- Spooky Victorian Dance -
Chartered in Madrid, "Damn French Desserts" is Purveyor of Exquisite Knick Knack. Their unique pieces of this and that contain obscure victorian ephemera, dark surrealism and references to authors' heroes and fave villains, always with a considerable amount of sense of humour.
We asked them a few questions and here's what they told us...
What's the story behind your shop name?
The name "Damn French Desserts" came after the company's founders' nicknames: Chantilly and Créme Brûlèe. We have always been in love with our Granny Valle's confectionery books. They were full of delicious recipes, beautifully illustrated with half-tone plates and every speciality had an amazing flowery name that always sounded way better in french to us! We randomly chose these two delicious confectionery french terms as nicks in the net, and when we teamed up to sign our graphic/web design works we added the word "Damn" as a humour touch to emphasize how good French Desserts are.
When did you start making art? Was there anything particular that inspired you to take that path?
The designers behind "Damn French Desserts" were always strange kids … The kind of strange kids that enjoy watching horror movies, killing their toys and organizing altruist tours to show a finest selection of other macabre little kids some of the mummies exposed in certain old Churches from Madrid.
A logic step in the evolution chain attracted these dark souls to the lesser kind side of Victorian period, focusing their attention to the anatomic illustrations, old plates with skeletons and the aesthetic that surrounds the pharmaceutical paraphernalia from XIX, with their cabinets filled with topaz bottles topped with cork and their decayed labels, naturally ornamented with spider webs and dust.
Their passion for that universe and the innate curiosity that led them to develop their creativity in many different fields, were the responsible for their very first creations that soon were discovered by other tragic kids who became proud owners of some of their most exclusive first designs.
As it usually happens, someone suggested to exploit their gift with lucrative intentions and in no time they started designing, doing photo sessions, packing stuff and sending it to the other side of their ocean, because considering no man is a prophet in his own land, it is in the United States where Damn French Desserts have found 90 per cent of their market.
At their Lab in Madrid they create their products to be sold through their Etsy store, being Kat Von D's "Wonderland" gallery in West Hollywood the only place on Earth where you can find them physically. Because dark souls always find a way to get in contact …
What fascinates you the most about Victorian era?
We are fond of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was an amazing time full of inventions that changed the world completely. We love the books and catalogues from those years. The old encyclopaedias and those anatomy compendiums that could be equally fascinating and spooky.
What kind of music you listen to while you work?
There's always music involved in the process of creating a product. It varies depending on the nature of it but there's always something by Nine Inch Nails, Tool or Dead Man's Bones. We have always found the latter's captivating melodies and dark romantic lyrics pretty inspiring.
Who were some of the artists that influenced your work?
They may not have influenced our work in a direct way, but we've always admired artists like Dave McKean -especially his works for Neil Gaiman and his illustrations for Grant Morrison's Batman: The Arkham Asylum- The Quay Brothers' animations, France Glessner Lee's crime scene dioramas and anything related to Vincent Price …
Take a look at more "Damn French Desserts" products in their
Etsy shop.
