Summer invites us to slow down.
For Ilya, co-founder of Studio ROOF, that means escaping to a small mazet hidden among the chestnut forests in the mountains of the South of France. Long before it became his summer refuge, this humble stone shelter was used by farmers tending and harvesting the surrounding chestnut trees.
It is a place where very little is taken for granted. There is no running water; water is collected from a nearby stream. A single solar panel provides just enough electricity for the essentials. The outdoor toilet is little more than a hole in the ground. Reaching the mazet means driving along rough mountain tracks, and in winter, the wood that heats the stove is gathered from the surrounding forest.
Life here is simple, intentional and deeply connected to nature.
Since the very beginning, the mazet has had a name: Libellule—French for dragonfly. Every summer, dragonflies dance above the stream below the house, and one even adorns the weathered façade of the little stone shelter. Long before dragonflies found their way into our collections, they had already found a home here.
For Ilya, Libellule is more than a retreat. It is a place to observe, build, repair, imagine and simply be. A reminder that happiness rarely depends on having more, but on seeing more.
Perhaps this is why Studio ROOF has always been drawn to cardboard.
What many see as an ordinary material, we see as endless possibility. A flat sheet becomes a bird ready to take flight, a flower that never fades, a butterfly suspended in the air or a dragonfly that brings a wall to life. It has never really been about the material itself—it has always been about imagination.
Surrounded by forests, stones, insects, birds and changing light, ideas quietly take shape. Back in the Amsterdam studio, Romy gives those observations their own colourful language, transforming them into playful compositions and poetic collections. Somewhere between the simplicity of Libellule and the imagination of the studio, Studio ROOF comes to life.
Looking around the mazet today, it is impossible not to recognise so many familiar companions. The birds in the trees, butterflies in the meadows, beetles beneath the stones, wildflowers along the paths—and, of course, the dragonflies gliding over the stream. Our collections do not begin at a drawing board. They begin with paying attention.
Libellule has quietly been part of Studio ROOF since the beginning. Not because it is where every design is made, but because it continues to remind us of something we never want to lose: that the most meaningful ideas often grow from the simplest places.
This summer, we are delighted to share a few glimpses of this special place with you. We hope it encourages you to slow down, look a little closer, and discover a little more beauty in the everyday.
Analog photography by Mary Gaudin
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