And also, I’d like to develop the workshop part that I’ve started doing a little bit. So it was with 19M, but I’d also like to do it in a more personal way, because I saw that people were really enthusiastic. It allows me to pass on my knowledge, and it’s also a way of meeting people. So, I’m thinking of setting up Saturday or Sunday afternoons where I welcome people. I’m still looking for a place in Paris to set up workshops. The idea would be that people who aren’t necessarily experienced in jewellery making could make something and leave with something at the end, using all the techniques I’ve developed. So there are quite a few little things, but always with a connection to people, I think.