In conversation with Katia Soussan
You are a decoration addict,
but once you’ve closed aside your favorite magazine,
how to adapt the precepts of the experts at home?
Here are some of our favourite personalities who have
been kind enough to share this vision of interior design.
With generosity, they indulge you with their choices,
share tips and inspiring advice.
Today we talk to
Katia Soussan
Katia, can you introduce yourself?
Hello, my name is Katia, I’m a ceramicist and mother to four children. I was a fashion designer in a previous life! I’m creative, deeply sensitive and an unconditional dreamer. I want to listen to my heart and live life to the full.
Your decorating mantra?
Seek beauty in simplicity, charm in imperfect objects, beautiful light, natural materials and unexpected colour palettes. Ok, maybe my mantra is a bit on the long side ;)))
What do you think of the concept of good taste?
Taste is a very subjective notion and it evolves all the time.
If you could be a room?
The kitchen. It’s a shared space full of warmth for being together. It’s where we laugh, share secrets and joys.
The top 3 things on your bucket list?
To cross the Holzarte bridge with my family – it’s suspended 180 metres above a gorge. They would all prefer to be sipping cocktails in a 5-star hotel and they think I’m mad!
I like to be enchanted by the simple things in life, like the perfume of orange trees that you smell when you walk in the Mamounia gardens in Marrakesh.
Once a month I try to have a day where I only do things that make me happy and I forget all my duties and obligations. No homework, no cooking, no paperwork and no housework!
If you were an artist?
Françoise Sagan for her freedom, generosity and her ability to live life at a thousand miles an hour.
Your dream project?
To take a sabbatical with my whole family (including my mother who I haven’t seen for a year and a half) and travel the world. I want to walk under the cherry trees in Japan when the blossom is out.
Your current obsession?
Happiness! Being with people who want the same thing is vital. Happiness is contagious!
Katia’s tips
How did you become a ceramicist?
I was a ready-to-wear fashion designer for about ten years. I stopped when Ely, my fourth child was born. When my father died, I took up pottery. Between sessions with a psychologist and pottery lessons it suddenly seemed like the obvious choice. It’s a kind of therapy actually!
What role does creativity play in your life?
It’s absolutely vital and without it my life would be very boring! It boosts my energy and stimulates me.
Has pottery changed your life?
It has helped me to slow down and to appreciate the present. It has also made me more patient. I find it very meditative. You can just let your thoughts drift and spend time exploring all sorts of things you might not normally think about. I find it helps me to let go and to express my creativity and my sensitivity. My relationship with the clay is totally symbiotic and passionate.
Tell us what role colour plays in your work?
When you look at my Instagram feed you would think that I am a fan of white, beige and neutral colours. I also like dull, earthy tones, greys, some greens and blues and nudes. The most important thing for me is the mix. Colour plays a really vital role in my scenography. It helps to make my ceramics more visible and more beautiful. It creates emotion, a feeling and an atmosphere. For me, materials and textures are as important as colour.
What are your main sources of inspiration?
Inspiration is often the result of chance. I can’t really explain why I want to make something. I can be influenced by an exhibition (the Nabis at the musée du Luxembourg or Hammershoi at the musée Jacquemart-André for example) but also by shapes, nature, the smell of flowers, a journey or a memory from childhood. I am very affected by what surrounds me.
In what way does Le Monde Sauvage appeal to you?
I don’t think that the world Béatrice has created could leave anyone feeling indifferent. She mixes wallpaper, patterns, textiles and colours very naturally. Her world has a great richness and everything coordinates in quite an unexpected, bohemian way. Linen, rugs, cushions… And the different patterns work so well with my ceramics. There is a contrast that is surprising, that draws you in. I love the beauty created by the profusion of materials and colours.
