TEXTILE
In her beloved Paris, Sylvie Johnson finds inspiration in both the common (the fold of a napkin at a favorite café) and the profound (the grandiosity of the Louvre palace complex). See the city through her eyes.
SYLVIE JOHNSON
CHAIN OF
EXCELLENCE
EXCELLENCE
The Artistic Director since 2017 of Merida, the high-design rug manufacturer whose floor coverings are prized for their quality and texture, Sylvie was born in Dakar from a Ghanaian father and Senegalese mother and grew up between Senegal and France. Like her global roots, Sylvie’s tastes are universal in that they are anchored in quality, care and artistic intention.
Likewise, her love of Paris, where she has lived since she was seventeen, is as deep and true as that of anyone raised solely in the City of Light.
“Paris speaks to me in so many ways—both quietly and loudly,” Sylvie says. She channels that creative energy fueled by Paris’s many whispers, many exclamations, into the designs she creates in her impeccably clean, organized and intimate workspace located on Rue Jacob, mere blocks from Boulevard Saint Germain in the Sixth Arrondissement on the Left Bank where she spends most of her time.
“Beauty is not a place,” Sylvie says. “Beauty, especially as I see it—through the slant of a fiber angled just so in order to capture the best of the light in a room, for instance—that kind of beauty is fundamental. Essential. That’s what I’m focusing on…or, maybe, it’s focusing on me.”
What better way to get a sense of what Sylvie sees and is focused on, and as a result, what drives Merida’s singular vision, than a tour of some of her go-to inspiration destinations.
“Everything—where we live, what we love, how we think, why we create—is bigger than each of us,” she says. “It must be. The definition of perfection doesn’t exist…but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth chasing wherever it leads.”
Likewise, her love of Paris, where she has lived since she was seventeen, is as deep and true as that of anyone raised solely in the City of Light.
“Paris speaks to me in so many ways—both quietly and loudly,” Sylvie says. She channels that creative energy fueled by Paris’s many whispers, many exclamations, into the designs she creates in her impeccably clean, organized and intimate workspace located on Rue Jacob, mere blocks from Boulevard Saint Germain in the Sixth Arrondissement on the Left Bank where she spends most of her time.
“Beauty is not a place,” Sylvie says. “Beauty, especially as I see it—through the slant of a fiber angled just so in order to capture the best of the light in a room, for instance—that kind of beauty is fundamental. Essential. That’s what I’m focusing on…or, maybe, it’s focusing on me.”
What better way to get a sense of what Sylvie sees and is focused on, and as a result, what drives Merida’s singular vision, than a tour of some of her go-to inspiration destinations.
“Everything—where we live, what we love, how we think, why we create—is bigger than each of us,” she says. “It must be. The definition of perfection doesn’t exist…but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth chasing wherever it leads.”
MUSÉE DELACROIX
“I love this place. Such a hidden gem. The light, the illustrations and texts that include Shakespeare and Byron—it’s just so elementally amazing. The workshop is dark while the garden is open, and the relationship between inside and outside, between settings that are natural and man-made, walls and windows, it’s just so, so incredible. My work is a similar kind of meditation, whether it’s the Saga collection, which was inspired by the music of Chopin, or the textiles displayed in one of Delacroix’s paintings, which perfectly situates you into a place and time.”
Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation
“Most people don’t come to Paris to visit the Holocaust Museum, but for me this is the most amazing place. Even to stand outside of it is a lesson. The architect, Georges-Henri Pingusson, was a modernist, a master of form, and the way the design of this building creates and makes use of shadows is incredible. I am constantly studying light and the perception of light, looking at the way it falls and how natural light plays against texture, and shadow is part of that, too. The fact that the museum is on the water is also important and adds another symbolic layer of meaning. It is a metaphor in many ways: Even in darkness, there can be beauty in reflection and that feels very powerful and apparent in Pingusson’s approach.”
Jardin du Palais Royal
“This is Paris’s public garden. I spent a lot of time here when a friend of mine had a restaurant nearby, often on my way to the Louvre. The two are very connected for me—the inspiration I get from the play of light and dark, movement in nature vs. works on paper, the juxtaposition of shadow and pigment—is such a resource. I love the arcades and the trees’ dialogue. It's a design of its own.”
Musée Guimet
“Everybody [who knows me] knows about my love for Japan, as an inspiration and as a great culture. It is the epitome of savoir faire. The Guimet not only celebrates Japanese culture but also the art that this culture made and makes possible: art by makers. I love a lot of artists, contemporary artists, but my principal focus is to go back to what textile was and what it means. It is truly the first art, and I think about the tradition of artisan artists—the weaver, the canvas maker, the person finishing a piece of stitching by hand. Even if it was done hundreds of years ago, it touches us now because it was done well, with a commitment to craft, which is something more spiritual. And this is what inspires me about Japan and this art. It’s about elevating yourself, creating for the sake of something bigger than one person or moment in time.”
Le Café Marly
“I love to stop here for tea because it is a chance to properly view and appreciate Pei’s pyramid, which you can see from the terrace. When you are inside you can see the sculpture gallery of the Louvre. I love Egypt—my daughter and I went to Cairo in December—and it feels important to pay tribute to the pyramid (which is itself a form of architectural tribute!). Egypt is very inspiring to me. Without the ancient Egyptians—the way they worked the linen, cultivated pigments and acid—there would be no textile industry.”
SYLVIE'S Studio
“I’ve been here for 17, maybe 18 years, and my company is 19 years old. The building is special to me for that reason, yes, and it is a classic from the 19th century, but it’s really the St. Germain neighborhood as a cultural center that inspires me. So many creative people have passed through here, from Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir to Picasso, and it remains incredibly vibrant still. I love the vibe of being able to go outside and walk into an antiques dealer, see an exhibit, experience the energy of a museum. My work exists inside my studio, but I also spend time every week just exploring. This area has history and layers and is, at this point, core to my work.”
