THE GENESIS
It all began 25 years ago...
CHILDHOOD...
From my earliest years, I've known the joy of reinventing myself through play - candy and soap maker, ceramist, color explorer.
At my mom's side, I worked the material to bring it to life, then proudly presented my work to my family at the age of 7.
How good those memories are...
On Sundays, a family day par excellence, my sister and brothers and I would gather around these famous colored bricks to build our sleeping dreams.
Bridges, castles and magical worlds came to life in our childlike hands. We were accompanied by our father, whose engineer's eye could see the technical feasibility of our constructions.
What a pleasure!
In this connected world where everything is fading away, I want us to relearn how to do things. And the best way to do that is to return to the bubble of learning and serenity in which we so easily found ourselves as children.
THE AWAKENING OF A VOCATION
These colorful constructions got the better of me, as I continued in the family tradition of considering engineering as "the royal road". I even opted for fundamental physics. To scientific rigor and its demands, I decided to add the imaginary side of a sector that is also synonymous with excellence.
Going into crafts and the world of luxury was an unusual choice given my background!
My first experience at Hermès was to marvel at the nobility of materials...
From silk fabrics sublimated by colors that never evaporate, to tanned, brushed leather marked with gold leaf, I choose to anchor this aesthete's need to pursue beauty.
A quest that led me first to Cartier, Richemont, then to Switzerland, to the small world of watchmaking, where the mechanics of time are controlled as much by reason as by the heart.
During my two years at Tag Heuer as workshop manager, I was constantly impressed by the enthusiasm of the watchmakers for their craft. It's an extremely powerful emotion when you put the balance wheel down and the whole thing suddenly comes alive.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
When I left Switzerland to follow my husband, Benoît, who had been transferred to Reims in the Champagne region, I decided to realize my childhood dream of rethinking the luxury experience through high-end do-it-yourself.
I didn't want to limit myself to a simple consumer approach of buying a product and owning it, but rather to focus on the idea of having a very personal experience with the object created.
By putting my intelligence, my heart and my attention into it, this object won't just be an object. It will become my own masterpiece, a symbol of self-improvement and fulfillment.
To bring these crafts out of the shadows and into the public eye, I had to enlist the help of a renowned master watchmaker, Thierry Ducret. A watchmaking teacher at the Lycée de Morteau, he was immediately attracted by my desire to pass on watchmaking know-how to the curious.
Then other teachers, engineers and designers joined the adventure to accompany me on this journey of building a pretext for measuring time, or rather understanding it.
The team was created to move forward together towards a common vision: to transmit the beauty of the art of watchmaking.
In order to restore the lustre of fine craftsmanship, I've made myself a guide through the intricacies of assembling objects of racy aesthetics, aligning my horizons with those of professions I don't wish to see fade away.
Getting away from it all and slipping into the shoes of a craftsman is a great way of preserving the richness of these trades, which don't always get the recognition they deserve.
Rather than criticize a heritage in decline, I wanted to take a closer look at the work of goldsmiths. When I launched Maison Alcée, it seemed only logical that the first box should honor this expertise.
Everyone has the materials they need to experiment, to build a unique piece that can be handed down from generation to generation.
It's by taking them out of their inner circle that they'll find a new lease of life, and a wider audience will see them in a new light.
Alcée
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