Loumi le Floc’h
What’s your name and where are you from/Based?
I’m Loumi Le Floc’h, I’m French from the South-Ouest and based in Brussels, belgium.
Can you describe what you do in a few words?
My project name is Precious Peels, made from eggplant peels, it presents itself as a surface somewhere between the delicacy of paper and the suppleness of fabric. They reinvent interior decoration.Inserted between two panes of glass for unique glazing, transformed into wall coverings or exceptional objects, they enhance spaces with their delicacy and elegance. A unique blend of high-end design, ancestral craftsmanship, and sustainable innovation.
What was the very first object you ever wanted to create?
The first object was a stained glass, I created a real stained glass, with the main and ancient technique. After this, I started to think about how to make stained glass but without the real technique, only with eggplant peels surfaces and plaque of glass.
How did eggplants first appear as a potential material, and how did that become Precious Peels?
That started during my graduation year, i started to produce verre tiny sample, it was really super translucent. and at the moment that started to really surprise the people who discovered it. After my graduation I continued this project and now it’s around 3m by 1,5m. Regularly the material is used for interior design especially for glazing and like precious wallpaper.
Can you walk us through the journey of transforming an eggplant peel into a finished material?
yes, daily day started calling the lebanese restaurant, if there are eggplant peels i go to pick up the bags of eggplant peels and i go back to my workshop to transform the raw material, i cooked, i scratch, put on surface and that dry, when its dray i take of and its really to put between two glass or use in different way.
How does your relationship with chemistry influence your designs?
never learned chemistry, especially curiosity and random moves. The colors are obtained because of the acidity and PH reaction. With lemon juice for example for the pink color. I had experimented with salt and other natural things, alway obtaining surprising results, but the reserche never finished.
Have you found a musical rhythm or soundtrack that matches the way you work?
I love so much listening Sofiane Pamart and classics music, depend my mood, I love the japanese disco from 80s as well!
What is the most meditative part of your process?
All of the process is very meditative but I guess the most meditative part is when I assemble all of the peels, one by one. It’s a really meditative and slow process.
What’s your personal definition of “sustainable innovation”?
For me, it’s about using a material whose potential we’d never have imagined. It opens people’s minds to imagine that it’s possible to make fabrics from eggplant peelings. And even more so if it’s a natural, biodegradable material.
How does light transform your work, and do you design with that in mind?
My materials react like stained glass, and with the light against them, the colors are more vivid and vibrant. And there’s an unconscious link with my first name, which means light in Spanish (Lumi). It’s a playful nod to my practice, which revolves essentially around light.
Which unexpected material are you curious to experiment with next?
Why not others vegetables peels ! For the moment I’m focusing on eggplant peels but in the future why not think about mixing eggplant and others. For the moment I’m working with glass to assemble my precious surfaces.
Where can people find you?
on instagram @precious_peels_
Or directly on appointment in my workshop in Brussels (Zaventem Ateliers).
In Paris my samples are available at Adèle Collections on appointment as well.
