Hervé Matejewski

For so many reasons, Hervé Matejewski is really one of my absolute favorite designers, and I love to visit his stand at Maison-Objet to see what new work he's producing! Hervé, a native Parisian, is the designer behind the mat&jewski label which produces chic, sometimes flamboyant sometimes racy 'interior couture', right at the intersection of fashion and interior design. He decided to be a designer after time as a chef and ten years in an uninspiring corporate job. What a decision! He is a known trendsetter with the shapes and concepts of many of his creations and since founding his label in 1999 he has been named Designer of the Year at Maison-Objet and by French magazine IDEAT for his lamps. His signature creations are the perforated aluminum Totem and his feather lamps. His clients span the globe, from Tokyo, to Dubai, to New York. All of his products are 100% Made in Paris, or a little bit outside of the city!

Sketch something you remember from childhood.
I remember my grandfather working in the garden. We learned a lot about what real food tastes like, where it comes from, what fresh tomatoes and carrots smell and taste like. Wait...you want me to draw that? I better come up with something less complicated!!!

If you could do it all over again, the one thing you wouldn't change.
I wouldn't change a thing. I think everything is an experience, in good and in bad. Maybe would have become a designer sooner...but that's it.

The best business advice you've been given.
To always do the best quality work you're capable of.

As a mentor, the most important concept you'd want a mentee to take away from your relationship.
The nuts and bolts of business. The real world is night and day from what they teach you in school. In design there are financial constraints, client relationships to manage, maximizing quality within your budget... It can be a shock!!

In a design studio, money invested in photography is always well spent.


From the mat&jewski portfolio


Tasses (6 to a set, porcelain, each saucer and cup is different and interchangeable. Money? Love? Career? Vacation? Success? Happiness? Ask your question, and find the answer at the end of your drink!)

Standard Hotel, Paris: Japonais lamp

Boule plume oie a suspendre - Goose-feather suspension lampe

Assiettes, Porcelain du Belleville (6 to a set, porcelain, available in fruit/dessert, pasta bowl, and dinner plate sizes)

mat&jewski stand, Maison-Objet September 2006

Totem, perforated aluminum lamps

Toile de Jouy skateboard

Close up of Toile de Jouy