Line Vautrin was a designer whose work is as fascinating as her life story.  In the manner of her compatriot, Coco Chanel, she was strong, creative, ambitious and inventive.  Line was born in Paris in 1913 and left home at 14 unfulfilled with school to find her passion. At age 20, after various employments, she decided to set up her own jewelry business.  She initially learned her craft from her father who ran his parents foundry. 

Line’s career took off after the 1937 Universal Exhibition in Paris.  Working primarily in bronze she incorporated symbols and text into her pieces.  The primary motifs being: fire, stars, sun, moon, love, friendship, masculinity, femininity, among others.  In 1950, Line developed and patented a new material, Talosel, the name derived from the combination of the substances used to create it: cellulose and acetate.  Using Talosel she encrusted small pieces of colored mirror into frames and other larger objects that became highly favored in the interior design world. 

Vautrin was also a woman that embraced change.  She moved to Morocco in 1949 and opened a boutique in Casablanca through1952.  At this point, she returned to Paris with her daughter, having left her husband, and opened another boutique on the Left Bank.  Here she gained a celebrity clientele such as Brigitte Bardot, Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brenner.  Unfortunately, due to her limited management skills, she had to close shop in 1967.  She then decided to open a school to pass on her knowledge and expertise especially in the area of Talosel.  The school was open only for a few years as it was not a sustainable venture.   She continued to work and innovate and wrote a book until her passing in 1997 at the age of 84 of a sudden heart attack when advised she had cancer. 

In 2006, Christie’s auction house in New York had a sale of her work totaling $2.6 million.  www.christies.com

Please visit: www.line-vautrin.fr for a more information on Line Vautrin.

Above: 1970 - Line Vautrin working on a mirror in her workshop at 29, Quai des Grands Augustins in the early 1970s.  Photo: from www.line-vautrin.fr

Above: "Soleil" mirror Photo: from www.line-vautrin.fr

Above: This "Créte de Coq" circa 1950 mirror sold at the Christie's auction for $72,000 Photo: © JCM from www.line-vautrin.fr

Above: "Gribiche" mirror Photo: © JCM from www.line-vautrin.fr

Above: "Étincelle" mirror Photo: © JCM from www.line-vautrin.fr

Above: "Perruque" mirror Photo: © JCM from www.line-vautrin.fr

Above: Bronze cigarette box Photo:  from www.line-vautrin.fr

Above: Sample decorative brass and talosel panel  Photo: © JCM from www.line-vautrin.fr

Above: "Canard" wall sconce Photo: © JCM from www.line-vautrin.fr

Above: 1995 - Line Vautrin poses for Jean-François Gaté at her home in the 12th district of Paris.  Photo: from www.line-vautrin.fr