Features & Interviews · April 21, 2024

This NYC Bakeshop Serves Up a Mirror Made Out of Real Bread (Oh, and Slices of Cake)

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woman standing in doorway
Photography by Ash Bean

Visiting a somebody’s workspace is similar taking a peek inside their brain. Whether it’s at habitation or inward an art studio, Nice Work explores where creative people make all of their, well, creating, so that you tin bag their on-the-clock mode.

Name: Lucie Franc de Ferriere

Occupation: Founder of From Lucie 

Where I run: I used to work from my apartment simply late opened a small-scale cake store on East tenth Street betwixt Avenue A and First Avenue. 

tiny charming bakery
Photography by Ash Bean

Time I beginning: The lights of the bakery are turned on at half dozen a.one thousand. in addition to turned off at 9 p.m. 

Time I clock out: I don’t actually ever clock out. I endeavour my best to stick to my French roots in addition to strength myself to have time off and then that I can savour my evenings, just the reality is that in that location is always something to do, an electronic mail to answer, an event to get to, a cake to bake at the concluding minute.

How I get to work: I have the M15 passenger vehicle all the style upward First Avenue, just a lot of the time it only doesn’t exhibit upwardly, and then I terminate upwardly walking the whole 25 minutes. 

Three words that describe my infinite: Quaint, South of France, dwelling house. 

How I plant the store: I had gone through a few brokers who kept telling me I wouldn’t observe a infinite for the budget I had, and then I took the thing into my ain hands in addition to started browsing the Internet. It was belike afterwards entirely 30 minutes of enquiry that I constitute an advert for this infinite amongst a motion-picture show of the storefront on a sunny mean solar day. Anyone who knows me knows that I could spend whole days in the sun, then fifty-fifty if it was tiny, I thought I should go and bank check it out.

My design philosophy: I followed my center more than Pinterest, bringing morsels of my childhood into the infinite amongst small-scale details. I didn’t work with a designer for this projection, every bit I actually wanted it to experience personal, every bit if y’all were coming into my habitation in France.

stools at counter
Photography past Melanie Landsman

Moments that reflect my roots: 

Both the curtains in the window too nether the counter were made by my friend Anne Park in addition to her female parent. The cloth comes from Bordeaux. It was inspired by the domicile of my childhood best friend’s female parent, Maïté, who had them nether all of her counters to enshroud her condiments together with plates. Anytime I would go to their dwelling house growing upwardly, she would ready an amazing goûter for us, as well as the kitchen would scent of mouthwatering nutrient. I’ve ever associated the curtains alongside a warm, homelike feeling.

The drinking glass wall that separates the kitchen from the boutique is inspired by my drinking glass conservatory back domicile in Pessac sur Dordogne. It dates back to 1860 too was created in the mode of Napoleon III. I worked alongside my contractor and his carpenter to reproduce the exact dissimilar sizes of the windows as well as the French doors. I got the beautiful antique doorknobs from Olde Good Things inward Chelsea.

The lights in a higher place the bar are from a adult female named Anita, who is based in the South of France. They are vintage milk-drinking glass plates like the ones nosotros had at dwelling house growing upwardly.

The meridian of my counter is function of a very quondam farmhouse tabular array that came from France. I bought it early when I thought I’d have plenty space to agree a tabular array for people to sit down too consume their cake. Sadly, that didn’t happen, and then I decided to function the superlative function for my counter together with make a wood base for the bottom. I kept the base of operations of the table for my dwelling house. Both artworks, the lights, in addition to the counter are made past friends of mine.

Why a fleurs fridge is a From Lucie staple: I’ve e’er wanted a bloom refrigerator. My mother has a big garden on our property and and then many dissimilar varieties of flowers. I purpose them on my cakes, too they sadly don’t terminal every bit long if I don’t position them in a cool home. I had my friend Rei Lem paint the word fleurs on elevation. During service, nosotros simply get and catch them as we demand them. It gives a prissy dialogue together with connection between the front end too the kitchen.

Surprisingly risky project: The clay hexagonal floors, called tomettes in French, are inspired by virtually of my friends’ and family’s homes in French Republic. You volition find them in near all onetime homes. They stain and become that vintage wait actually chop-chop, which I love. If you ask any French tile layer, they volition order you they are the cheapest thing y’all tin detect in addition to besides that they are the first tiles they learned to put when withal inward training. My contractor in NYC, nevertheless, wasn’t as excited nearly working alongside it. It’sec expensive here together with easily crackable. He had never worked alongside them in the by, and then it was a flake of a challenge, but he did an amazing chore.

gallery wall of mirrors
Photography past Melanie Landsman

Favorite ane-of-a-form pieces: I am most proud of my sometime plates for people to eat their cakes on. I constitute them for 50 cents at my local déchetterie dorsum habitation together with had to twine them up in my clothes inwards my bag to convey them dorsum safely.

What’sec on the walls: An amazing mirror made out of bread that my friend Carla Finley gifted me.

Warm greeting: The yellow outside is inspired by my childhood summertime holidays spent at my grandparents’ habitation inward Menton. The homes there are all painted amongst limewash inward unlike vibrant colors. The ii most common colors are yellowish as well as salmon. It ever had this warm, sunny, happy, too welcoming feeling to me: walking through the streets after an early-morning time swim inwards the Mediterranean with the incredible nutrient markets in addition to overripe fruits.

The ceramic storefront numbers were a gift from my uncle Jean-Jacques, who lives inward Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. Most homes accept ceramic numbers inwards front of their homes amongst painted lemons or cicadas, the symbol of Provence too the Côte d’Azur. He too gifted me a cicada sculpture, which I placed inwards the window. It makes a distinct cicada audio every time individual walks inwards front end of it. It’s the French alarm organisation, I guess, notifying y’all that mortal is walking past your dwelling house.

yellow exterior
Photography past Melanie Landsman

Work pocketbook I comport every 24-hour interval: I acquit my former Telfar everywhere, every bit I can match my laptop as well as snack inwards it.

Kitchen essential I tin can’t live without: A tiny safe spatula that my sister gave me years ago.

Tea I run on: I never liked the gustatory modality of java (it tastes similar jus de chaussette to me). I’one thousand a bit addicted to matcha amongst oat milk as well as Earl Grey tea.

Ideal function snack: 85% night chocolate.

Biggest splurge that was worth it: My huge stand mixer that I named Micheline.

Preferred soundtrack: Any songs past Dalida. I fifty-fifty named my pocket-sized Italian greyhound afterward the singer.

Things I Can’t Work Without