Everything started in 2020, when I moved back to Nice — the city where I was born — after spending the past ten years in Paris. It was a strange time globally, of course, but also personally, and I suppose I was craving a change. At first, the idea behind MM was still very vague. Mostly, I just wanted to spend time with my mom, and to reconnect with the city — the sun, the coast, the markets, the people...

Your journey started with upcycling vintage pieces. How has the brand evolved since then?

It’s true. The very first idea my mom and I had was to find vintage lamps at local flea markets and renovate them — rewiring, repainting, and bringing them back to life. As our audience slowly grew, I started getting a bit more creative. I began offering bespoke lampshades made from vintage fabrics, designed to match the bases we’d found and handmade by one of the last remaining artisans in Nice. One thing led to another, and I eventually started sketching my own lamp designs and looking for skilled craftsmen to bring them to life. By summer 2022, about a year and a half after moving back to Nice, the first collection was launched. When I look back, it doesn’t seem like a very long time — but convincing myself I could actually pull it off definitely felt like a slow and winding process.

Colour is truly at the heart of MM, and I want to explore all of it. But if I had to choose right now, I’d say it’s a deep walnut brown and an olive green — separated by a thin, yet vibrant, line of ruby red.

What’s a design detail in your pieces that people might not notice at first but that you love?

It’s a bit funny, actually — every time I work on the Ombrellina lamp, I always choose three colors for the base: two for the stripes, and one for the top. I spend a lot of time perfecting the combination, but I always end up thinking no one will even notice the top color, since it sits so close to the shade. Still, it’s a small detail I’m really attached to.

What’s a piece you’ve created that holds a particularly special place in your heart?

It’s definitely the Caterina lamp, named after my mother. It’s kind of a playful design that came about when I placed an Ombrellina shade on a Caramella base — our first two designs — just for fun. I ended up loving it so much that I named it Caterina, and now it’s become our best seller.

Since I work with designer deadstock fabrics, it often feels like I’m collaborating with those luxury houses in a quiet, indirect way. But if there’s one brand I truly dream of working with, it’s Dries Van Noten. Bold patterns, timeless elegance — it just feels like the perfect match.

What other makers or designers inspire you at the moment?

At the crossroads of fashion and design, I really like the work of designer Ana Kraš and her brand TEGET. In a similar spirit, I also love the creations of the duo Amca Oval. Studio Haos is another big source of inspiration for me. Overall, I’m drawn to multidisciplinary creatives — those who like to explore different fields and blur the boundaries between them. I find that bringing together various worlds and disciplines makes the whole process so much richer. I’m also deeply passionate about craftsmanship. I find it fascinating when creators — artists who craft their pieces by hand and truly master their art — also manage to navigate social media with the same finesse. It often results in truly compelling content. Clara Infante and Justine Menard are great examples that come to mind.