Where to begin with our day today....
We met Patrice Sebille, artisan wool mattress maker. A charming man with one of the most niche crafts I have come across before. He makes mattresses, by hand, using wool.
Our morning was spent with him explaining to us his business (he has a small workshop studio in Paris), his ambitions to create a 'flying' mattress and the students/designers/artists he has worked with along the way.
The 'flying' mattress was a concept of using an iron panel between layers of wool in the mattress creating the illusion that the bed was floating. The concept was worked on with a industrial design student. The result fascinating. Will do my best to dig out an image of it.
The first image is of the 'Diabolo' (named after the game????). The idea being that it is NOT a bed mattress and NOT a chair mattress. It is a multi-use structure with teenagers in mind, somewhere to throw your clothes, somewhere to laze about on etc. I think the fact that something so beautiful can be created from what is usually a square/rectangular shape immediately changes your perspective on what could be created from this very old craft. This idea brings us to the second image. A photo of work by textile designer Pauline Angotti. Pauline interned with Patrice, learning the skill of mattress making with the idea of a much larger project in mind. She then went on to create body structures, commissioned by famed Japanese make-up company Shiseido. It suddenly became EVEN more interesting.
Our late morning/afternoon was then spent making our own 'mini' mattress (latter images). This process is extremely labour intensive, extremely time consuming and extremely rewarding. I am left buzzing after our day with Patrice. He is a fascinating person and very kind to have shared his mistakes, his experiences, his successes with us to remember and hopefully learn from.
Hello! I know this was posted 2 years ago but I hope my comment reaches you. I'm in Houston, Texas and there are no resources for teach oneself how to make a mattress by hand. I have done hours upon hours of research online and I have seen a few blogs but zero successes. I found the Design and Wool blog but could not find any way on their site to contact them. I have learned everything I can from the photos they posted of the workshop with Patrice Sebille. I have just a few questions before I order everything to make a king sized wool mattress and a crib mattress. I am nervous because honestly, I do not have the funds to start over if I mess up and it's my first time ever doing this. I'm not sure about the wool and what type, batting or loose, how many lbs, etc. I'm hoping I am ordering the correct needles and that my thread and fabric choice are correct. If there is any advice or way for me to contact anyone who might be able to shed some light on this project I'm undertaking, I would be forever grateful. I did email Mr. Sebille directly today but I understand they are very busy and may not have time to get back to me. Thank you so much and I enjoyed this post!!
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