a conversation w/ Marine Depaz

While on vacation in Sardinia, designer of Albatroz Paris Jewelry, Marine Depaz chatted with me about what sparks her creativity, her design process and what goes into each of her jewellery collections. 

I first found you because Cierra O’day posted about your jewelry. I saw your Olympe Paradoxe ring and needed to know more :) Tell me about how Albatroz Paris came to be. 

I was studying at the Institut francais de la mode which is a french fashion school and I started it [Albatroz Paris] kind of on the side with some friends just a small project that had no intention of being a commercial project. As it evolved some of the friends that I started it with left and only two of us remained. The other is a girl that I am very good friends with and she’s more business oriented, let’s say, and we kept doing it on the side, doing very very small production, selling just like to friends and family and since three months, after I

finished studying, I decided to start doing it full time. So I am the only one full time for now, my associate, she only handles production, so I design everything and I handle everything except for the communication with the atelier. 

How does it feel to be on holiday in Italy? 

Honestly, it’s been really great cause I feel like I really needed a break, we have the new collection, La Nuit des Temps. The collection is basically coming out today, before talking with you I was editing all the shots for online so if I manage to do everything today it’s coming out today. Or it will come out tomorrow. 

It’s been a really nice vacation, it’s just a bit stressful because we were supposed to receive everything two weeks ago but there was a mishap at the atelier with the stones colour. But there is always a mishap, it’s just always going to happen so it is what it is. So yeah I was supposed to launch everything before I left but we didn’t manage to so now I am working with the best view ever so I’m not complaining. 

What inspires you the most when you travel? 

I feel like my biggest inspiration in basically all that I do whether this is for jewelry, drawing or fashion design, is literature. Whenever I travel I get more time to read and so even more than the travel is the atmosphere of emerging myself in a story fully. I feel like reading when you are on a vacation is completely different than reading when you are at home. And La nuit des temps which is the book that inspired the new collection ‘The dawn of time’ in English by Barjavel. Voila. It’s a big classic. 

The first time I ever read it was actually on a vacation when I was quite smaller. I think I was probably fourteen or something like that and I really remember like reading it in this atmosphere. I feel like if I read it at home, it wouldn’t have had the same impact on me. So I really feel like that’s how travelling impacts my creativity and also [when you] disconnect completely from your routine, different kinds of ideas are going to emerge. Not necessarily because of the place you are in but just because you are doing something else. 

What does your design process look like? 

I’m very structured, this is something that I really think studying at the Institut Francais de la Mode taught me. They really teach you how to design a collection because it’s not like how we see sometimes in movies or tv shows how they say things like ‘oh inspiration struck’. This is really not how it works and I think people are starting to realize that more and more. 

To me, design is a process, it’s very different from applied art. It’s really about process and method. So there is always the first strike of inspiration like if you're reading something or you’re going to this exhibit and this artist really inspires you to do something new. And there will always be the one first idea, usually for me it manifests with one jewel specifically. For example for the new collection it’s all like with coins that are assembled in a different way to create different jewellery. But the first thing I saw in my head was the big coin that you will see in the big necklace on Instagram with the red stone. So this was the first thing. Then I think about and analyze it and think okay why is this what came to my mind, when I was reading this book. Okay maybe it's the sci-fi influence a little bit. I really try to understand like okay why did this come out? And then usually again it’s from books so I will re-read [the part] when it came to me and ah, actually this description made me think of the imagery of this game I used to play so that’s when I can create those connections. 

But I think whether in a notebook or on the computer if you can put it into words. I think putting your vision into words is super important. I hate mood boards that are just images. I think words are super important because if you have a good idea but you can’t express what it is, then it’s not a good idea. So it’s super important to me. 

The first part of the creative process is that first image and then putting it into words. Then when this image has a complete vocabulary it allows you to build from that and create new images. So when I have all the sketches of what I want, I do all the technical files, I do them all myself, again because I’m still alone on all the design parts but I don't mind technical files actually. 

It's super important when you think of technical files to think of every single thing and to detail everything. That really pushes you to just not do a sketch to think about the technicality of how the jewellery is going to be worn. Maybe in my sketch I did a bangle that was completely wrong because ah ben no it’s going to be too heavy, if you try it on the fit is going to be too tight so I have to switch it. And the technical steps of the drawing really helps you figure that out and really put the jewellery into real context. 

After that I send everything to the atelier I work with. Sometimes I do the wax mold myself, depending on the piece. 

Then the atelier works on it, for a new collection it takes about a month to make the proto types and then I get it back, make edits and two months later I have my production. 

How does jewellery design differ (if at all) from other mediums? 

