Meet Homo Faber 2024 artisan Nathalie Seiller Dejean

Making head jewellery inspired by 19th century Swiss straw craft

• A former press illustrator who taught herself to turn straw into jewellery
• Discovered the craft after stumbling across straw trimmings in a Geneva flea market
• Her headbands, tiaras and fascinators aim to create a sense of childlike wonder
• Her work has featured on the catwalk for major fashion houses including Dior

Nathalie Seiller Dejean has always been creative. After studying drawing at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, she became an illustrator for newspapers including Le Monde and Le Temps. But when she and her now ex-husband moved to Geneva for his job, Nathalie’s career was to take a surprising turn. Browsing in a flea market in the Swiss city one day, she stumbled across some straw trimmings. Fascinated, she began researching the material and discovered the rich history of straw craft in Switzerland, particularly in the Freiamt region in canton Aargau, which was famous in the 19th century for its woven straw trimmings.

It was the start of a new creative journey for Nathalie. She continued her research by visiting the Swiss Straw Museum in Wohlen, Aargau, meeting with straw artisans and collecting more trimmings. Eventually, she taught herself to craft straw into unique accessories, creating hairbands, tiaras, hair clips and fascinators which combine straw with materials including Venetian glass beads, mother-of-pearl buttons and wax flowers. By incorporating the trimmings from her now vast collection, she pays homage to Swiss straw history and the artisans who have gone before her, while putting her own distinct, contemporary spin on the craft.

From this initial historical interest, straw craft has become her passion, and it’s one that suits her perfectly. “My training in an art school brought me uninhibited approaches to creation, while my career as an illustrator gave me a mindset that builds a thoughtful approach,” she says.

Whimsical and romantic, her work evokes days gone by, summer evenings in the countryside, and the wonder of childhood, something that is important to Nathalie, since the Swiss origins of her craft remind her of her own childhood holidays to the alpine resort of Zermatt. Now living back in Paris, Nathalie has found her work in high demand from boutiques and fashion houses in the French capital, including Dior, while her pieces were included in the bridalwear selection of now-closed department store Barneys in New York.

At Homo Faber 2024, Nathalie will present three bridal headpieces in the space dedicated to Love, which highlights the role craftsmanship plays in our rituals of courtship, love and union. Love is one of ten spaces within this year’s overall theme, The Journey of Life. Discover more on homofaber.com