“We also actively looked in the city ourselves. We even reached out to the City of Marseille because we'd heard they have some vacant spaces. But in the end, no. [...] So we were walking by Rue Consolat, Rue Bourgeois... we also looked in La Joliette. We were looking for garages. [...] We were leaving notes on people's doors, hoping to be called back. [...] We even rang people's intercom, asking neighbours if they knew who owned this space.”

“Initially we really tried through friends, we put stories on Instagram... but nothing. There's a Facebook group too, called "Entraide atelier Marseille" [Helping each other studio spaces Marseille] but there's rarely anything there... Every other months there's one and it goes in a blink.”

“And I think our landlord he liked that we're artists, and to turn this into a studio space. [...] Just across the street there's a guy who saw us, and he was like "Hey, I want to rent it as an artist studio too. Do you know anyone?" Because they make more money by renting is as a studio compared to a simple garage.”

“When we arrived... there was a little bit of electricity, there was the electrical board but you didn't have electricity in the whole space. And there was were no toiles and no kitchen sink. [...] And that's the landlord who installed them, it was part of the deal we had with him. He takes care of the toilet and the sink, and we took care of putting electricity everywhere, with electrical plugs and lights.”

“We have redone this bit there [the walls]. Because they all looked like the ones at the back [bare walls in stone with no finishing]. So it's a bit of a cache-misère [makeshift solution] but we've filled in the gaps in the holes; we painted [the walls in white] to have better light. And right now we're trying to put up a glass door [the only doors available on the street are large wood doors with no window]. And the idea is to try and finish it before the winter.”

“Our space is probably a bit too expensive. Because our neighbour, her studio is a bit smaller. But she pays way less, like 300€, because she's been renting for much longer. Ten years or something. And we arrive when the prices are going up. And I think the "papi" [grandpa] who had our space before he rented it for 250€. So compared to our 450€, and even with the bits of work done, you can see the increase clearly.”

“This is a place with lots of green spaces. [...] Built for the bourgeoisie. [...] And if you look on Google Maps, there's loads of gardens and even swimming pools in gardens. That's super rare.”

“Yes, clearly [we're now well established in the area] ... but then it's also the Marseille way of being... There are three or four granddads that often walk by, they've been following the process since the beginning. We get along well with the family above, the dad who often does small DIY stuff comes down and asks for help. And in exchange, we get tea and cakes. There's a nice atmosphere. [...] I find there's no hostility between new incomes, and especially artists, and those that have been here for a long time. But we also have a very open studio space, physically... and socially! People come and ask what we do — "Do you make sofas?"”

“We're still organised the same way we were at school in fact. When there's a deadline, we're going to be there Monday-Sunday, from 9 am until 9 pm every day in the studio. Even later in the evening. And then there are times when we don't have much work, and then we don't go to the space for a week or so. [...] We don't have a fixed schedule.”

“We work here at night, it happened. For instance, on this work of art, because it was massively time-consuming, it required to sew. So we did this at night because it didn't make much noise. But yes, when we do some wood cutting... The only limit we give ourselves is the noise, especially in regards to the family who lives above. The idea is that by 19.30, 20.00, we stop cutting through metal.”

“We know our immediate neighbours. The people who have the studios. [...] They also live on top of their workspace, so that's really nice. And we also know a cabinetmaker further down the street. There's a wood workshop there. And the guy also brews its own beer. So on Friday, he set up an association, and so you sign up for one year and on Fridays, you get to taste the beer. But that was before Covid. [...] On Friday evenings, there were quite a few people from around here, makers and artists, that would meet there, to taste the beer. Nice beer, too! ”

“So there's a cabinetmaker down the street and a carpenter. And then there's an artist metalworker with a beautiful space. So there's a nice mix between makers [artisans] and artists. Because as designers, we know how to do a bit of everything but with basic knowledge. So we often get advice from the guys who work with wood, with metal.”