Philosophy

I am Margaux, architect & ceramist, the identity and designer of Ash design.

After 5 years of architectural practice as a project manager in high-end residential in California, I decided to return to France to create a multidisciplinary practice which connect my two worlds: space and clay. My activity as a ceramist is not a career change but rather an extension and complementarity of my architectural practice: I am an architect artist and the clay is one of my means of expression. For me, architecture and ceramics have the same fundamentals but in a different scale: finding the right balance between form and function, working with materials, shapes, colors and textures highlighted by light. Balance and attention to detail are the key to create harmony.

My work is focused on offering quality, exclusivity, authenticity and a part of my history and my identity.

My collection consists of functional objects (small series of tableware) and unique pieces : sculpture, decoration, lighting and small furniture, which link my two universes. I am driven by the fact of creating objects that compliment your space and come to life in their function when they find their place.

Through my architectural practice, I attach a great importance to details, finishes and design. My style is minimalist with a work centered on the balance between form, texture and the contrast of colors and materials. My pieces come alive with light and compliment a space by bringing a touch of life to it. My years of experience with clay and as an architect, have allowed me to acquire the technicality and a sense of aesthetics that have allowed my identity to emerge around quality pieces. My curiosity and training lead me to experiment and always push the limits: it is by leaving my comfort zone that my universes and techniques merge to create original and authentic pieces.

The Artist

My sensitivity to art, materials and making techniques has always accompanied me in my life through different media: painting, drawing, sculpture, textile ... I am always in research of learning new knowledge. I have been able to approach and practice various techniques and materials through training or courses: such as jewelry, through the work of metal working and lost wax casting, printmaking, batik etc.

Many medias touch me and it is vital for me to continue to experience and nourish those form of expression. It is through these different techniques; multi-dimensional, multi-cultural and disciplinary that I have built myself and my artistic identity.

I discovered ceramic in California and learn through classes, workshops and an intensive practice thanks to the access to community studios where I was surrounded by talented and very technical people with different approaches. It is thanks to this very stimulating and formative environment that I was able to develop my identity and develop the necessary technicality for a line of quality. I was also able to be confronted with my clientele and get feedback on my work to find my path: the ceramic art.

My work, being very artistic and at the same time technical, is based on a lot of experimentation and adjustments. What I like about clay is almost its primitive approach, in contrast with the technicality of the making methods, the firing and the complexity of the chemical composition of the glazes. This makes it a discipline where the possibilities are almost infinite which always pushes me to experiment. My curiosity, my training and my perfectionism lead me to always push the limits. For me, it when I go out of my comfort zone that things become interesting. Like any artistic creation, it is a long, painful and necessary process to arrive to finished piece in which I put my soul in.