Maud, mother of Edouard and Octave, Paris.

Calligraphe, illustrator under the name of STUDIO LE HERON, passionate by the Art, the decorations of the castles of the 18th century and by the fauna and the flora. First name balloon, calligraphed date or animal watercolors: Maud does everything by hand. To offer an original or an edition, here is a very idea of personalized gift to make for a birth, a baptism or just to decorate its interior! Discover Maud's exciting career and his elegant and poetic universe!


What is your background?

I studied law and then the Louvre school at the age of 24. Then I started an internship at Christie's (auction house). I then decide to become auctioneer. Finally I give up and redirect myself towards an art gallery in Paris, specialized in Greco-Roman art but very modern at the same time. At 25, I became their only employee, I was multi-cap for two years, I learned so much!

Then Christie's debauched me, I left the gallery and got married at the same time. This is the culmination of my career, I wanted to be in a prestigious auction house, with incredible products that pass through my hands! I stay there six months, but the experience turns out to be bad. I'm going through what's called an empty spell.

At that point, how do you bounce back?

It is from that moment on, that comes the desire to start my company. The energy and the naiac are there again and at the same time the opportunity to work with an art gallery, one of the most important, is offered to me, it is then an Asian art dealer. During 8 months, I learned a lot about the rigour that this environment demands. I feel more confident, I come out taller and stronger!

The desire to set up my own company is still there and Martin, my husband, reassures me in my idea. Should I return to the art market universe? In decoration? I still have a lot of questions.

How does calligraphy come?

One day, a friend announces that he is getting married in Rome, at the Villa Medici. I then propose myself to make the calligraphy of his invitations. I love it. It relaxes me. It's something I've learned all by myself, in my corner, I'm pretty self-taught.

I really liked doing this realization, so I found out, I realized that calligraphy was not very practiced in Paris, contrary to the Anglo-Saxon world, where it is hyper developed.

So the adventure of Studio Le Héron is taking shape?

I made my own site, my wedding photographer became a friend, so she gave me a hand. Then word of mouth worked. I then became an event calligrapher for agencies, antique dealers and luxury brands like Cartier, Lancel or Van Cleef. In 2016 I launch my wedding collections and custom birth announcements.

What's Le Héron's style?

I like a lot of things, a lot of different styles. I don't want to confine myself to one particular style. I come from a world, an aristo-vielle-France bourgeois milieu. I kept this institutionalized side of sharing, but with this desire for something else. I like the creative side, I do not break the codes of good taste but I avoid the too classic, I inject a little color, liveliness, delicacy.

The Heron is also watercolours, tell us about it?

When D'octave, my second son, arrived, I wanted to decorate his room, so I made animals in watercolour, the fox, the pink cricket, the rabbit, the blue parrot.... It was a great birth gift I could give to my friends, so I decided to put them online.

What are your sources of inspiration?

Obviously art with a big A, I studied the great residences, the decorations of the castles of the 18th century, the nature, the vegetable, the fauna and the flora and the design decoration.

For each of my realizations, I try to have a reference to the history of art, either in the text of the announcement for example, or a link with the name of the city where the couple gets married. There's a story behind every collection, I document myself. For watercolours, I take my inspiration from real animal pictures.

What materials and tools do you need?

I love notebooks and I work on quality paper, extra white, grained just what it takes.