It all started when Héloïse Poirier designed a bow tie from a crate for her ex-roommate, eight years ago. The thirty-year-old then fell in love with wood, a material that she found “super fun and light” and planned to make jewelry and accessories for men and women. And as the year 2016 comes to an end, “By Héloïse” is born.
Héloïse is a manual worker, she has “always created”. Whether it’s small DIY projects with his teacher mother or finishing touches on the construction sites where his father works. After a few detours in the social sector, as a school life employee or with people with disabilities, she therefore falls in the direction she leans… Not without testing the waters first. Since she already designs polymer clay jewelry, for fun, Héloïse decides to organize a sale for her loved ones. It’s a success. And a starting point for Héloïse. Who embarks on the adventure. Thoroughly. She joined the Avant-Premières activity and employment cooperative, and began designing jewelry and accessories from noble woods, at the same time. Until creating his micro-enterprise in 2020.
“Timeless” and “warm” wood
Bow ties, cufflinks, pins, earrings, rings, bracelets, necklaces, brooches… Today, in Héloïse’s workshop, located in her home, we can no longer count the creations on its shelves. Each year, she releases two collections per year, fall-winter and spring-summer. She’s at about fifteen. “It’s what takes the most time, the design,” notes the self-taught man, “you have to imagine, cut, test…” This is also what makes his profession so special. “And people are looking for something new.”
For each object, she starts from a thin plank of raw wood (mahogany, oak, walnut, etc.) that she cuts with a laser at the Saint-Brieuc Factory fablab. She sands it, assembles it, paints it, adds resin for shine and sometimes, a golden leaf.
What does he like about wood? It is a material “at once timeless, raw and warm,” explains Héloïse. And I like to transform it into a fine and delicate object. » Like the heart of this ring, for example, which looks like a stone… even though it is mahogany.
Practical
Héloïse Poirier will be at the Christmas market in Plérin on December 21 and 22, at the Roger-Ollivier room, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Online store www.byheloise.etsy.com; Facebook page www.facebook.com/byheloise.bijoux; [email protected] and email to [email protected]
Lifestyle