Three Layer Cake

A Day in the Life of…

Presse-Citron is the creation of Didier Chaudanson as a response to his friends’ appreciation of the products he made for them and himself after he finished his university studies in Industrial Design.  Founded in 1996, his former school mate and now design partner, Clotilde De Grave did not join forces with Didier until 2001, after having worked as a designer outside of Paris and in other corporations outside of the interior accessories field.  Over the past four years, the team has started their ascent into mainstream ‘pop’ design with several of their pieces, like the picture frames ‘M’ magnetic range (pictured on next page in interview), the Portemanteau Trophy (featured in the February edition of Marie Claire Maison, picture bottom of page) and Antix (right, featured in the December 2005 issue of Case da Abitare).   Just the fact that current design magazines continue to feature their products year after year, with or without new colors, is a sign that their designs are timeless.

The offices of Presse-Citron, located in a ground floor flat in Paris’ 16^th arrondissement, double as Didier’s home and are the site of the majority of the assembly and packaging of their products.  As I enter the building, I pass by a delivery truck, and notice that there is quite a bit of movement back and forth.  I run into Clotilde in the hall, and it is only once I have entered the flat and recognize the parcels that I put two and two together— the truck outside is loading Presse-Citron’s daily shipment.

Meet Clotilde and Didier
 

While Didier finishes up with the shipper, Clotilde introduces me a little to their environment and their partnership.  We sit at a small table, my back to the stacks of flat packages.  “Mine and Didier’s answers to the questions will be very different.  Very very different.  We live two completely different lives.  I am married and have two children.  Didier is single and has a girlfriend, and he lives here.  This is his home.  That is his bed over there.  This is his dining table.  That’s his shower,” she says matter-of-factly.  Hers is not at all a criticism, but an acknowledgement of how their two almost opposite lifestyles co-exist, yet they are able to carry Presse Citron forward. 

Neither Clotilde nor Didier have specific duties within the company.  Both take care of what needs to be done interchangeably.  During the interview, Didier has a smile on his face and seems to take everything in stride with a very easy going attitude as they both explain the ups and downs of their work and how it affects their lives.  After you take into account the space that the Press Citron production occupies in the apartment, Didier may have about 6 square meters to walk around in, and about as much unobstructed living space.  “It’s all par for the course for Didier?”  I ask Clotilde.  They both laugh and say he’s being so amenable because he has been very sick with the flu for the past two weeks and has taken lots of medicine which has numbed him to reality.  Jokingly, Clotilde offers him another one of his pills to keep him sedated.  They give the impression that Clotilde is the voice of reason in the partnership.  It is clear that theirs is a business relationship and friendship that works, albeit chaotically at times.  When we talk about what projects are coming up, they say that Didier’s next assignment before the fall order crunch is to find a new place to live separate from the business.  (left, Reso coat rack)

As we talk, I feel more comfortable asking Clotilde about her choice to work in a tiny independent design firm after working for a big corporation like Decathlon.  It’s about balance, she explains.  As a working mother of two children, she chose a career path which affords her the flexibility to determine her work schedule.  For example, she does not work Wednesdays, and on other days she’s out of the office by a certain time in order to pick up the kids.  Presse Citron allows her to do a job she enjoys and also enjoy her family.  She thinks it’s great and values the freedom it provides.  I laugh and mention a friend who is a designer who has a nanny, someone I think might be a millionaire.  Clotilde smiles and says, “Must be nice to be a millionaire.  But you don’t have to have millions to have a child!”  The confidence with which she explains her choice of equilibrium rings almost as a question—isn’t that what life is about?  For Clotilde, designing is a part of her life.  For Didier, designing is his way of life. 

 
The constraints of small business

As with most creatives in small partnerships, the two would prefer to concentrate only on design.  Unfortunately, they say, only 30% of their time is spent on design.  The rest is on the administrative and logistical part of completing and filling their orders.  Much like a presse citron, all of their products are finalized and assembled by hand, for example the Antix picture frame in PVC is cast by an outside producer, but is mounted on particle board, the magnets applied, and the packaging done by Didier and Clotilde, and the help of another assistant in peak times.  They come to their designs by brainstorming sessions as often as they are able to grab time together.  It may be one hour a day every day, or less frequently depending on the season.  They carefully dose the introduction of new products to the market, because experience has shown them that the market does not quickly absorb too many new ideas and vast variety.  Instead, they regularly introduce color variations, like to their hugely successful M magnet line (the number refers to the number of magnets in each package).  Just last fall at the September edition of Maison & Objet, their largest and primary trade fair, they introduced two new colors.

While they would like to move into bigger, more complex pieces, they recognize that the firm has little opportunity for growth into those areas because of the associated costs.  So they continue to evolve and expand their current range, almost specializing in small but smart accessories.  Right now they are working at maximum capacity and a move to furniture would require a large minimum order in order to ensure affordability for the end consumer—one of their priorities for the designs they produce.  Another priority is the quality of the materials and worksmanship.  All of Presse Citron’s products are made in France.  While this definitely increases their costs, compared to similar products produced with much cheaper labor, Didier and Clotilde wouldn’t have it any other way.  (It’s not a question of nationalism, it’s a question of quality control!)  If they had no economic restrictions, they would design space-efficient furniture for the home at prices accessible to everyone.  Most probably reflecting the environment in which they design, their current collection consists primarily of ‘personalizing’ contemporary interior accessories that do not take up living space (wall-mounted picture frames, magnetized mirrors and frames, coat hangers, and tabletop items, and a space saving flat-packed portable chair.).  Their flavor is unique enough to be noticed, but subtle enough to blend in.