In Conversation with Chloe Cerisse
CERISSE INTERIORS is home of the collection inspired by psychoanalytical prints and luxury design. The London based company boasts a sleek range, highlighted by dimensional silhouette, gorgeous hues, and striking geometric symbols. Founder and Art Director Chloe Hayle has utilised a collision of characteristics in order to deliver a diverse collection that can be mixed and matched throughout the home, with eye-catching features and function in mind.
The range has grown from strength to strength since launching in 2018, along with the introduction of the following prints in Apocalypse, Sleepwalker, and Medallion as worthy crossovers towards elaborating on the visuals at CERISSE. This also paved the way for this year’s products in the form of duvets sets, throws, additional cushions and participation in the upcoming Maison&Objet Paris Fall exhibition.
What inspired you to be an interior designer?
Initially it was my mothers need to change the décor within our home every month, which paved the way for me adopting different styles in terms of my own appearance and my room as a child. I started building and customizing dollhouses in order to pursue my interest from an early age.
When I was 14 I was fortunate enough to become acquainted with the Wholesale Director of Hugo Boss, whilst aiming to take Art and Graphics as part of my studies. I believed that fashion would be my career path. However, in my late teenage years, the jobs within the fashion industry had become interchangeable and mentally draining. Yet, they were fundamentally important in terms of my own personal development and my approach to the production process within my line of work.
When visiting Paris I was inspired by the interior and architecture at Galeries Lafayette. Shortly after I was offered a position at a beautiful interior start-up where I was able to develop my craft and my love for interiors intensified. My confidence grew as I attended more exhibitions, met with buyers, handled the UK showroom, produced many of the prints and prepared the production process for the bespoke collection. All of these attributes combined with my knowledge in graphic design enabled me to not only adopt my own style of work but encouraged me to think about starting my own business.
If they were to make a toy action figure of you, what would your accessory be?
I love this! It would have to be a Mary Poppins style bag for sure. I’m always carrying my life around. It ranges from my mac, graphics tablet, sketchpad, phone and even my son… (I’m kidding obviously), but we are a mini tag team.
To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life within the design world has taken?
My life has been rather chaotic and I’ve never had much control over anything. I’ve had to wait patiently in order to develop CERISSE properly and it’s only at this point where I’m emerging into a position where I can create a balance towards the projects I take on, how I want to evolve my interiors in the future and spending time with my family. My partner has always been encouraging and made me realise I could be working towards my own company, which was ultimately where the lack of control came from. I longed to do more with my life that was rewarding and structured. So I prepared and finalized every aspect of the business throughout my pregnancy and quit my old job to pursue it. I think that going through this lengthy process where there was a lot of self-doubt has made me feel humbled, yet hungry to evolve the boundaries between the collaboration of my prints and interior.
What would be your dream interior project?
I would love to renovate an old large scale home here or in Paris. My father and father in law are both decorators who have also worked in construction. My starting point would begin with the foundations, exterior grounds and gradually introducing my style across every room. Finishes would be art-deco consisting of marble effects, sleek black, rose gold and water features. The water implementation would be amazing as this creates a feeling of peace throughout the home as the sound deflects off the hard surface. This project would pave the way for me to develop multiple homes with budget in mind as well successfully combining the necessary functions.
What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
Mental health inspires my work and I have and always will be passionate about this subject. The thought process behind the entire collection starts with a memory, which is then adopted towards each prints development and the psychological element behind many of these designs. This has also been the steps taken when creating artwork during certain bespoke projects for other clients in order to develop an interior experience that is truly personalised for them. The objective is to combine the memory and space together, which is important for all of us when we seek a place to unwind and forget about our problems.
If you could go back in time and speak to your adolescent self, what advice would you give them about the design world?
Everything will be fine'. I know this is such a generalised statement, but I never imagined my life turning out like this, as there were always a million and one things to worry about. I was told that I was never enough and that my work was never enough. This hindered how I engaged with others and put me off many social events, which I believe was very important for furthering my career in the design industry. It has now taken until the age of 29 to see my worth in my ideas and work. I think if there was a way that my younger self could hear me say “things will be fine and you are onto something great” then that would honestly be more than enough.
CERISSE INTERIORS
Website: www.cerisse.co.uk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chloe_cerisse/
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Photo courtesy of Cerisse Interiors