Sarah Boyeldieu (TBS 2012) opens a ceramic workshop in Bordeaux in July

14 June 2019 Diplomas

Interview:

Please tell us a few words about yourself?

Sarah, 30 years old, changing careers. I have a degree from TBS. A year ago, I was the customer manager at a Paris major advertising agency, and today, I'm getting ready to pass my CAP as a potter!

Would you tell us about your time at TBS?

I’d say that I’m a "pure product" from TBS. Just after getting my BAC in 2009, I started off taking a Bachelor. I did my second year in Hong Kong. and then enrolled in the Grande Ecole Programme Master. In 2012, I was hired by an advertising agency immediately after my internship ended.

What pushed you to start this project?

After spending more than eight years working for major Parisian agencies, I suffered a lot because my work was intangible, and because there was an obvious disconnect between it and my personal values. I wanted to go back to the tangible - to give meaning to my work and to hear the creative child I had been. The one who dreamed of becoming a stylist / decorator. So, it was quite natural that I chose to become a potter.

The project

Would you tell us about your project?

Sarah Boyeldieu, potter! That’s the project for now. I’m taking it step-by-step because a career change takes time. My wish is to create and market pottery with an ancestral inspiration that can be used for today’s purposes. They will be entirely handmade in my workshop in Bordeaux.

When and how did the idea for this project come about?

It came about two years ago when I started began my career-change process. For myself, I believe it’s high time to consume less, but consume better. To invest in sustainable, locally-made, and personalised goods. I want to be able to bring my stone to the building. Using clay was quickly apparent to be the best way to go, because the possibilities it can create are uncountable. The job of potter is old and indispensable profession, and has been so since man first settled down, whether the items will be used for the preservation of food and/or for decoration. Clay products carry the trace of the hand of the person who manipulates it to make pots or sculptures. I, too, wish to leave my mark and respond to these primary needs.

What is the added-value of your project?

They will be goods that are created and manufactured locally, from neighbouring lands, respecting the work of the craftsman. And this will be done in the heart of the city, closer to consumers. I would like everyone to become aware of the value of things - the time it takes to make them, and the skill required (which needs to be acquired) to master the production processes. I will also teach classes so that everyone can regain awareness of the power they have in their hands.

The Project

What is the current status of your project?

My workshop will open in Bordeaux in July (fresh news). At first’. it’ll be located at the Bordeaux Ste Croix business nursery so I can develop my business under the best conditions. As I have the double challenge of being both a woman artisan and a woman entrepreneur, it’s important that I have support in overcoming those. Now I have to invest the space. I already have my tools and my ideas. I’m launching a crowdfunding campaign in September with Kiss Kiss Bank Bank to help me finalise my plans, and I hope that my first collection will be released before the end of 2019. Quite a plan!

And its future?

I envision a large workshop and several people working in it. I think I’d also like to create jobs and start a small business. I know that there is a way to go in order to do that. First of all, I need to finish and present my collections (still prototype at this stage) to the public and see how they are received. Then I need to find resellers and create an e-shop. At the same time, there will be the issue of reputation. I need to succeed in making myself known and get the message out so people can choose my products. The craftsman of today has the same stakes as a conventional business except that she or he must do everything by alone.

Discover all my work on Instagram: sarah.boyeldieu

Contact: s.boyeldieu@gmail.com