Starry Christmas

Some brands have special powers: the power to fill us with wonder, time and time again. The power to ring true and deep and push back boundaries, while remaining who they are. These brands embody integrity and creativity.
We believe in our lucky star, because the great diptyque house regularly invites us to work on their year-end ranges.

With diptyque, we perform a balancing act.
diptyque does not tolerate approximation. diptyque invents and reinvents, curious to see the result, enchanted by noble materials. Their very high standards demand a top-quality product, and a touch of magic power…

Each year, diptyque selects an artist whose talent and universe merge in the tale it tells.
This year, artist Philippe Baudelocque brings the theme of constellations to the fore. His mythical, ephemeral and gigantic animals, drawn freehand in chalk on black walls, form a natural and timeless narration.
A unicorn for “Frosted Forest”, a dragon for “Fiery Orange”, a phoenix for “Incense Tears”.

This is always an intensely exciting time for Wauters, and we are involved in both the creative and technical process.
As soon as the project takes shape, we seek to capture the artist’s intention and the brand’s vision. We review and translate this intention according to our technical and creative abilities, to honour it and take the visual and sensory experience to a new height.
The project develops through discussion and interaction, combining integrity and creativity. We suggest and experiment, to discover and define the right solution together.

The technical aspects

The story of the special collection is written in the microstructure of the gilding.
The solids and their associations of screens, the openings and hairline rules, all tell the tale of these cosmic creatures through meticulous work on the matter and its shimmer.
Philippe Baudelocque had to tackle the microstructure and draw his lines in it.
We then had to extrapolate and transpose them in the trapping, to create a tool capable of reproducing his strokes, for a precise and faithful application.
Each animal was studied from every angle; each drawing required individual support and several trials to produce the tool, choose the appropriate gilding machine, adjust the setting and pressure: every aspect was carefully tailored to the project.

The beauty of light naturally comes from the density of darkness. The warmth of the sparkle is revealed by the depth and density of the starry vault.
But to achieve that, an uncoated surface is essential!

And it comes with a double challenge!
   • Gilding on an uncoated surface is inevitably uneven, as the surface of the matter affects the adhesion.
   • The density of black on an uncoated surface can be problematic! Two highly-registered runs of black were necessary, as the fragile, sensitive white line in reserve will not bear the slightest shift.

To add to the difficulty, a few gold dots were added at the joining of the white lines, requiring a perfect register between the offset printing and the gilding.

We will not reveal all the secrets, as the process requires great technical skill and precision, plus a touch of magic.
Because when we are moved by beauty, the story is always easier to write!

We wish you a very happy holiday season, filled with great stories and dreams.

The Wauters and B.Pack Teams

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