Meet Charlotte Chesnais, the Parisian designer whose simple, sculptural designs are like wearable works of art. Hardly surprising, given that she credits Brancusi and Jean Arp as her primary influences, and spent years working alongside Nicolas Ghesquière during his tenure at Balenciaga. Stopping by her atelier in Paris’ first arrondissement, Charlotte tells us how she began her label (whilst pregnant), what she always has ready at the studio (chocolate), and why the city of Paris is her greatest inspiration.

On her upbringing...
I grew up in the countryside two hours away from Paris in the middle of nowhere. I used to hate it when I was young, because I was obsessed with living in Paris. When you live in the countryside, it forces you to be more curious. You don’t have everything around you – you have to look for it. So I think it built my curiosity in a way.
 
On deciding to make jewellery...
I went to Studio Berçot, which is a fashion school. When I left I ended up at Balenciaga, where I started as a ready-to-wear designer. After a few years I was asked super randomly to work on jewellery, which I’d never done before. I loved it and never stopped.
 
On starting her own label...
I left Balenciaga a few months after Nicolas left, and I started to freelance for other houses. After two years I was a bit bored – I was missing something in terms of creativity. So my friend encouraged me and said I should stop complaining, and told me to make my own label!

On how she begins making a piece...
I don’t really design; what I do is that I have an atelier where I work with three craftsmen that I’ve been working with forever. Basically we bend, we melt, we burn pieces of metal, we scratch them, and these are my starting points. They don’t have to be jewellery at the beginning, it’s just like research on interesting shapes. Then I think about what I like and how it can become jewellery.
 
On her creative influences...
I never look for inspiration – it’s just a way of life. I think creativity is something you have in you and you have to feed it, but I don’t feel like I need to “look” for it. Everything I have surrounding me will have an influence on me. I’m a huge fan of Jean Arp and Brancusi – I love to look at their work. It’s all about shapes and curves and balance between the angle and the curve. This is basically what I feed myself with. 

On why her collections are not really collections...
Each collection is not different from another, for me it’s more about chapters. I started to write a story four years ago and I just continue adding new chapters.

On what makes her job exciting...
Everything. I feel so lucky to do a job that I love so much. Every day I face new challenges to grow in the right direction. I never imagined myself growing into a CEO but I am a CEO today and I have employees. Sometimes it’s hard and difficult, but it’s super exciting.

On the most important thing for becoming a successful jewellery designer...
For me - because it’s different for everybody – it’s to have your own universe and to express yourself very truly. You have to have a really strong DNA, and not be constantly looking at what everyone else is doing.

On what she always has at her studio...
I’m not a very materialistic person – I could lose basically everything except my children. I want my space to be simple and beautiful and clean. We always have chocolate at the office. Our Japanese office always brings us matcha chocolate when they visit!
 
On where she goes to get a break from work...
The countryside. We try to go every weekend to escape from Paris, which is funny because when I was in the countryside when I was younger I wanted to escape to Paris, and now I want to escape from Paris to the countryside.
 
Her favourite thing about living and working in Paris...
I ride my bike everywhere in Paris. Every day I cross the Seine on one of the most beautiful bridges and then I ride my bike in front of the Louvre on my way to the office and on my way home. Some people are dreaming about seeing it all their lives, and I see it twice a day!

Photography by Jonathan Middleton
Interview by Georgia Graham
Styling by Sally Bottomley