In conversation with Antoine & Chrystelle
“We were convinced we could find a way to improve our clients’ wellbeing if we could help them create an interior where they felt at home.”
Once upon a time…
Neither of us had any retail experience when we decided to launch Summer Camp. We wanted a change, to share our favourite things, and to find a new way to decorate a house or a flat. We were convinced we could improve our clients’ wellbeing if we could help them create an interior where they felt at home.
Summer Camp opened its doors at the beginning of 2012. The name came from nowhere, it was just our way of talking about getting away. We knew it was the right name straight away and our dream started to take shape around the idea of escape and holidays.
We had a name but we didn’t have a place! Lille is our home and we knew immediately that we had to be in the old town. We chose the rue Masurel, a pretty little cobbled street 5 minutes from the main square and a minute from the cathedral. It’s a lively street full of
When we started to look for suppliers we met a lot of passionate people and started to learn about their skills. From small to medium-sized businesses, to designers and artisans, we chose them for their collections of ceramics, glassware, mirrors and lights. And of course we have the unique porcelain pieces made by Chrystelle, the store manager. They really set the tone.
Top tips
Advising a client is first and foremost about understanding their style. Are they a minimalist, driven by a desire for simplicity and a gently harmonious and calming interior? Or do they prefer something more eclectic? The collections from Le Monde Sauvage are a way for us to respond to multiple different requirements. The main aim is to create a sense of wellbeing.
Our first piece of advice? To avoid creating a carbon copy of the showroom. It might look great in a store but in a home environment you need to really follow your intuition. Chrystelle and I like to mix styles, colours and textures. We are very happy to match a Saarinen table with a set of Moroccan mirrors, or a checked cushion from the Highlands collection with one from the Bestiaire family. We nearly always take a colour that is already used in the room as a starting point. Or we can start from a very specific desire.
You & LMS
The textiles that we sell at Summer Camp are all from Le Monde Sauvage. It’s impossible to resist the choice of colours, the quality of the fabrics and the unique nature of the patterns that are always evolving. Each season we choose our selection together with the showroom team in Paris. In no time at all we are captivated by a new selection and together we come up with the future set up of the store.
We are always looking to create a harmonious mix between ceramics and linens, mirrors and wallpapers, silk velvet and delicate porcelain, wool rugs and spectacular lights, artisanal glassware and more rustic stoneware.
That’s the way we work and we try to help our clients to develop the same way of thinking when it comes to creating their own decorative environment.
Chrystelle’s delicate porcelain collections
I’m good with my hands and I’ve always enjoyed creating things. For years I ran creative workshops for children and adults. Then in 2012 after a bit of a change of direction I had the opportunity to get involved in Summer Camp. Antoine entrusted me with the creation of a collection of linen bedclothes and straight away I wanted to design again and to learn something new. I chose porcelain and in 2018 I signed up for my first pottery class. I adored it and started to work on my first tableware collection straight away. I converted my sitting room into a workshop and in the evening after a long day at Summer Camp I can be found elbow deep in clay.
I’m inspired by nature and I can spend hours working on leaves and petals or a collection of goblets and dishes. When I hear my clients talking about poetic, delicate creations it makes me so happy. Each piece is unique, beautiful and, I hope, useful. They are all made by hand and I love the irregular nature of each one. So now I guess I can say I am a potter!
LMS in your home
At home in our sitting room we have the Goa silk velvet throw in Santa Fe. The colour is so warm and the feel so soft! It works perfectly with the dark grey flannel of our sofa and the sheepskin throws on our old armchairs that our two Jack Russells adore (they are also partial to a bit of velvet!)
The Wooly Namib rug is a particular favourite with its soft wool, delicate colours and wide terracotta stripe.
In our bedroom we have mixed the Sandhills striped linen with the Highlands checked linen and the result is relaxed yet elegant.
And in the entrance and the stairwell, the Stars wallpaper is the star of the show.
Antoine & Chrystelle’s favourite places
Your go to places?
The Villa Cavrois in Croix designed in 1932 for the industrialist Paul Cavrois by the architect Mallet Stevens.
La Piscine, the art museum in Roubaix
Your favourite restaurants
Le Bloempot (22 rue des Bouchers): local cooking with local products
Le Parvis de la Treille (26 rue Bartholomé-Masurel): the best couscous in Lille, right next to our store
📍A secret destination?
Barbieux Park in Roubaix, one of the most striking urban parks in France that covers some 35 hectares and is home to 60 different varieties of tree.
🚀 A favourite escapade?
The Warren Millington rose garden in Rumes in Belgium. There are 160 varieties of roses and wild flowers.
