Let’s Talk. Sarah Espeute
Introducing Sarah Espeute to our reading material and escolhido community. An artist, designer, embroiderer and inspiration when it comes to following your dreams and living your purpose. We interviewed Sarah to find out more about her journey, creative process, influences and what the biggest challenges are when working for yourself. A big part of this community is to help inspire those who are longing to follow their creative passions.
Tell us a little bit about where you are originally from and where you are based now?
I grew up in the South of France, in Provence. I went to study graphic design in Paris and stayed there for 10 years. Two years ago, I came to live in Marseille, back to the South again.
Did you work in another industry before you started working for yourself? If so, how did it feel making the change?
I have always had an independent profile and enjoyed working for myself. It's a choice that has never left me. After my 2 years of graphic design studies, I set up a printing company specialised in Riso printing, it’s a technique similar to screen printing which diverts office printers for artistic purposes: posters, fanzines. I discovered it in London and I loved the idea of diversion, the use, the rendering. I then bought second-hand printers and installed them in my living room and then in a shop in Paris.
After 4 years, I was getting a little bit frustrated spending more time printing for others and not having enough time to develop my own ideas. I decided to follow my dreams and passions, stopped printing and started creating, at first under the duo “Klima Interieurs”and then for myself.
Design, decoration and art have always been my sources of inspiration and I really wanted to be a part of this world.
When did you start working with embroidery?
I have always felt comfortable with a needle, I learnt embroidery as a child. I started by embroidering on cushions for my home and then explored working with curtains. My first apartment in Marseille had no shutters and there were a lot of large windows, so I had to get creative and make my own curtains at a low price. I bought some burlap and to decorate it, I embroidered windows, landscapes and climbing roses as trompe-l'oeil.
What are the best things about working for yourself and what are the biggest challenges?
Working for yourself gives you such a feeling of freedom! You can choose your pace and your investment. However, this is how it becomes a personal challenge because you only have yourself to rely on. It is not always easy and it is a question of a certain type of character. It is necessary to have a great confidence in yourself despite the harder times. There are plenty of difficulties that can be daunting, but I think perseverance always pays off.
The biggest challenge is consistency. Keeping consistency in your work and developing your ideas. This is where you have to be creative! I’m amazed to see artists pursue their work over the years, developing unique ideas, and being able to see their progress. It is very rewarding!
What influenced you to combine embroidery with table cloths?
I have always liked trompe-l'oeil embroidery. Embroidery the way I do it now is like drawing on fabric. When the A Mano Studio gallery asked me to make a tablecloth for an exhibition around the table, I imagined an embroidered meal. This is where it all started and ever since I have continued to create more!
What are your biggest influences?
Traditions influence me the most. And perhaps more particularly Japan and Italy. From my point of view, these are countries where tradition and modernity still coexist, they maintain a link between the old and the new.
In France, I find that we erase too many traces of the past on a daily basis. We replace it with new. I also love coming across small businesses that are still as they were 60 years ago, but unfortunately they are gradually disappearing.
Which artists inspire you?
Multidisciplinary artists inspire me the most. Those who manage to define their vision in a global and personal way. Charlotte Perriand is a good example and some of my other favourites include, Eileen Gray, Alvar Aalto, Luis Barragan, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Carlo Scarpa and Le Corbusier.
We’d love to know. How do you start your creative process?
I immerse myself in all kinds of imagery through second-hand books or films, these sources of inspiration blend together and feed my imagination with ideas that I translate into drawings. Over time, remain the ones that really matter to me. I then move on to creating and if I like the result, I continue to explore it until I get closer to the perfection that I want to create, reaching a successful personal sensitivity.
Tell us, what does your average day in the studio look like?
At the moment, embroidery is taking all my time. I start to answer emails and draw and embroider tablecloths for future collaborations. I am also developing my own collection of embroidered linen and very soon I will launch it on my new website.
I found some hands to help me embroider to ensure I can meet the demand in orders because what I like above all is to imagine and draw decorative objects to be produced afterwards. I have so many ideas that I want to create and I can't spend all of my time producing it myself. It is exciting to grow and i’m just adapting as I do so.
Did you ever imagine your designs would be so popular?
Not really and not with such enthusiasm. I always wanted to make creations that could be both personal and for everyone. I find it wonderful to be able to reach so many people while still being true to myself and creating from the heart.
“I always wanted to make creations that could be both personal and for everyone. i find it wonderful to be able to reach so many people while still being true to myself and creating from the heart. ”
