For this episode Material Matters travelled to Paris to chat to up-and-coming designer Marlene Huissoud about her relationship with propolis (or bee glue) – a substance made up of wax and resin that bees collect from vegetation and use to seal the honey frames inside their hive. 

Working the material a little like glass, the Central Saint Martin’s graduate has created a series of cooly dark, vaguely threatening, vessels as well as a number of other objects. 

During our chat we discuss what it was like growing up with her beekeeper father in the Alps; coming to study in England; why she decided recently to leave London for the French capital (in a word, Brexit); the reasons behind her decision to train as a nurse; creating pieces from her kitchen; and what she’s up to at during the 2019 London Design Festival.

You can find more information on Marlene and her work here: marlene-huissoud.com

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