Line Vautrin

Born in Paris in 1913, Line Vautrin was an artist, designer and creator of jewellery and decorative objects. She worked in post-war Paris to create pieces renowned for their intensity and poetry. Line Vautrin was obsessed with creating things from an early age, and her first pieces date from when she was just twenty-one. In 1937 she had a stand at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques where she presented a range of powder compacts, boxes, brooches, necklaces and ashtrays in gilt bronze.Her work was highly acclaimed, and it was here she found her first clients. Her success enabled her to open a boutique in rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré, the area known for its couturiers, before she moved again to 106 rue Vielle du Temple.In 1953, still in search of novelty, Line Vautrin discovered a mysterious resin made of cellulose acetate, she patented the substance at the INPI (Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle), naming it Talosel. Following this discovery, Line Vautrin continued to transform the materials at her disposal. Her mirrors are famous for the way they lure you in, deforming reality through their witches’ eyes, the convex mirror always at the centre of her creations. It wasn’t long before her name was soon known both throughout France and abroad. In the 1960s, she also used Talosel to make chests, lights, lamps, frames, coffee tables, screens and chandeliers. She also returned to her roots as a jewellery designer, substituting gilt bronze with this new substance, and forming necklaces, bracelets, earrings, brooches and cufflinks using Talosel inlaid with tiny mirrors.I