What I really like about jewellery design is although sometimes I like to do crazy weird designs that nobody’s going to wear, I feel like jewellery really pushes me to make something that can be worn and that will be able to be passed on. I think jewellery is a really good medium of personal and family story. I want to make pieces that will be given from mother to daughter to granddaughter. I think that’s really really cool and so this really comes into play because I’m thinking okay how can i make a piece that someone will actually wear. Whereas for fashion design it’s so much easier to go into the crazy stuff that nobody will wear just because fashion is for the show and nobody cares. I feel like jewellery tends to be more not necessarily commercial but more contemporary in the way you have to work. 

How do trends and current events impact jewellery trends or designs?  

Of course trends are quite important to include like for example there was a big drop trend like little drop earrings  so I thought okay that’s quite cool, I like this trend so how can I adapt it to make it for me and for my design and my creativity. 

So I think I am not as much inspired by a trend just because everybody's doing but it’s more in terms of design and shape like oh I see there’s a big resurgence of big statement necklaces or like big cocktail rings oh okay how can I incorporate that in my own way. I think that's more interesting and that will make pieces that last longer. 

How does your own creative style change across different mediums? Like fashion, interior design, jewellery etc. 

The inspirations are always basically the same but like in drawing I have a super naive style of drawing that is super colourful, I do only mixed media. When I send a package to influencers I always make a portrait of them. And so when I do it’s very naive style, it’s super colourful, with oil pastel and colour pencil and also I really like watercolor. My style is more naive, more youthful and more vibrant. When I do fashion design I tend to really focus on texture and technique because I’m doing it myself whereas with jewelry I don’t do all the production.  I think I focus more on the parts I can do myself. With jewelry, I focus on wear, it’s again very different. I feel like no matter what medium I’m working with, you can really tell that everything is done with attention. 

How does it feel to see your designs out in the world? 

I cannot even tell you. Especially when I see my friends, because I haven’t so far run into anyone wearing my jewellery that I didn’t know. 

When I see my friends actually wearing it, it always feels super nice because you’re like they didn’t just buy it to support me. You know they bought it because they actually like it. My favourite part to see especially with rings is when they are really worn in and I can see that the polish is starting to wear off a little bit. This is what makes me the happiest. Because that means that they’re wearing it everyday. 

And a really great feeling, it just happened recently because I just started sending to influencers like maybe two months ago, when I see someone that I really like online, that I’ve never met but I follow them for their style. When I see them wearing one of my jewelry pieces, it feels super validating. Like when I see Cierra like AH. So it’s really nice and also so far I've had really good experiences with influencers. 

Can you tell what styles someone will like just by seeing their Instagram or maybe their outfit? 

When I send a message, I always say you can select what you like or I can make the selection myself based on your style. A lot of the influencers pick what they want which is normal and sometimes I’d rather have that because I'd rather them pick something and actually wear it. But I have had a few so far where I make the selection myself and they’ve always really loved it. I’ll send a few pieces and I always see that at least one of them they wear all the time. 

How does the internet and sharing on social media impact your creativity? 

I really like instagram. I art direct all my shoots on Instagram and this is a huge part of my work that I really really love. I think knowing how to translate your inspirations and your ideas is super important so I really love that. So instagram I actually really like instagram. Tik Tok I had never really used before. I really like Tik Tok. I think it’s really fun to make the videos and stuff but it’s always a bit difficult because the stuff that works is the silly stuff or the stuff with my face or my friends. So at the beginning it was really hard to let go and do the Tik Tok thing and it just takes so much time. Like posting everyday. Yesterday for the first time in three months I didn’t post and I was just like why is the fact that I didn’t post for a day making me in such a bad mood. 

The Internet is great but some aspects of it take a lot of time. 

What creative outlet have you been leaning into lately? 

I’ve been doing linocut. I didn’t want to order packaging boxes that were printed. So I started thinking, what do I do to make a small stock of packaging but also make a lot if I need to? So I started working with a few different techniques. I ended up finding what I really like just before I left on vacation. They don’t look perfect, which is what I really like. 

Something that I didn't do before is after effects, video editing is a skill that I didn't really have before and I did some special effects videos that haven't been posted yet. 

How often are you executing creative ideas just for the sake of it? That has nothing to do with work.

I’ve been really focusing on work for a while. Something I’ve been doing is drawing because it’s very fast to do. 

What’s next for you? 

The thing I am most excited about is the collection coming out. So far it’s my favorite to work on. I really got to do it 100%. I got to do it full time and it’s the culmination of a lot of my biggest inspirations like La nuit des temps is my favourite book of all time so I’m really happy to be doing this collection around it. Also the inspiration for this collection is very dear to me. 

Another part of the inspiration was the video game I used to play where you created this little monster that started at the cell step of life then it became an animal then it was a tribe then a city and then it was like an intergalactic conquest. It was really those kinds of very geometrical colourful and textural graphics. I found those super inspiring as well like it really helped me visualize. It was a huge inspiration for this collection. 

My goal would be to have two capsule collections a year. To have a more summery and a wintery one and I would love to do more collab work. I want to work on some special pieces and more customs. I really love working on a custom project because you can have way more fun with it. And it’s super exciting. 

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