Florence Lopez (Florence Lopez) - one of the most famous and extravagant Parisian pros. Decorator, connoisseur of design, antiquarian, gallery owner. The geography of its clientele is impressive: from Los Angeles to Venice, from Moscow to Hong Kong.

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The paradox is that it does not have a gallery in the traditional sense of the word - with a sign, inviting display cases and white walls, against which the objects are arranged. Her gallery is her own apartment, located in the superstructure of the 1920s on the roof in the Saint-Germain quarter. To get here, you must first agree with the hostess on the phone, and then overcome the five flights of the steep spiral staircase, because there is no elevator in the building of the XVII century. Large artifacts are delivered here with the help of a crane through huge square windows - once there was a sculptural workshop.

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“I myself am a nonconformist and all my clients, too, because only nonconformists bother to rise so high,” Florence laughs. Those include Charlotte Ginzbur, for whom Florence designed three of her houses, Gerard Depardieu and multimillionaire Francois Pinot. “Sometimes it seems to me that I live on a caravan, on a train or on a ship,” Florence regularly regularly changes the situation every year or two and repaints the walls, all the things in her gallery apartment, and these are collection rarities, are sold. Twice it was even so that fascinated customers bought the whole atmosphere at once.

She has quite broad tastes, she loves the entire first half of the twentieth century: from Bauhaus to Art Deco, from American and French furniture of the mid-century to Brazilian modernists and Viennese Secession. She can find works by Joe Ponti, Osvaldo Borsani, Carlo Mollino, Alvar Aalto, Adolf Loos, Otto Wagner, Joseph Hoffmann, Malle Stevens, Le Corbusier, George Nakashim ...

“I do not limit myself to the framework of a single style, I am always in search of something new and interesting, my curiosity does not allow me to stand still. I find interesting quality things literally around the world - from collectors, while traveling. My agents call me as soon as they find something worthwhile themselves. ”

At the age of 17, Florence left her native Bordeaux and went to conquer Paris, then moved for several years to New York, trained at Chritie's and at the American decorators of Parish-Hadley and McMillen. In 1985, she returned to Paris and began working at the Jacques Garcia bureau until seven years later, in 1992, it did not occur to her to set up her own studio in a former sculpture workshop. The first composition consisted of a risky mix of Vietnamese furniture, furniture from the English movement of art and crafts, neo-gothic accessories, including a fireplace screen, and a pair of huge armchairs. Soon all the interior magazines started talking about her.

“I have two warehouses in Paris and one in my homeland in Bordeaux, where I often visit, but I never bring clients there. I believe that this experience interferes with the imagination. I usually pick up three or four things for a client and look at his reaction. If I do not guess, I select again. "

Florence often works in tandem with her husband, architect Patrick Hernandez, decorating entire houses and apartments. A couple of years ago Christian Leagre invited her to design her studio, with whom she has been friends for over 30 years. Florence offered him to design the studio as a real, full of luxurious curiosities living room with a fireplace and chairs and sofas arranged symmetrically.

Christian Leyr and Florence Lopez.

Customers celebrate her gift to mix things from different directions, against the backdrop of colorful walls and choosing bright upholstery. “In the atelier, Florence literally drives me crazy. It is always a mix of unique, beautiful, strong and strange things. She is not afraid of anything, risks, and in this sense she is a real artist, ”says one of her clients, the famous French actress Elodie Bush. Christian Liegr says that “Florence can pick together and harmoniously combine items that are not compatible in theory. The result is a very unusual, full of very personal atmosphere. ”