Founders
Claire Affon and Théo Teles established the studio in 2019 after a decade collaborating on hospitality interiors across Lyon and Marseille. Claire trained in scenography; Théo specialised in commercial space planning for narrow urban footprints.
They chose to limit the practice to concept documentation rather than turnkey delivery, believing clearer handoffs produce better built results when specialist contractors execute each trade.
Marseille presence
Our atelier occupies the first floor above a bookshop on Rue de la République, with a material library visible from the street. Passers-by often pause at the window display of ceramic samples and banquette mock-ups rotated monthly.
The location keeps us immersed in pedestrian-scale street life that informs every café concept we draft.
Team today
Six concept designers, one lighting researcher, and a documentation editor form the core team. Freelance illustrators join for perspective commissions during peak autumn briefing season when developers prepare spring openings.
All staff speak French and English; client meetings alternate languages according to project jurisdiction.
Ethical boundaries
We do not design operational workflows, point-of-sale systems, or beverage programmes. Our contracts explicitly exclude food safety layout certification, which licensed consultants must provide separately.
This boundary protects clients from assuming a concept package satisfies regulatory kitchen requirements without further professional review.
Open research
Each year we publish an internal study on seating density versus dwell time, shared with clients under NDA. The 2025 edition examined forty-eight Marseille establishments and informed our revised banquette spacing guidelines.
Research outputs never include identifiable business names without written permission from proprietors.