Wendy Andreu
Designer
March-May 2027
- Craft & Design
- Los Angeles
“I combine new technologies and sustainable materials with a textile craft technique I developed, enabling the creation of one-of-a-kind textiles without material waste.”
I am a craft designer who uses materials as a means of communication. By experimenting with them, I discover unexpected outcomes that I translate into design pieces. I enjoy bringing ideas to life and exploring their potential through making. I like to think about the connections between matter, people, and space in an open way. In my research, context is just as important as the concept, without overlooking the quality of the making and the aesthetic of the pieces.
For the past decade, I have been developing a new form of textile craftsmanship that consists of creating a textile that is neither woven nor knitted, but bonded, and worked as a composite material made of cotton and silicone. I can manipulate this material in two dimensions to produce rugs and tapestries, as well as in three dimensions to create furniture, which is then upholstered.
Over the years, I have developed innovative tools and techniques to expand this textile practice into new applications and aesthetic possibilities. One of the key advantages of pieces produced using this technique is that it produces no offcuts during the manufacturing process, thereby avoiding the material waste typically generated in processes such as garment production.
Wendy Andreu won the Public Prize of the Accessory competition at the Villa Noailles in Hyères (2017) and won the Dorothy Waxman Textile Prize in New York(2017). In 2018, she received a grant from the Stimulerings Fund (Netherlands) in order to develop her project Regen. In 2020, she was named one of Maison et Objet’s Rising Talent in France, January edition. From 2022 to 2024, she was a resident at Cirva Marseille. In 2024 she received the Revelation Design Prize of the City of Paris. She is currently based in Pantin, where she is developing experimental work as well as commissioned projects for public and private clients; mainly interior architects and fashion brands.
One of my main area of research for the Villa Albertine residency is the idea of designing a chair in which the mold and padding form a single volume, eliminating the distinction between structure and upholstery in order to reduce material use. I am also interested in rethinking the materials I typically work with: cotton rope and silicone might be replaced by sustainable or discarded materials.
Working primarily with silicone—a material derived from silica—I see strong relevance in traveling to the United States, where silicone was invented, and connecting with the Silicon Valley ecosystem to identify potential collaborators. This residency would provide an opportunity to explore new technologies that could expand my practice: more environmentally responsible alternatives to silicone, new binders, innovative molding processes with more organic forms, and the integration of 3D printing and artificial intelligence. I am also interested in identifying waste streams from the technology industry and exploring how they could be transformed into new materials.
I recently had the opportunity to take part in Oui Design Los Angeles 2025, where I met several key figures working across design, research, and curation. During the event, I began conversations with a professor specialized in design and technology, whose work explores the intersection of digital processes, 3D printing, and artistic research. I also connected with a museum design curator and representative of a contemporary gallery, who expressed interest in my textile research and its potential development and presentation in the United States.
A second stay in Los Angeles would allow me to build on these initial connections and further develop my project. More broadly, this residency would mark the beginning of a new and open-ended direction in my practice. It would allow me to move beyond my current knowledge and explore new aesthetics, techniques, and possibilities.
In partnership with
Maison&Objet
Maison&Objet is a leading international event for professionals in design, interior decoration, and lifestyle, bringing together designers, brands, and industry leaders in Paris.
Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
As a family foundation and a public-interest foundation at the same time, the Fondation Bettencourt Schueller has chosen to “take talents to the top” to contribute to France’s success and influence.
To this end, the Foundation seeks, selects, supports and promotes women and men who are rethinking our future in three fields that make a tangible difference to the common good: life sciences, the arts and an inclusive society.
With a philanthropic mindset, the foundation takes action through prizes, donations, personalized support, effective communication and co-created initiatives.
Since the foundation was founded in 1987, it has awarded prizes to 676 laureates and supported more than 1,400 projects led by talented individuals, teams, associations and organizations.
For more information: www.fondationbs.org/en | Instagram: @fondationbettencourtschueller | Facebook: @BettencourtSchuellerFoundation