Frédéric Saulou

“I wondered about the post-industrial heritage of local mineral materials, and have sought to widen the range of possibilities utilizing these materials in creating functional objects for the house, and in questioning history, material and its usual impact between art and design. Thus, I want to distort, democratize and increase the value of these materials as a future heritage and above all as food for thought. To bring traditional and Industrial know-how face-to-face for creative purposes, to reinterpret the material in formal and conceptual ways so as to provide it a new understanding.”
 

Born in 1989, Frédéric Saulou studied 'l'espace et le design d'environnement' (space and environmental design) at the Institut Supérieur des Arts Appliqués from 2007–2011. After working for architecture and design firms for a year, with a strong desire for creative autonomy, he founded Frédéric Saulou Design Studio. He lives and works in Rennes, in the region of Brittany, France where he has been inspired by his surroundings, villages filled with houses and shops in a style unique to the region, composed entirely of slate and ornamental stone. He became enamoured with the materials and began to think about a way in which he would help to revitalize the largely dormant French quarries, and reimagine the material in a new way, other than its traditional use in buildings. He immersed himself in studying and experimenting with the technical and aesthetic considerations in working with slate and stone, “Playing on the different textures by reworking them, polishing them or not, working the shapes simply emphasizes the lines of a material which then becomes an object. This resulting simplicity makes it possible to read the object as a whole, to understand it and to appreciate it.” 
 

Each unique, limited edition design piece is conceived as sculpture in its own right, a confluence of simplicity and technicality. His process guides him towards a global approach, creating interactions between the user and the object, and with his designs he “tells a story through materials for which I have a particular affinity, putting the raw material in the spotlight."
 

Most recently, his work was exhibited at the 2020 Collectible Design Fair in Brussels.

Frédéric Saulou Furniture Tables Decorative Functional Objects for the House