La Gadoue is a duo of French designers based in Brussels, Eloïse Maës and Audrey Werthle. Specialising in textiles and ceramics, they define themselves as designers and craftswomen. They create with four hands, challenging materials and techniques in a circular approach.
The duo draws their inspiration from nature and upcycling. They work with fabric scraps from a variety of sources, including discarded furnishing fabrics and second-hand shirts. The pieces on display at Augusta were made from upholstery scraps collected from a Belgian interior designer.
Eloïse Maës and Audrey Werthle began designing together during their studies at the Design Academy in Eindhoven. After graduating, they set up their studio in Brussels. They soon began creating large-scale installations and projects, using a circular approach. Their most recent project is the creation of gigantic curtains for the lobby and restaurant of the Mix hotel in Brussels.
“We like to create bespoke designs and think of our projects in terms of the spaces. Adapting to the scale of a house like Augusta’s or the gigantic dimensions of a hotel like the Mix feeds our creative process. ”
— Audrey Werthle
La Gadoue Atelier presents impressive geometric curtains and three wall pieces created by assembling scraps of linen and cotton fabrics. Inspired by water, these new pieces showcase the evolution of the expertise of Eloïse Maës and Audrey Werthle.
It’s a central feature of the gallery: the transparency of the geometric curtains created by La Gadoue catches the eye right from the windows. Custom-made for Augusta, where they will remain permanently, the pair gives a unique personality to the space.
It was during a training in vegetable dyes in Brittany with Michel Garcia, a leading expert in the field, that the designers developed the gradation of greens that colours the linen pieces. «The green of the landscape and the chestnut trees in the Breton hinterland were our inspiration. They matched what we imagined for Augusta.” The region was also a source of inspiration for the colours in La Laïta 1 and 2 - named after a Breton river - two wall pieces created for states of matter. As for Malmousque, it bears the name of a seaside neighbourhood of Marseilles and evokes its vibrant tones.
Water is the theme of the series: «the tones and shapes of rivers, confluents, currents of fresh and salt water,...» It is also at the heart of their dyeing work: «it’s a very physical process with vegetable dye baths. Everything is done by hand.»