Behind the scenes at Majuno
Winner of the Ateliers d'Art de France competition in 2021, Jonathan Ausseresse admits that he learnt how to cut glass before he learnt how to ride a bike. Coming from a long line of craftsmen, this glass sculptor is responsible for one of the pieces in our collection.
In the Ausseresse family, there was the grandmother seamstress at Jean Patou, the grandfather artistic ironworker, the father Michel, master glassmaker and finally Jonathan, worthy descendant of this long line of makers with golden fingers. Jonathan Ausseresse, also a master glassmaker and elected Best Apprentice in France in 2013, designed a contemporary glass table in gray-blue shades, enriched with golden reflections.
Were you destined to become a master glassmaker like your father ?
It was obvious from the beginning that I would be a craftsman, it's in my family's DNA. That being said, before I started working with glass, I wanted to try my hand at other materials. As a teenager, I did a traineeship with a goldsmith. Then, I learnt metal cutting, foundry and mosaics. It was important for me to learn different skills.
And because I grew up in my father's glassmaking workshop near Vienne, I turned to this art form after completing a diploma in glass decoration at the École Supérieure de Design et des Métiers d'Art d'Auvergne. Today, I work closely with marble and iron craftsmen. We work well together and we speak the same language.
Where do you work now ?
I am based in Chauffailles, a village of 3,700 inhabitants in the Saône-et-Loire region, between the mountains of Beaujolais and the low hills of Roanne. I already knew the area, which I love very much, as I've moved into what was my grandmother's house, who used to be a dressmaker. I've got my workshop here, with lots of space, enough to install a two-by-one meters furnace !
How did the table you created for Majuno come about ?
This table is part of the Fluence collection created in 2020, even though it is a unique piece in its own right. I met Julie, the founder of Majuno, in March of 2022 at the Maison&Objet salon. There, she saw the collection and loved it inmediately, so after a long chat with her, we came up with this piece.
The result of numerous trials over the years, this model alternates sheets of glass and enamel powder, giving it that luminous depth. Initially, these multiple layers can be up to fifteen centimetres in thickness. After firing, they measure no more than fifteen millimetres.
Today, all of my creations involve mostly manual enamelling and thermoforming processes. In some cases, the skills of a cabinetmaker are also required, as is the case with this model. The furniture pieces that I create are developed within two very complementary universes: interior architecture and fine arts. So it was only logical that one day I would work with Majuno.