4-star Hotel Sainte-Victoire
near Aix-en-Provence
Our local partners
As much part of the local landscape as it is a part of local life, the Hotel Sainte-Victoire near Aix-en-Provence works closely with its partners. Companies which have worked with the hotel since it opened include:
Marie Guerrier
Born in a family of artists, Marie Guerrier graduated with an arts degree from the ENSAAMA Olivier de Serres (Paris). She specialises in metalworking which is at the heart of her creations: sculptures, jewellery and works of art.
She has been fascinated since childhood by the mineral world and is inspired by gemology and the geometric perfection of nature, in both the infinitely small and the greatness of the cosmos, to create compositions with elementary figures, in which the full and the empty are engaged in harmonious dialogue. Focusing on balance and poetry, she works to enhance her materials, transforming them patiently and respectfully.
In 2014, she began to use her great-grandfather’s press, expanding her work to include contemporary printmaking. She then developed her own inking and printing processes to create original monotypes, including a large-scale series which was made specially for the Hotel Sainte-Victoire.
Marie Guerrier
Ten years ago, Nicolas Ouchenir started to experiment with calligraphy. Entirely self-taught, he invented alphabets – both traditionally crafted and modern in style – for a variety of luxury fashion and arts clients. Today, he is one of Paris’ most sought after artisans (with clients including Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Christian Dior and Cartier).
Every fashion week, he writes over 15,000 invitations – as well as scribing special requests for princesses, political figures and stars. Instead of simply copying a classical Roman or Gothic lettering, He tries and imagines something brand new, always customised for the client.
For example, if Vivienne Westwood calls, she’ll say, ‘let’s find a handwriting together’. It is always a collaboration that takes his interpretation into account; it almost becomes a form of consultancy. He has developed a new perspective which his art is born in the shape of alphabets, logos and graphic identities. He lives and works in Paris.
The sculptor Francis Guerrier
He was born in 1964, the son of the painter Raymond Guerrier and the ceramicist Francesca Guerrier. He
worked in set design for 20 years, creating sets for events, dance shows,
plays, operas and the music industry. Since 2002, he has focused principally on sculpture. His first pieces on memory combine light and images. Metal soon became his material of choice and in 2005, he chose to create monumental sculptures. He created “Plumes d’Ange” (Angel Feathers) with spring-loaded aluminium, measuring 5 to 15 metres high, which sways in the wind. Today, he is driven by his search for original shapes; his latest monumental structures have been inspired by the moon.
“I believe that to plant feathers, to sow seeds, to evoke the stars is an act of
resistance, an excessive act: it’s writing a story, dreaming up the beauty of human thought. Searching for
the essential, a connection to other people, an understanding with Mother Nature.” F.G.
Distillerie Sainte-Victoire
Essential oils, floral waters made using lavender, thyme, rosemary, savory and everlasting, sachets of dried flowers: the Distillerie Sainte-Victoire grows organic plants in dry limestone soil at the foothills of the sun-drenched Montagne Sainte-Victoire, before transforming them into quality products with a delicious scent of Provence!
Their products are sold at reception.
Boucherie Halle de Venelles
The Boucherie de la Halle de Venelles offers truly exceptional meat. Reared locally or further afield, its matured meat is served at the Hotel Sainte-Victoire.
Fromagerie du passage
The Fromagerie du Passage in Aix-en-Provence supplies the restaurant at the Hotel Sainte-Victoire. No fewer than a hundred kinds of cheese are carefully chosen, made with milk from dairy farmers who focus on animal welfare and sustainable farming, thereby ensuring quality milk which later develops a wide range of flavours. These different kinds of cheese are sent to ripen in the cellars of the company Mons (Hervé Mons, who was awarded the prestigious title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 2000). They will mature there, each developing a truly unique taste.
Yondu’s Vision
We believe that healthy ingredients, particularly vegetables, should be the mainstay of our diet. Not only is this way of eating delicious, it is also good for the planet, our health and our taste buds!
We are convinced that the choice of good nutrition begins in the home, where we not only nourish our bodies, but build our relationships and recharge our batteries. Yondu firmly believes that a healthy lifestyle can be wonderfully appetising.