Chérie’s Tree House Warm Up
Chérie’s Tree House is…
Starting from the metaphor of a tree house: a real or imaginary place in our childhood. It was a special location, that we used to store our ideas, fantasies and beloved things, a place we shared with friends. It was only ours in a time when the rest of our life was supervised by others. By growing up we maybe forgot or left this place.
By creating our Chérie’s Tree House, we reopen the beloved house, to provide a platform for creations of emerging artists, special things, a place to feel good, to discover new objects, a location packed with design and fashion, live performances, home-made food and drinks, dj sets and live music. Everything made with love.
How did the idea of Chérie’s Tree House start?
(Chiara) In April 2007 I started my project Chérie’s Flakes, a brand of hand-made bikinis. I was searching for a location to present my first collection. Since in Milan there wasn’t really a place for a new and yet unknown brand, I was talking to Sylvie who was in the same situation with her jewel brand Bambi eats frog. We actually found out how many people were in our situation, not finding any platform for their productions. So we decided to do our own platform for emerging artists.
What kind of artist you give space to?
Any kind of emerging artists of fashion and design, who realize their products with passion. We’re doing continuous research to find new brands and projects, and it’s amazing how many beautiful brands of emerging artists are out there. For any single event we select attentively the work of creative people. And now that the project got known, artists contact us, to be part of the Tree House.
What kind of products do you offer?
Unique objects from clothes, jewels, bags, swimwear but also furniture, lamps, ceramics, mirrors and photography. The mix can vary as it depends on the new brands we find for each event. All this is accompanied with artistic live performances, bio-food and dj sets, inserted in a showroom full of tree leaves.
Describe the crew you’re working with.
The crew is Chiara and Sylvie. Since we are two on constructing this tree house each time, it’s difficult to say which roles we have, lots of things to do. For sure Chiara is the creative director whilst Sylvie is the head of communication. The rest is made with love, together, and thanks to all the people, djs, friends, photographers, editors, stylists, who believe in this project and help us to realize it. Every event there are people who ask if they contribute somehow to the exhibition, a fact that makes us really happy and shows us that we are on the right way.
Our friends from the Multiplayer Studio in Milan are doing the illustrations for flyers and website. Giandisco is head of music, doing selection of djs and bands. Plus then so many more treelovers, friends who help us before and during the event without them the event would never be possible.
What does the “house on the tree” represent in your minds?
A tree house is a magic place where we can share our passions, ideas and dreams. A place of our childhood, that we left by growing up, but it’s never worth to leave it. Let’s stay young in our minds, keep our dreams, live our passions!
How did the project evolve in these years?
The first edition took place in a private loft with 12 designers. It was a trial, we had not really an idea how Milanese people would react, if they would appreciate a project of emerging artists. Since it was successful, we chose to go on in a more professional way, and did second edition in the 247 showroom with 25 designers. It was fantastic to see how many people appreciated the project, from young to old, how many requests of collaborations we got, and so we kept on doing it, twice a year, always with a varying selection of artists and djs.
What do we have to expect from the next Chérie’s Tree house?
In the winter edition of CTH, there will be many more amazing products of new great designers, also a new vintage proposal, which will be proposed in a selection of themes and timeframes. There will be also a performance of Chiara Cappellini who will paint a huge tree house on PVC for both days. The painting will then be cut and transformed into products, that will be shown at the summer edition. All this in a showroom full of leaves, music and – hot wine punch. There will be also a new official tree house soundtrack, mixed by Giandisco, the CD is available for the first 100 people who come to the event, and can then be downloaded on our website. New is also the official tree house video, we have a new photographer who does analogic pics, we have a great dj set and finally also girls playing records. And yes, finally we have our website redone!
What will be your next step for the Tree House?
One aim is to grow, to augment the number of editions and always the quality. We are in contact with other cities like Rome, Turin, Alassio to expand the project there. We are enchanted by the nice hippie idea to pack all the artists, wood and leaves in a bus and reopen the house on the seaside.
The other aim is for sure to find a sponsor, since till now everything is autofinanced.
You should come to Chérie’s Tree House because… end this sentence
Mmh! So many reasons! … to discover unique objects, the work of amazing artists, to jump into a colored place full of passion! A tree house in the middle of a city. And: to dance under Tree’s leafs slurping hot wine punch.
Text by Elisa Lusso | video & editing by Sara Scappin and Elisa Lusso
