Line Vautrin was born on April 28 into a family that owned a bronze foundry. This was the catalyst to an incredible career that led her to develop little miracle of inventiveness as quoted by the Guardian newspaper.
She was fascinated by her father's business and mastered some the skills of gilding, chasing and casting by the age of 14. She was entirely self-taught, and by the age of 21 had already designed her first pieces.
She dazzled Paris in the 1930's with her whimsies. She was indeed the epitome of Parisian Neo-Romantic chic.
Her creations - mirrors, jewellery boxes and other decorative objects - are imbued with fantasy and poetry. Vautrin's career took off when she exhibited at the 1937 Exposition Universelle. The latter launched her on an international stage.
Vautrin then opened her first shop in 1938 when she was 21 on rue de Berri which was so small that she called it the "cupboard".
She was dubbed the ‘poetess of metal’ by Vogue in the 1940s.
Line Vautrin started experimenting with cellulose acetate resin in the mid 1950's. This was a revolutionary initiative that attracted lots of admirers. Certainly the 60's were a period which echoes with her 'witches' - the convex looking-glasses with elaborate faceted and encrusted frames.
The small fragment of mirrors being embedded in the resin went on to be registered as Talosel, became a huge success with celebrities and the likes of Yves Saint Laurent, Françoise Sagant and Ingrid Bergman amongst others. "Whether it is metal, enamel, or whatever, I have always liked actually to handle my materials. Above all, I loved to make up stories and bring them to life by inventing shapes."
