Julia Couturier - Founder of vintage boutique Love and Dress
To begin, can you introduce yourself in a few words: Who are you?
I have lived in Paris since the age of 20, it is my favorite city. Today I am 44 years old and 2 children aged 12 and 16.
I did a BTS in management then resumed my studies in order to become a visual merchandiser around 27 years old. Following a 7-year experience in Fast Fashion, I created my vintage store in October 2017 after presenting my selection of clothes during pop-ups.
Before discovering what object you are going to tell us about, can you tell us what place you give to objects and decoration in general in your daily life?
I have a fairly simple relationship with objects. Coming from a military family that didn't care much about it, I have no heritage. I just always liked to surround myself with beauty. I like antiquing, I never buy anything new in decoration. Objects take their place quite naturally because I evolve with the same tastes since my adolescence. I'm not trying to reproduce an interior seen in a magazine, but I'm looking for a softness, an ease in what accompanies me. With 2 children and 1 cat I prefer the practical even if everything is quite balanced in terms of color and material, which creates harmony. I like pieces from the 70s that I mix with my finds, which can create visual accidents that I find quite interesting: I like because it's never smooth. I tend to accumulate until it no longer suits me and I rotate my objects. Having moved throughout my childhood until I arrived in Paris, I find it very difficult to consider objects as charms. What I can't separate myself from are my books.
I have a lot of admiration for crafts but having little means I prefer flea markets and Emmaüs.
Tell me about your “heart object”:
What is this object? Why did you choose to tell us about this one in particular?
My favorite object is a pastel green ceramic fox from the 1930s, which I bought 4 years ago when I moved into the apartment where I currently live. I found it at a flea market in the 18th. Having left behind 13 years of objects by separating from the father of my children who had decorated our apartment and house a lot. It took me some time to reclaim my tastes and desires. And I think I'm still very influenced by my years as a couple because he had the ability to put poetry in every room of our interior.
What bitch are you?
I like antiquing but as it is entirely part of my job, I am perhaps less curious today. And then I lack nothing in terms of objects. When I hunt I walk around and wait for aesthetic love at first sight. Living in a not very big apartment, I cannot accumulate too much.
Imagine, we are in August 2023, would you be accompanied by the same object?
Yes certainly, unless I move and the desire to find another object is also present.
Your Chinese portrait of objects:
What object would you take to a desert island?
A beautiful Acapulco Villeroy and Boch cup because it is my favorite service
If you had to reincarnate yourself as an object, which one would it be?
A 70s lamp because I like the design
If you had to keep only one object at home?
A vase to always put flowers in
Which object best represents you?
A teapot because I drink at least 1 liter of tea a day
What object that you do not (yet) own would you dream of having?
None, I have no objects of desire. I make encounters that I agree with my desires and my space.
