Q&A with Anne Hubert, La Cerise sur le Gateau

La Cerise sur le Gateau, a beautiful homewares brand from France, have taken over our window with textile loveliness. In celebration of the collaboration we sat down, virtually, with Anne Hubert, La Cerise's founder, and asked a few questions about her life in design.

How did you get started in the world of textiles?

I started by customising my doll house, then my room and my brother’s wardrobe. My parents pushed me to make my own experiences in a design school. When I didn’t find what I was looking for in retail, I decided to make it myself! I got great feedback from my friends, and La Cerise sur le Gateau was born!

Your fabrics are always beautiful. How do you source them?

As I am extremely picky when it comes to quality and most of all: the feel of a fabric. We weave our own in Portugal!

100 % of our collection is made in Portugal. We select our suppliers based on skill and « savoir-faire », but also on a shared philosophy. This philosophy concerns a style of manufacturing that respects both quality and work conditions. All our manufacturing linen is based in a region of Porto in Portugal, that has strong historical link to the textile industry, and a skilled local workforce. We have decided to work exclusively with Oeko-tex certified providers for weaving, dyeing and printing.

Oeko-tex is the first label aiming to guarantee human-ecological materials, free from products that are harmful to the body and the environment.

What has been your proudest moment with the company?

Since the beginning, I’ve always had the same emotion when a customer writes to us explaining how much they love to take a nap in our cushions, or that the colour of this or that product makes them happy! Or even that they crave our bed linen’s material. I love that!

And now with Instagram it’s easy to give your opinion, so we have more and more messages of love!!!

We think La Cerise sur le Gateau has a very French aesthetic. Do you think there is such a thing? And how would you describe it?

You're based in Alsace. We don't know a lot about it. Paint us a picture of the place and tell us what we should see if we come to visit.

In Alsace we eat and drink well, very important for a food enthusiast such as myself!

It’s a region with a strong identity and plenty of magnificent old villages. Also, Alsace has an interesting geographic position. We’re 20mn from Basel, Switzerland and Fribourg, Germany. It gives a totally different dimension that I really appreciate.

My favourite thing to do is to walk through Basel and swim in the Rhine (in summer of course). My friends and I do it regularly, we then spend the evening walking by the water in town, surprisingly still wearing our swimming costumes.

I love walking, you have amazing trails to do in the mountains.

But what I love the most has to be the Alsatians! I’m from Normandy and moved here for love 😜

We're quite nosy. Tell us a bit about your own home and how you have furnished it.

My husband, daughter, his daughter and I all live under the same big renovated loft, bathed in light. I wanted to encapsulate the spirit of the place by keeping certain raw materials such as brick and metal, however without falling into an industrial cliché. I brought warmer materials along too, like fabric and wood. All of it whilst adding a contemporary touch.

How has your design process evolved over the year?

I’ve been following two rules since the beginning, two things that rely on each other: quality and Portuguese manufacturing.

Concerning design, the brand evolved a lot over the years. At first we used to work essentially on the pattern, the neon and on a lot of white fabric. It gave us a strong identity that built our strength! I would design those products as if they were for me, then at one point I started disliking them and not even using them at home anymore. That’s when I realised something was very wrong. So I reviewed everything three years ago, we reviewed the collections by introducing a lot of colour (my favourite part of the process I think!), and by expanding the range with accessories and bathroom.

For La Cerise’s 10th anniversary, my goal was to be proud of displaying it at home! If I like it, why wouldn’t it suit someone else?

What makes you smile?

To have chosen my job, and the people I work with, which is a real luxury!

Working with my wonderful team, my second family.

We sometimes argue, always work hard, but mostly we laugh.

Who do you work with and how does the typical day go?

My team/ family.

I delegated all the administrative/ production/ communication part, to concentrate on the collections and the brands identity. So naturally, I spend most of my time at the office, but also do a lot of field work! For shoots, inspiration, going to Portugal…