Welcome to the HOUSE BY® Michèle Lamy

In search of something special for your home? Look no further, the new digital design platform HOUSE BY® got it covered. And for their very first drop, they asked the visionary Michèle Lamy to create an object. After several conversations with the platform’s founders Gérard Mialet and Philipe Pérès, experts in the fields of design, furniture and e-commerce, Michèle came up with the idea of a candle, inspired by a piece of petrified wood she owns at her Paris apartment on Place Bourbon that she shares with her husband fashion designer Rick Owens.

“Michèle is an incredible person, both in her perspective and her extreme generosity. She has been incredibly open with us - sharing her thoughts, doubts and insights. This encounter is beautifully reflected in this object,” explains Philippe Pérès, who with co-founder Gérard Mialet gave Michèle Lamy a carte blanche to create an object of her dreams. The fact that we are not tied to a specific tool, whether industrial or artisanal, allows us to adapt to all kinds of artistic ventures. Everything is possible, everything is open, and this is what gives us such richness, flexibility, and great freedom,” adds Gérard. Their only rule? The artist should enjoy the process! So, naturally, when the duo approached Michèle, she immediately said “oui”.  

An exceptional object, blending art and design, this stone-coloured candle comes with a hand-painted base with a bronze metal finish and a wooden case and weighs about 5 kg. Produced from unscented semi-vegetal soy wax (so there is no smell that comes with it), the candle was named Object 001 and currently retails at 840 €. Michèle describes it as a “welcome home” object, an ephemeral moment of pleasure and unity, when everybody comes together around a fire, that can be lit and cherished until it’s gone (the candle burn time is 130 hours). “Just because it’s a piece of art, doesn’t mean it can’t disappear and still represent something significant,” muses Michèle Lamy. And no worries, according to the HOUSE BY® founders, the candle part can be re-ordered (a hint to Urs Fischer’s monumental wax sculptures, that Michèle Lamy is fond of). So you can enjoy your precious object endlessly.

The first drop is limited to 700 signed pieces. Run, don’t walk and stay tuned for more from  HOUSE BY®.

Courtesy: HOUSE BY®

Text: Lidia Ageeva