creation as a way of life
Ombrelle & Dragon's designer, Isabelle was born in France in 1978 and studied to become an engineer. After qualifying she moved to Oslo, Norway, to work as a Scientific Officer for the French Embassy before moving to a marketing position in the health care industry. While she enjoyed her early career, she had always been interested in design, arts and architecture and dreamed of making her living from creation and the arts. She had her first daughter in 2007 and started making clothes and decoration items for her and her nursery. She developed a passion for creating beautiful objects that would captivate her child and started designing decoration items, clothing and furniture that was at once aesthetic, functional, safe, interesting and unique.
During maternity leave, the whole family moved from Oslo, Norway, to Singapore, to Montrose, Houston, Texas, to London and finally came back to Oslo in September 2013. All of those moves have been both challenging for her as she on each occasion has had to recreate a furniture network (antiques, furniture providers, fabrics,...), and also incredibly inspiring as she has discovered new cultures and new ways of living.
While Isabelle was expecting her second and third child in Texas, she studied design, drawing, monoprint and watercolor painting at the Glassel School of Fine Arts, Houston and created her own decoration company dedicated to babies and children. When expecting her fourth child in London, she studied interior design and furniture design at Central Saint Martins.
The whole family keeps on travelling extensively to Asia, Latin America, North America and Europe and Isabelle always comes back with new inspiration, local fabrics, decoration items or furniture.
During maternity leave, the whole family moved from Oslo, Norway, to Singapore, to Montrose, Houston, Texas, to London and finally came back to Oslo in September 2013. All of those moves have been both challenging for her as she on each occasion has had to recreate a furniture network (antiques, furniture providers, fabrics,...), and also incredibly inspiring as she has discovered new cultures and new ways of living.
While Isabelle was expecting her second and third child in Texas, she studied design, drawing, monoprint and watercolor painting at the Glassel School of Fine Arts, Houston and created her own decoration company dedicated to babies and children. When expecting her fourth child in London, she studied interior design and furniture design at Central Saint Martins.
The whole family keeps on travelling extensively to Asia, Latin America, North America and Europe and Isabelle always comes back with new inspiration, local fabrics, decoration items or furniture.