Do you remember the first object you made?
There was a piece that I did for my teacher that I still have. At the end of my training, to test me and see what I was capable of, he made me copy a page from a work of Jean de Berry onto lambskin. It was quite a job, and took me three weeks to do. I will never sell it because this is the piece that launched my career.
What are your sources of inspiration?
Romanesque art, history… the whole world inspires me. I can go shopping and find sources of inspiration. It’s actually a disaster. When I go to a museum I get information overload, too much comes to me, and afterwards I want to do too much. I’m also captivated by the sea and coral – even though I can hardly swim!
©Marion Saupin
What do you like most about your job?
All the projects, the ideas that I get, the sketches I make. It's actually everything I used to do with my teacher and I still do now – the thinking, the organising, the testing of colours and materials… I love all that, because it’s about discovery.
What might people not realise about what you do?
Few people know what parchment is. It’s actually a dead goat spread out, there’s even hair on it. People are surprised to realise it’s not paper. Some quickly realise the sensuality of it, and that’s great, but others get hung up on the fact it’s the skin of a dead animal and then I can’t do anything for them.