Sessùn Alma by
Emma François
Hotels & restaurants
15 January 2021
With Emma François, it’s all about meeting people and making choices. For Sessùn, since 1995, she has chosen materials, audited factories, organic fibres and ecological aspirations. 24 years of passionate encounters with artists, craftsmen, muses, but also with materials, know-how and creation.
The confluence of these encounters is her new living environment in Marseilles. Welcome to Sessùn Alma, a facility of more than 170 m2, just a stone’s throw from the Vieux Port, where it is enjoyable to stroll, read, eat, exchange and meet up. Before leaving, let’s meet Emma !
The first Sessùn cocoon…
« A place designed to encourage encounters, an isolated place, slow life. »
“The Alma project came to life at the beginning of March in this soap factory, the place, its surface, its history have challenged us. I like locations that have a past, that tell a story, that seem inhabited. It was love at first sight. And it was really the place that triggered the project. A place thought of as a site of life and culture. The perfect place to present our treasures, favourite items, books, artists, craftsmen and above all to meet each other. Sessùn’s guiding thread has always been encounters.”
How was the place designed?
« The space was designed by the architectural duo Marion Bernard. It’s a special place that evokes the Mediterranean region, but in a resolutely contemporary way. We didn’t want to get caught up in a spirit of nostalgia. At Sessùn Alma, the design and the Mediterranean atmosphere are part of a whole. We didn’t need particular eye catchers, we wanted to create a real harmony. »
The particular techniques revisited for this project?
« Sessùn Alma is also a real work on materials and craftsmanship. We wanted to highlight different trades: from wall decorators to ceramists and even cabinetmakers for the very organic chairs. »
The architects and artists who inspired you?
The freedoms you allow yourself with Sessùn Alma?
“Alma is really an opportunity to think in terms of small series. It’s another logic… Over there, everything is allowed. I like the idea of being a finder of craftsmen, ambassadors and know-how.”
What can you find at Sessùn Alma?
« A precise composition where works by independent and passionate publishers, ceramics, weavings, Sessùn’s lifestyle collection and natural cosmetics come together. We also offer, especially for Sessùn Alma, a limited series in organic material and recycled wool inspired by work clothes. »
Creators who inspire you ?
Best reads at Sessùn Alma
Your favourite selection at Sessùn Alma ?
« All of them! We worked with Emmanuelle Oddo on a very particular curation with a very selective approach. She knew perfectly how to identify Sessùn’s universe and to sublimate it.
I am particularly moved by Julie Boucherat’s work for MANO MANI, she imagined a series of amphoras especially for Sessùn Alma. I also love the universe of Marta Bonilla: you can see on her lamps, the traces of her hands, the spirit of the material. You can feel the irregularities of life, and I like that. »
What was the starting point for Alma’s Sessùn lifestyle collection?
« The lifestyle collection starts with the material. As with our clothes, we start with it. It’s the love of texture and craftsmanship that dictates my creative desires and gives me ideas. The spirit of materials is inevitably found in our decorative objects! »
What do you recommend tasting at Alma?
« My favourite of the moment: the homemade pumpkin soup with gnocchi, perfect for the season! Aline Chemla offers this healthy, sunny Mediterranean cuisine. »
What are the pillars, symbols of sessùn?
« With Flirt Studio, we worked on seven symbols by retracing the thread of our history, our archives, old collections and even interviews. We wanted to weave a symbolic iconography. There is the solar saffron, the creative bloom, the original woman, the root temple, the sacred love… And of course the free soul. We are apart, a very free house with an inspirational universe marked from the beginning… »
Emma François' wish list
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MANO MANI
Mini07 Vase
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Cassandre Bouilly
Ceramic tassel vases
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Nkuku
Ajuru Server
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Oros
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Oros
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Emmanuelle Roule
KUM vases
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Marta Bonnila
Volta lamp
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Sessùn
Wall decoration
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Sessùn
Simonette short blouse
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Sessùn
Martins blouse
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Sessùn
Kancha GM basket
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Sessùn
Cuscinetto cushion
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Sessùn
Raundy wicker bag
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Sessùn
Anouk boots
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Sessùn
