Key Points
- Two lives per object: cork + veneer are specced to work as both shock-absorbing box and long-term clock/stand.
- Three hygiene pain points - smell, drying time, splashes - are solved with honeycomb cotton, a ventilated stand and waxed protection, not messaging.
- Use materials with known ageing curves (cork, wood, ceramic, glass) when you want multi-decade use and hand-over value.
- Apply 4 filters to each material: ageing behaviour, local sourcing, certification/traceability, and small-MOQ access – and expect coatings, fittings and other semi-finished parts to be the hardest to qualify.
Full interview with Clémence Valade
1. In Aura, you pair expanded cork with wood veneer, two materials often seen in isolation. What led you to combine these, and how did their respective properties influence the packaging-to-product transition?
Aura is a watch packaging that transforms into a clock once brought into the home. The concept was to minimize waste by designing packaging that becomes an everyday object. The materials therefore needed to be both practical for protection and engaging for daily use.
Cork came first. We wanted a carbon-neutral material that could safely protect something as delicate as a watch. The wood veneer came later, as we were looking for a sheet material consistent with our approach. Wood is deeply tactile, it invites touch, smell, and even emotion. The choice of specific veneers allowed us to enrich the brand experience, conveying feeling before information. Veneer also provides a printable, durable surface that doesn’t scratch as easily as plastic or metal, removing the need for an additional outer layer.
2. Expanded cork is typically used for insulation or industrial applications. What qualities made it suitable for a luxury context, and how did you address the perception shift in its deployment?
Cork is often used in industry for its insulation qualities, but has recently re-entered everyday life, appearing in furniture, accessories, and even footwear. In packaging, design has long been dominated by graphic surfaces, cardboard or plastic acting as blank pages for branding.
What’s often forgotten is that packaging is also experienced through our senses. Cork gives weight, texture, warmth, and even a subtle woody scent. Its cushioned yet resilient feel resonates with the qualities we associate with high-value objects. This sensory richness makes cork not just functional, but ideal for luxury design.
3. In Us et coutumes: hygiène, the design revisits the washcloth as a water-saving ritual. How did material choices, particularly the textile, support the intent of re-embedding low-tech hygiene practices into contemporary routines?
The aim was to reintroduce a less wasteful, ancestral approach to personal hygiene. Textile was central, since the strongest barrier to washcloths is that they smell quickly and become unusable. We worked with a textile designer to find a cotton cloth that maintains cleaning efficiency but dries quickly to prevent bacteria. We chose 100% cotton with a honeycomb weave for absorbency and fast drying. This was paired with a stand designed for air circulation, and a wax-infused cotton layer to protect supports from water.
Ceramics were neutral and timeless, while textiles were patterned in deep blue, symbolizing flowing water. These contrasts encouraged subtle, habit-shifting rituals.
4. You frequently work with natural or minimally processed materials. How do you assess a material’s long-term resilience and aesthetic ageing when prototyping for projects intended to shift daily behaviours?
That’s the strength of natural materials. We’re familiar with how wood, ceramics, leather, and glass age, and often see their transformation as beauty. A new oak spoon starts smooth and golden, but darkens and reshapes with use.
In contrast, synthetics often degrade in unpredictable, undesirable ways, fading or cracking. I want to design objects that live multiple lives, get passed on, and age with grace. I study historical examples and aged artifacts to choose materials that add value over time.
5. How do you currently research or vet the origin and certification of materials like cork or textile? What tools or data do you wish you had better access to?
I work directly with craftspeople and manufacturers. My cork supplier in southern France is FSC-certified and follows sustainable forestry. Cork forests are carbon sinks, storing millions of tons of CO₂. I prioritize local sourcing, which helps with traceability and reduces transport emissions. For textiles, I seek certifications like OEKO-TEX, though transparency varies by supplier.
6. Could you walk us through the key constraints, be they regulatory, ergonomic, or cultural, you navigated when adapting the washbowl and textile to modern home contexts?
The key challenge was cultural. Washcloths often seem outdated or even unhygienic. I researched how our hygiene perceptions have evolved, realizing it’s shaped by ritual, habit, and personal fears.
Rather than replacing routines, the project offered an alternative. The design is mobile, adaptable, and calming, an invitation to explore rather than a critique. The goal: reduce water and energy without alienating users.
7. Aura proposes reuse as a design feature. What role did modularity or material endurance play in ensuring the object’s second life as a domestic timepiece?
From day one, we aimed to extend packaging lifespan. Together with Susel Aleman Legra, we imagined packaging that could become a clock or watch stand. Cork was perfect, dense, stable, tactile, and able to balance a watch safely. Its endurance made it ideal for daily domestic use.
8. When designing with ceramics, what factors influence your clay body or glaze choices, especially when durability and water-resistance are crucial to function?
Ceramics are about sensation. I begin with how I want users to feel, whether soft, rough, or delicate. Then comes light, how it plays across glazes or raw surfaces.
I favor slip-casting in French clay, often leaving parts unglazed so users can touch the material directly. For example, the washbowl uses a raw white ceramic paired with a transparent food-safe glaze, contrast as communication.
9. In light of increasing transparency demands, how do you foresee AI-powered tools supporting traceable material selection for small studios balancing ethics and aesthetics?
Small studios must juggle performance, ethics, local sourcing, and aesthetics. Tracing materials is manageable with mono-materials, but becomes a challenge with semi-finished goods like varnishes or screws.
AI could help by aggregating certifications, technical specs, and supplier practices, a tool to compare and act quickly. Still, I value meeting producers. Direct relationships teach things no database can.
10. What differences do you notice in supplier interactions when sourcing for a speculative design competition like Gainerie 91, versus a self-initiated research project?
It varies more by supplier mindset than project type. Some are generous with knowledge, even for small-scale ideas. Others don’t want to “waste time” on non-commercial work. Naturally, I prefer those open to collaboration and curiosity. It makes the process more experimental and human.
11. What kinds of semi-finished components, if made more accessible or traceable, would most accelerate your practice of low-impact, ritual-oriented design?
I’ve recently collaborated with a bio-plastics company, which showed how vital semi-finished parts are. For small studios, the issue is access, most materials are only available in industrial quantities, with limited transparency.
If fittings, fasteners, or coatings were more traceable and available in smaller volumes, we could focus on ritual-driven design rather than on supplier validation.
